Stephanie Hooks
Age: 34
Total Pounds Lost: 110
Procedure Received: Gastric Sleeve
I have always battled with obesity since I was a little girl. I have always been the “big girl” and always had trouble with losing weight. Any type of weight loss program or pills, you name it, I tried it but had no success. So I decided to have gastric sleeve surgery. However in the US, since my insurance would not cover it, it would have cost me over $25,000 out of pocket. I started researching places in Mexico and it freaked my mom out, so she asked her Doctor, Terry Simpson, his thoughts on me going to Mexico and he said he only could recommend one Doctor and that was Doctor Ariel Ortiz. So my mom and I researched him and I contacted OCC right away and started the process of making a change in my life for the better. I was still scared because of all the horror stories people were telling me about going to Mexico, but I also knew that if I didn't do this for myself, I was going to eventually die at a young age, either from Obesity or from suicide because I didn't love myself. I actually even changed my surgery date a few times due to my fear, but I did it! My biggest regret is not doing it sooner!
