Aunt finds new hobbies after gastric sleeve surgery through Via Christi

Melody Young before and after 238-pound weight loss

When Melody Young of Harper, Kansas, met Dr. Nicholas Brown, bariatric surgeon with Via Christi Weight Management’s surgical weight-loss program in Wichita, she shared her motivations for choosing gastric sleeve surgery to help control her weight of 388 pounds.

“I told him, ‘I want to see my nephew and my nieces get married one day and I can't do that if I'm dead. I need help,’” recalled Melody, age 50. She said she wanted to get off of some of her 11 different prescription medicines and off her CPAP machine, a device to help her breathe while sleeping.

Gastric sleeve surgery is a weight-loss (bariatric) surgery procedure that removes a portion of the stomach to make it smaller. It is also known as sleeve gastrectomy.

Before beginning her surgery journey, Melody said life was “very miserable.” Extra body weight caused so much joint pain that it hurt to shower. With shortness of breath, she struggled to carry laundry to her apartment’s laundry room. Family losses and difficulties over recent years had taken a toll. 

“I ate for stress — my health was going downhill,” said Melody. “I was almost to the point where I was bedbound.”

Despite worried opposition from her family, she decided in early 2022 to have bariatric surgery.

“I’ve never put myself first and with my health the way it was, I had to do something,” she recalled.

Melody also was under a cardiologist’s care for congestive heart failure (CHF), which is a condition where the heart pumps insufficiently. She asked her heart specialist if it would be safe for her to have the procedure.

“They weighed me and I got off the scale crying because it read out 388 pounds,” she said, realizing her highest lifetime weight.

With approval and a referral from her cardiologist, and after extensive online research, Melody chose Dr. Brown and Via Christi as her weight-loss program partners. She completed all the necessary nutrition and surgery preparation and classes designed to support patients with the physical and emotional changes that come with bariatric surgery. 

In October 2022, Melody had the gastric sleeve procedure. As a result, she feels full more quickly when eating. It also causes the stomach to produce fewer hunger signals.

Setting fitness goals 

Six weeks after her surgery, Melody began a new habit — regular physical fitness at her local gym. After a few months using cardio machines, she added weight lifting.

“After I got in the gym and got going, the weight really started coming off,” she said.

Having already cut sugar from her diet prior to surgery, she began setting challenge goals such as walking through west Wichita’s large Sedgwick County Zoo.

“When I meet one goal, I set another one,” said Melody, as the key to her success. She has twice participated in walking in the annual Fourth of July 5k around Anthony City Lake.

“I struggled a little bit the first time, but this year I was in the gym every day to get ready and it went really well,” she said. “Once I put my music on and I get into the groove, I don’t slow down.”

After 22 months, Melody has shed 238 pounds and reached her goal weight of 150 pounds. She went from size 28 in pants to size 10, and from 4x tops to size large.

She credits support from her cousin, Christa, as instrumental in helping her throughout the path to weight-loss, as well as her surgeon, Dr. Brown, nurse educator Dena Martin, and dietitian Helen Ramsey with helping her to successfully stick to Via Christi’s program.

Melody enjoys walking her dog, Venus as part of her regular physical activity.

Benefits of weight loss

Melody noted many side benefits to her weight loss, including reducing six of her prescription medications, coming off of her CPAP machine, and going to clothing stores to buy cute clothes.

In May, she accomplished what before seemed impossible. She attended her oldest niece’s high school graduation. Her previous weight would have made all the walking too difficult and painful to go, she said.

When she’s not in the gym, Melody takes her mixed-breed dog, Venus, in a pet stroller for walks outdoors, or she goes biking or swimming. “I just went jogging for the first time since childhood,” she said proudly. 

Melody has this advice for others considering bariatric surgery: “It’s not easy. There’s not a fast fix. If you are 100% dedicated it will work. Don’t let anyone talk you out of making a change in your life.”

Learn more about surgical weight loss at Via Christi Weight Management. Or call 316-689-5232.