Debbie continued to lead an active lifestyle and enjoyed walking, swimming and dancing competitively. She met and fell in love with her husband Ray, and they married in 1972. By this time Debbie’s weight was 11 stone 7lbs and she was experiencing pain in her joints. She continued to try to lose weight but, like most yo-yo dieter’s only to lose it, and then regain it, plus more. In 1974 Debbie saw an obesity specialist in London. Tests were undertaken and she was told that her natural weight would never be lower than 12 stone. However, they were unable to offer any help as Debbie had discovered that morning that she was expecting her first child. The pregnancy was not any easy one, and brought increased weight gain. Debbie nearly lost her life to pre eclampsia and toxemia. An emergency caesarian section was undertaken as the baby went into fetal heart distress.  Debbie suffered a period of severe post natal depression where she and her baby were hospitalised in a special unit, whilst Debbie received treatment for the depression.  Over the next six years, Debbie continued to yo-yo diet, losing 50 1bs or so, only to regain it. Debbie and Ray decided they’d like to try for a second child but knew that she must seriously reduce her weight to minimize any risk to mother and baby. During a period of a year Debbie lost 7 stone, and through being careful gained just under 2 stone during the pregnancy. Her son Bradley was safely delivered.  Over the next twenty-six years Debbie never gave up trying to lose weight, and returned to slimming club multiple times and so the cycle continued.

Finally, early in 2007 Debbie began to seriously consider after many years of having tried all manner of diets and drug treatments, without success to see if she might be a suitable for weight loss surgery.  The decision to ask her GP for a referral was one that had not been undertaken lightly. She had done as much research as possible and spoke to someone who had undergone the procedure, and was now a year post-op and doing very well. The final straw for Debbie had been her last experience at a slimming club, when despite following the diet to the letter, in a period of eleven weeks she had not lost a single pound. On a visit to her GP to discuss her lack of progress, tests proved that she had developed an under-active thyroid. Despite the appropriate drug treatment she still struggled to lose weight.  A rare auto-immune disorder also meant that Debbie had become even less mobile and unable to walk very far. She had become unable to go out without the use of a wheelchair, or carer.  Debbie was very aware that surgery would not cure her illness, but would benefit her by allowing her to lose weight, and help ease joint pain, and allow her to mobilise more. During this time, she had also developed other co-morbidities, by becoming borderline diabetic and hypertensive.

 

Debbie underwent open Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery on the 1^st May 2008.  Her first weeks post-op were difficult and she needed to be readmitted to hospital for eleven days, for investigations and rest because of extreme stomach pain, and chronic constipation.  Her surgeon and GP have kept a close eye on her, and things have settled down well. Eight months into her journey Debbie has lost nearly 8 stone, and has not been on any hypertensive medication since the operation, and her blood sugar levels are no longer a concern.   

 

Debbie remains as active as she can within her limitations. She is an avid crafter who enjoys making cards, and scrapbooking. She is a vocalist in a worship band and Ray is a percussionist. Debbie hopes in time, to be able to be strong enough to take up swimming again, and to continue to lose more weight despite, her surgeons fair prediction of a lower than normal weight loss due to her lack of mobility. 

 

Both Debbie and Ray are keen supporters of BOSPA and started a support group in the Surrey area in April 2009.