CRMC-West
214 E. 23 St. Cheyenne, WY 82001
CRMC-East
2600 E. 18 St. Cheyenne, WY 82001
Health
& Fitness 1620 E. Pershing, Cheyenne, WY 82001
(307) 634-CARE
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New Beginnings: Cheyenne Regional’s Lifestyle Management Center Helps Overweight Patients Regain Health, Hope
CHEYENNE – More than a year ago, Cheyenne resident Jeanne Payton welcomed her son Stephen home from military service in Iraq. “He recognized my husband and our other son—and walked right by me,” she said. Payton couldn’t have been happier. Eight months earlier, Payton had undergone gastric bypass surgery at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center. By the time of Stephen’s homecoming, Payton had lost more than 100 pounds. “When he finally recognized me, the first thing Stephen said was, ‘Where did you go, Mom?’ ”
“I was scared”
When Payton had surgery in late 2005, she weighed 274 pounds and wore a size 24. “I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, joint pain and was depressed,” she recalled. “I’d been trying to lose weight since I was a teenager. I’d tried just about every popular diet,” she said. “I’d lose and gain, lose and gain. But I always seemed to gain a little more each time around.” “I was only 51 years old but had this feeling of doom, like I might not live more than 5 or ten more years,” she said. “I was scared. I had to do something.”
Started living again
Cheyenne Regional’s Lifestyle Management Center has offered gastric bypass and LAP-Band weight loss surgeries for nearly four years. In gastric bypass, the upper part of the stomach is made into a small pouch, and the lower part of the stomach is bypassed. With the LAP-Band procedure, an adjustable balloon-like band made of a medical polymer encircles the upper stomach, creating a small pouch. The result with both procedures is that a small amount of food in the upper stomach pouch produces a sense of fullness and satisfaction. Over time this allows for progressive and durable weight loss. At Cheyenne Regional, the two procedures are performed by surgeons Richard Fermelia, MD, FACS, and M. Whitney Parnell, MD, FACS.
A manager in the Home Care program at Cheyenne Regional, Payton attended an informational meeting after hearing how successful the surgeries and program were. It’s been more than two years since Payton had surgery. At 5’5,” she is a trim 136 pounds. She regularly goes to the gym and exercises. In the past year, Payton also been snowmobiling, horseback riding, whitewater rafting and trail riding on all-terrain vehicles. “It’s amazing to be able to move and breathe comfortably,” she said. “I feel like I’ve started living in my fifties.”
Life-altering surgery
“Undergoing gastric bypass or LAP-Band surgery is life-altering,” explained Dr. Fermelia. “Success requires a big commitment by the patient and surgeon,” he added. “These procedures are not an ‘easy way’ to attain weight loss. Ask any patient who has had weight loss surgery—it requires attention and a long-term commitment to his or her own health, as Jeanne has done. Patients need the support of family and friends as well as their doctors in order to be safe and successful.” Another consideration, said Dr. Fermelia, “is that we consider this surgery to be a weight loss tool, which will finally help the patient to be successful after significant past efforts have failed. Jeanne’s success is a function of Cheyenne Regional’s great Lifestyles Management program, committed surgeons and—more importantly—Jeanne herself.” Individuals considering weight loss surgery start by attending Cheyenne Regional’s “Patient, Family and Friends” seminar, offered monthly in Cheyenne and across the state through a telehealth videoconference system. The seminar presents the benefits, risks and challenges of the surgeries. “Dr. Fermelia, Dr. Parnell and everyone in the Lifestyle Management Center at Cheyenne Regional were there for me before, during and after the surgery,” Payton said. She is also thankful for the support of her family, friends and co-workers. Getting the word out “For people who are struggling with their weight, I want them to know this option is available—and it works,” said Payton. These days, Payton is optimistic about her future: “My blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol are normal now. I don’t have any of the co-morbidities I had before the surgery. I’m so much healthier and feel so much better. In so many ways, this has been a life-saver for me.” For more information about Cheyenne Regional’s Lifestyle Management Center and weight loss options, call (307) 633-7619 or (866) 633-7619 (toll-free). Cheyenne Regional Medical Center is a 218-bed premier regional healthcare system that prides itself on delivering the highest standard of quality care to meet the region’s growing healthcare needs. The hospital’s physicians and employees, state-of-the-art facilities and advanced technologies ensure patients receive exceptional care close to home.
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