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Eileen Grabosky of Washington Township, NJ |
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 Eileen Grabosky, 52, says it was desperation – and a growing sense of depression over her health-related medical conditions -- that motivated her to attend a Kennedy-sponsored informational session about weight loss surgery in January 2009.
"I went shaking my head, so to speak – but I did go," the married mother of two recalled. Dr. Louis Balsama explained various weight-loss surgical options, and Grabsoky, who attended the program with her very supportive husband, says that it "didn't take long for me to make up my mind" about undergoing bariatric surgery.
"It was the direction I needed to go," she says.
For good reason: at 279 pounds, the 5 foot 4-inch tall Grabosky was facing an array of weight-related health problems, including an arthritic knee, hypertension, high cholesterol and obstructive sleep apnea.
It hadn't always been that way: Eileen was an average weight – 146 pounds -- when she got married in 1982. But after the birth of her children, the pounds started piling on, reaching an all-time high of 286. Not that she hadn't worked hard at weight loss: at one point, Eileen dropped 66 pounds, but "I just couldn't keep it off."
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Sharon Shelton of Pittsgrove, NJ |
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 Sharon Shelton, a seven-year Kennedy associate who works at the Stratford campus as an x-ray technician, had struggled with her weight her entire life.
"I tried everything – every diet – but nothing really worked," recalls the 31-year-old Shelton. Finally, she decided on weight-loss surgery, selecting sleeve gastrectomy, which was performed by Kennedy Bariatric Surgery Program Director Dr. Marc Neff on December 4, 2007.
"I did it for my health," Sharon said. "I come from a family of very obese people who develop a lot of health issues. I knew I didn't want to end up with high blood pressure or diabetes, so I needed to do something – something that would work."
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Megan McKeever of Magnolia, NJ |
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 She remembers being a chubby child, and "pushing 300 pounds a couple of times in my adolescence." She eventually hit an all-time high of 324 pounds, but Megan McKeever never seriously considered weight-loss surgery until a doctor advised her against trying to start a family "until I lost at least a hundred pounds."
Not that she hadn't managed that kind of weight-loss before – several times, in fact, over the years – but Megan, like many other morbidly obese people, could never keep it off: "I tried every diet you can imagine – even a spinach diet once – but it was a losing battle."
At the time of her marriage in 2004, the five-foot-six-inch addictions counselor weighed 210 pounds, and had resigned herself to "just being a fat girl the rest of my life."
When her family doctor advised her against trying to get pregnant, Megan was crushed: "I thought, I'm not even healthy enough to have our child." She also remembered her father's weight struggles while she was growing up: "He couldn't really play with us or go on rollercoaster rides, and here I was, at age 24, with high blood pressure, and I couldn't even walk up my back steps."
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Harry Soards of West Berlin, NJ |
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 Harry Soards, an 18-year associate at Kennedy, says he was overweight "as far back as I can remember." In fact, the 47-year-old can't recall a time when he didn't struggle with his weight – until now.
"Like a lot of other very overweight people, I'd tried all kinds of diets," he said. "I'd lose a little weight then gain it right back. Nothing really worked."
By the time he was in mid-20s, Soards' increasing obesity had led to an array of health issues, including Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Type II Diabetes. By the time he was in his mid-40s, the 6-footer was up to a frustrating 338 pounds.
"I was on two types of medications for my diabetes, as well as cholesterol medicine," he recalled. "Even though I was used to carrying a lot of weight on my frame, I didn't feel so great."
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