weight loss surgery

Life is fun! I haven’t always felt that way. I was an obese child who grew into an obese adult.  I call it “the family curse” because several family members also had a life-long struggle with excess weight and the complications and health issues that come with it, namely, Type 2 diabetes.

My highest weight was 278 pounds and was accompanied by high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and unbelievable fatigue.  In addition, my heart stopped beating in 2004 and I have had a pacemaker ever since that day. 

Ashley Chapman remembers suddenly gaining weight unexpectedly at a young age. Weight loss was something she says she battled from that point on. “I tried everything since I was five years old to lose weight, but nothing ever worked,” she says. Her body, it seemed, appeared to resist weight loss despite her efforts of diet and exercise and even consulting her health care provider to determine what was wrong. “I had my thyroid tested so much that I think it is truly ridiculous. I knew something was wrong with me, but not sure what.