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I was always the ‘fat duckling’. Now I am a ‘skinny swan’!
Yvonne Ryan
Bristol, RI
-155lbs
I chose OCC for their no-nonsense way of doing business. I didn’t have to jump through a ton on bureaucratic hoops to get the surgery.
I have struggled with weight all of my life. I come from heavy genes on both sides. I remember being obese before I even knew what obesity was. I remember school shopping (for clothes) in the adult section before I was a teenager; maternity clothes or plus sizes. I couldn’t wear what the other kids my age wore. I was an outcast at school. I was the fat kid and the recipient of all the teasing and bullying that go with being the fat kid. It was hard to be treated like that by strangers but when your own family tells you, “You would be so pretty if you would just lose weight.” That was hard to swallow. I had food issues. Sometimes it was scarce and other times it was plenty. So when there was plenty, I ate as if I were saving up for the scarce times. I wasn’t permitted to have certain foods because they were “bad for me.” So when I had my own money, the first thing I did was run out and buy all of those things I wasn’t allowed to have. This was my dirty little secret. I ate until I couldn’t move. As a young adult with my own money, I bought what I wanted; what I missed out on as a kid. Two kids and 18 years later, I yo-yoed my way from 200-289 pounds. Up and down. My kids grew up with a fat mom. That made me sad. I have always been an active person; I love to be outdoors, walking, hiking, swimming, biking, etc.
In 2012 I heard of OCC but I wasn’t in a place to make it happen. So in 2014, when I was able to afford it, I made my appointment with OCC and never looked back. My numbers yo-yoed too; sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol had all been up and down, mostly up.
The surgery saved my life. It gave me a life I’ve never known before. I’ve never been thin. Now I’m called ‘skinny’ and ‘twiggy’.
I had always worn double-digit (sometimes triple) clothes. Today I wear a size six and an extra small and they’re a little loose!
I was the “fat duckling”, turns out, I am a beautiful, talented, SKINNY swan! (Now, if I could just get the plastic surgery!)
