Amy Graves, who lives outside of Oklahoma City, is a horseback rider and a member of a professional drill team. She and her family also own a farm, which requires lots of physical labor. Horseback riding and taking care of the family farm are major aspects of Graves’ life, but due to weight gain and other health problems, she began experiencing complications when doing both.
“Over the past several years, I put on a lot of weight and just couldn’t seem to get it off,” said Graves. “I felt like I had tried all the diets on the market. I would start with a plan and sometimes it would work, but I always ended up putting the weight back on. In the last five or six years, I really just didn’t feel well the majority of the time. I couldn’t sleep and my entire body was in pain.”
When Graves remarried a few years ago, she and her husband were eager to start a family. While trying to become pregnant, Graves was diagnosed with endometriosis so she began infertility treatments. 
“Taking the fertility medications for six months really took a toll on my body and I gained almost 60 pounds,” said Graves. “I got to where I couldn’t make it out to the barn to do the daily chores. I had trouble breathing and I often felt like I was going to have a heart attack. I couldn’t even get on my horse because of all the extra weight I had put on.”
Diabetes is a part of Graves’ family medical history, which became a concern for her after gaining more weight.
“I felt like I was on the edge of diabetes so I started looking into bariatric surgery,” said Graves. “No matter what I did or how hard I tried, I couldn’t get the weight off and I felt like all of my health issues were stemming from being overweight. I knew it was time to make a change.”
In September of 2017, Graves began the program at Bailey. She underwent surgery on July 24, 2018.
Graves’ health has dramatically improved since having bariatric surgery.
“My progress has been fantastic,” said Graves. “My primary care physician is blown away by how well I am doing now. All of my labs have come back with better results than I have had in many years. When I was still really heavy, I had to take a sleep aid every night just to get a few good hours of sleep. Not only am I sleeping through the night now, I’m getting good sleep.”
Graves is also back to riding her horse without severe knee and back pain.
“Because of several horse-related accidents over the years, I had a lot of knee problems,” said Graves. “I can now get on and off my horse and walk up and down steps without my knees giving me any problems. Running barrels is much easier now, too because my back doesn’t hurt and I’m not experiencing any shortness of breath while riding. These may seem like little things to some, but to me it’s a huge deal.”
Graves is still seeing the Bailey team and continuing with her journey to better health.
“I have no problem making the drive from Oklahoma City to Owasso, even if it’s just for a 30-minute appointment,” said Graves. “The support system at Bailey is truly amazing. There are not enough words to describe how great my experience has been. They have built an incredible team and I’m so thankful for each and every one of them.”