“I was heavy my entire life,” shares Susan Palma. “I’ve been wanting to lose weight for about forty-five years.” Susan’s weight problem began to affect her life severely over time, as her joints simply could not handle the stress of the extra weight. “I injured myself about twenty years ago and snapped an ACL [anterior cruciate ligament], and I also had heel spurs,” she says. “At one point, I was over three hundred pounds, and I couldn’t walk for about three years. I was literally living a handicapped life. “I finally got sick of it and had surgeries: fixing the heel spurs, fixing the knee. Every single doctor I saw for every problem said, "Well, you need to lose weight.”

Susan’s success
Susan’s sleeve gastrectomy was an unqualified success. “I’ve had different kinds of surgeries in the past – sinuses, ear surgery, knee surgery, foot surgery – and this was relatively less painful than the other ones. I was amazed. “I’ve lost one hundred and twenty pounds, and I love it!” marvels Susan. “It’s excellent. It’s a lifesaving procedure for me, as far as I’m concerned. “The world is open to me: now that I’ve lost the weight, I’m amazed at how much it did work against me and how really all physical or medical problems I’ve had have pretty much gone away. “I’m thrilled to have had this surgery. I’m a different person inside and out,” she reflects. “My family sees a healthy mother, a healthy wife. I’m happy with it, and everybody in my family is happy with it, too.”