Third Post... Yes! first Surgiversary!

Aug 11, 2014

Like a flower that has blossomed in the dry and barren sand,
We are born and born again most gracefully.
Thus the winds of time will take us with a sure and steady hand,
When the river meets the sea.

-Paul Williams, When the River Meets the Sea from “John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together”

I can’t believe that it was one year since I walked - not rolled in on a gurney into the operating room at the Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn and had my Gastric Bypass surgery on August 12, 2013. What happened in that year some may say is a miracle. Others could say it would be impossible. Anyway, it happened.
I weighed 370 pounds the day of the surgery. When I first saw Dr. Corneliu Vulpe, who did the surgery, I was 427 pounds, and was 444 pounds at my highest weight, in 2009. I weighed in at Lutheran on July 16, 2014, and my weight was 249.4 pounds. Lutheran takes off 3 pounds for clothing, so my "official" weight was 246 pounds. Yes, that is a loss of 124 pounds from the date of surgery, and a total loss of 198 pounds from my highest weight. THAT'S ANOTHER PERSON! THAT'S LESS THAN WHAT I WEIGHED AT THE TIME OF MY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION IN 1977!
The size of my pants went from 64 inches on the day of the surgery to 44 inches on August 3rd. I wore size 6XL shirts, now I wear 2XL. I still wear size 12 sneakers, though (It’s a family thing – my father was tall).
How did I do this? Was there some magic in the surgeon's hands that made me lose so much? In a word, no. It was all done by me working my butt off. The surgery was just a tool that helped me lose weight. I have heard that enough times at Bariatric surgery support group meetings, that I could recite those words in my sleep. The surgery forced me to eat less. In the beginning, it was difficult. I would eat an entire turkey sandwich and 20 minutes later throw it up. Now I eat half a sandwich at 12:00, and the other half at 2:00 pm. Instead of a whole can of ravioli for supper, I had a small container. And don't get me started with McDonalds! I could not eat what I used to. Now I only eat a salad for lunch or oatmeal for breakfast.
Along with the changes in eating, I had to start to exercise. Now I'm a person who last really exercised in High School, save for a couple of times when I went to a gym and was the only man in an aerobics class. Anyway, I started to walk, one block at a time, until I got the strength to walk for 3 miles a day after work, and 8 miles at a clip on Saturday (9 counting the mile to and from church). On August 2nd, for example, I walked from Penn Station (34th St.) To Central Park (61st St.), around the John Lindsay lower loop (around 72nd st. And 5th Avenue and back), East on Central Park South, South on 5th Avenue to Rockefeller Center (5th Avenue and 50th St.) back to Penn Station via Times Square. (Whew! Long walk is long!).
Before I had the surgery, I bought a Sony PlayStation 3 just to play games. I bought 3 discs in June, 2013 - two months before surgery: Fit in Six, Get Fit with Mel B. (starring the former Spice Girl and one of the judges in America's Got Talent), and Zumba Fitness. I needed to get some additional exercise at home as well. So, I also bought DDP Yoga to get some cardio as well as some low impact yoga. I have been doing Zumba and Fit in Six practically every day, as well as DDP Yoga - I have to differentiate it from other types of yoga, for woe to he (or she) who does'nt mention DDP in DDP Yoga! (www.ddpyoga.com for more information). After all, “It ain’t your mama’s Yoga!” I do two routines twice a day - in the morning and at night. Yeah, I'll break out Get Fit with Mel B. sometime in the future.
There have also been some other subtle changes with me in the past year. When I was walking to the Operating Room, I told someone “Dead Man Walking”. The nurse (technician? I don’t know… he was carrying the IVs) told me “Don’t say that!” Well, in a way there was going to be a death – the old Don Stankalis. The shy and downbeat downtrodden (OK, enough with the adjectives. You get the picture) Don was going the way of the Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Plymouth, and Mercury. In its place, there was going to be a new Don rising out from the ashes, like the mythical Phoenix! I have been more upbeat in my disposition, in my attitude, and and my speaking with other people. Uplifting enough to do 2 Cable-Access TV shows on Weight-Loss Surgery that have been shown on BRICS/BCAT in Brooklyn. (Begin cheap television guest promo here) The TV shows are also available on SUNY Downstate’s iTunes U portal. It is at the following link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/weight-loss-surgery-part-1/id522400623?i=315177518&mt=2. Search for “Weight Loss Surgery Part 1” and “Weight Loss Surgery Part 2”. It’s free for those who have a limited budget! (end cheap television guest promo here).
What does the future hold for me? Getting my waist less than 40 inches (Haven’t seen the 30’s in over 35 years!)? That’s possible. As far as short-term goals go, on the 13th of August I will be entering the Percy Sutton Harlem 5K Run, held by the New York Road Runners on the 23rd of August. I am excited to do this, and I hope that this leads to more races, and who knows - maybe a marathon (or RunDisney Half marathon in Orlando, right Rose?). I still go to Bariatric Surgery support group meetings at Lutheran Medical Center to "pay it forward" and give those who are pondering bariatric surgery someone who has lived and thrived through the experience. For example, I was talking to someone last month for over 20 minutes about my life before and after surgery.
At this point I would like to thank those who have stood behind me this past year. Joan, Rose, Catherine, Marie, Kate, Marianne, and many, many more. If I did not mention you, I'm sorry, but thank you anyway!
Yes, this weigh loss is still a work in progress. I weight in again on August 20th. To be continued folks...

Open up your eyes, take a look at me
Get the picture fixed in your memory
I'm driven by the rhythm like the beat of a heart
And I won't stop until I start
To stand out
To stand out

Some people settle for the typical thing
Livin' all their lives waiting in the wings
It ain't a question of "if", just a matter of time
Before I move to the front of the line

-Carter Birdwell & Don Davis, Stand Out from A Goofy Movie

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