A life recharged by bariatric surgery

Former Lompoc resident Mary Ann Brown has no hesitation in her voice when asked if she has any regrets about undergoing bariatric surgery. 

“I would do it again in a heartbeat,” the 62-year-old grandmother of 11 says.  

Mary Ann struggled with weight throughout her life, especially following the births of her four children. 

“I battled weight,” she says. “It was up and down. I was overweight for quite awhile. I did Jenny Craig (weight loss program) and lost a lot. Then I would yo-yo up and down.” 

It wasn’t until she retired in June 2015 that she really noticed she was gaining more weight. 

“I wasn’t as active,” Mary Ann recalls. “I said ‘I’m going to eat whatever I want to eat. I don’t care.’” 

Her children were adults and no longer living at home, and she and her siblings lost their parents within a span of a few months. She was having a down period, eating out a lot and not making the healthiest choices. 

“I wasn’t really taking care of myself,” she admits.  

At her lowest adult weight, Mary Ann was 159 pounds. By the time she began considering bariatric surgery at LVMC, she weighed 242 pounds. She also struggled with knee pain and a torn meniscus and eventually had to go to Urgent Care for relief. She received a referral to Lompoc Health orthopedic surgeon Dr. Richard Rooney, who advised her she needed total knee replacement.  

“He said, due to my age and BMI, insurance probably wouldn’t cover it because there were too many risk factors,” she recalls. “He said, ‘Have you ever thought of bariatric surgery?’” 

She had considered the weight loss surgery, but believed her insurance would not pay the cost. Dr. Rooney suggested that with her knee issues, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and being borderline diabetic, she’d have enough health concerns to be approved. 

“I said if I could do the surgery, get the weight off and postpone having knee replacement, I’d do it,” says Mary Ann, now a resident of northern Arizona. 

In March 2022, Mary Ann saw Dr. Christopher Taglia, LVMC’s general and bariatric surgeon. She’d met him previously when he operated on a family member. 

“It was a relief,” she says. “I thought ‘Maybe this will work. Maybe this is the way to go.’” 

She felt very comfortable with Dr. Taglia. 

“The first time I saw him, I didn’t feel intimidated. You never feel rushed with him. If you have questions, he makes sure you understand, that you’re comfortable. If you leave his office and don’t understand something, that’s your fault. He’ll take the time to answer everything. I love him to death.” 

As he does with prospective bariatric patients, Dr. Taglia suggested she try to lose a bit of weight on her own. She was able to do that and was approved for surgery. Dr. Taglia also informed her he’d be conducting the surgery using the da Vinci robotic system. 

“I thought it was kind of cool, space-age,” she said of robotic-assisted surgery. 

During her surgery, Dr. Taglia also found a growth on her liver. He was able to quickly take images with the robotic system and consult an oncologist during the procedure. Dr. Taglia removed the growth, which was benign. 

“It was all fine,” she says. “Everything was good.” 

Following the surgery, Mary Ann said she had difficulty adjusting to the level of hydration she needed and ended up in the Emergency Department to receive IV hydration. 

“After that, I turned a corner,” she recalls.  

She said she enjoyed her appointments with LVMC Registered Dietitian Haley Esdaile, learning about cooking for her new lifestyle. 

“I still struggle with getting enough protein,” she notes. “Haley answered all my questions … You just learn to adapt. I love Mexican food, but I’m careful about what I eat.” 

She said she’s learned other food “hacks,” including eating chickpea pasta, using peanut butter protein powder and having very small meals. When she goes to places such as Wendy’s, she purchases a child’s size cheeseburger and removes the buns. 

“You have to learn how much your body can handle,” she says. “I have about a half a cup of food. I don’t feel deprived. I love Cracker Barrell broccoli cheddar chicken. I look at it and say, ‘Here’s three meals for me.’ I don’t ever feel deprived and I always have leftovers.” 

The first month following the surgery, she lost 15 pounds and said it was “amazing.” 

“When I had surgery, I was wearing size 18 to 20,” she recalls. “I tried on my first size 10 pair of jeans and I cried. We’re in Old Navy and I’m crying and a lady is looking at me. My husband says, ‘Oh you don’t understand,’ and told her what happened.”  

She now fits comfortably in a size 12, a size she has not worn since high school. She also has a fairly common condition following weight loss surgery – body dysmorphia.  

“When I look in the mirror sometimes, I still see that heavy person,” Mary Ann says. She struggles with loose skin leftover from the weight loss, though financially has not pursued skin removal surgery. 

She finds now, weighing about 80 pounds less than she did at the start of the bariatric journey, that it’s so much easier to play with her grandchildren, who range in age from 15 years to 3 months. 

“We’ve been watching our 4-year-old grandson (during the winter holidays). We had the little guy for two weeks. If I was that heavy, I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with that kid.” 

She and her husband enjoying being out on their boat in the summer, swimming in the lake near their house. 

“It wasn’t as easy to get in and out of the boat as it is now. Getting up off the floor was a chore. Now I can get up and can actually go out and do things with them and keep up with them and enjoy it.”