Gastric bypass lifts man's burden

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CORPUS CHRISTI For gastric bypass patient Edward Wuest, walking without exhausting himself is a blessing.

"I have a lot more endurance now," he said. "I stand for 10 to 12 hours a day. Now, I'm moving around constantly."

The 18-year-old, 6-foot tall Wuest four years ago weighed 427 pounds with a body mass index of 58 - classifying him as morbidly obese. Today he weighs 240 pounds and has a BMI of 32.5, which according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, classifies him as obese.

"I'm perfectly fine with where I am now, but I would like to get at 200," he said.

The Caller-Times has been following Wuest's transformation since November 2005, after he underwent gastric bypass surgery in Houston. Prior to the surgery, the then-19-year-old Sinton resident was 475 pounds and bedridden.

He now works as an electrical instrumentation helper at MMR Constructors - a Kiewit Offshore Services subcontractor - where he said he is able to climb scaffolding and perform other duties he wouldn't have been able to before.

Wuest described his weight problem as a vicious cycle, saying he would eat because he was depressed and was depressed because he would eat. If he'd never had the surgery, Wuest said he fears he'd be in the same condition.

"I'd be at home," he said. "I wouldn't want to be out in the world and wouldn't be able to work these hours," he said.

Wuest and his wife, Ashlee Oliver, were married March 14 in Sinton and are expecting their first baby in September.

Houston gastric bypass surgeon Robert Marvin, who performed Wuest's surgery, said it reduced the long-term risk that Wuest would have a heart attack or stroke.

"A BMI of 32.5 is a much safer category," he said. "Most Americans have a BMI between 25 and 30. He's really not too far off from normal and probably doesn't have much more of a health risk."

Wuest, who can only eat small portions now because of his surgery, said he eats a bowl of cereal in the morning, a granola bar as a mid-morning snack, a sandwich at lunch and a small dinner.

One of the best things about his new body, Wuest said, is no longer having to look for clothes at the "big man's shop."

"I can go to Wal-Mart now," he said. "It's a lot cheaper."

But remnants of his weight loss remain.

Wuest said before the doctors performed the surgery, they asked him if he was ready for the skin that would probably result from losing the weight so quickly.

"They asked if I would be ready to look at it everyday," he said. "There's always going to be saggy skin, but I'm comfortable with it. It doesn't bother me."

The thought of the other possibility is far worse, he said.

"I try to make the most of every day."

Additional information:

St. Luke's - Bariatric Surgery , Boise Idaho
The miracle weight loss that isn't - Diet and nutrition- msnbc.com
Bariatric Surgery - Weight Loss Surgery , Florida Gastric Bypass
Coastal Center for Obesity, Gastric Bypass and Lapband Weight Loss
Star Jones Says Her Gastric - Bypass Surgery Was Not an "Easy Way
Obesity Kills! Here's Ben's Exclusive Story /Advice About Gastric
Weight Loss Surgery , About Surgery To Lose Weight
My gastric bypass nightmare
Gastric ByPass Surgery Stories , Facebook
Mike Huckabee's weight loss scam « Plutarch's Weblog

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