Photo By Gino Mattorano | Robin Campbell is on a life-long journey to be the healthiest version of herself. That...... read more read more
Robin Campbell is on a journey – a life-long journey to be the healthiest version of herself. She is currently a fitness instructor at a local gym, but three years ago she was looking for a path to better health and fitness.
That road to wellness included a stop at Evans Army Community Hospital’s Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence, where she underwent bariatric surgery which has helped her lose more than 100 pounds.
Campbell has a five-year-old daughter who Campbell says was the inspiration that started her on her journey to better health.
While out on a hike with her daughter several years ago, Robin experienced what she calls her “aha moment.”
“My daughter was three at the time and riding in her carrier on her daddy’s back,” Campbell said. “As we started climbing up a particularly intense hill, I was struggling and my daughter looked down at me with such pity in her eyes and shouted, ‘Come on, mommy. You can do it!’ And right there on that hill I vowed to myself that she would never look at me like that again, and that I was going to become a better example for her.”
A short time later, Campbell made an appointment with her primary care doctor at EACH to explore her options.
“Dr. Eugene Kim recommended me to the bariatric program in the sweetest way,” Campbell said. “It’s so tempting to just automatically shut down when you see your doctor because you already know you are overweight and you just leave feeling sad. But Dr. Kim was so supportive, kind and knowledgeable about the program that I didn’t feel embarrassed when he referred me to the bariatric surgery center.”
The Evans Army Community Hospital Bariatric Surgery Program is an accredited Comprehensive Center of Excellence. Bariatric surgery is available for active-duty family members, retirees and their family members and patients who receive care through the Veterans Administration. Due to Defense Department policy, the surgery is not available to active-duty service members.
At her first bariatric surgery center appointment Campbell learned about the criteria for undergoing bariatric surgery and met with the surgery team.
“Those doctors have FOREVER changed my life!” Campbell said. “After discussing the criteria and the process for undergoing the surgery, they tasked me with meeting with a nutritionist, a behavioral health therapist and someone from the Army Wellness Center to find out if I was a good candidate for surgery.”
Once she met with and received the green light from each of the specialists, the next step was to pick a surgery date.
“I was just absolutely over the moon,” Campbell said. “I was so excited to start my weight-loss journey!”
As luck would have it, Campbell’s husband left for a deployment the week before her surgery.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t make it happen before he left,” Campbell said. “I had my surgery exactly one-week after he left, but the entire hospital staff was sublime - from the nurses in surgery, to my anesthesiologist, the radiology team and the post-op nursing staff. They were all amazing. They even called my husband and let him know how everything went.”
Once she had healed from the surgery and received the green light to start working out, Campbell started on the hardest part of her journey.
“I chose Bariatric surgery because as my surgeon Dr. Matt Mayfield explained in his intake lecture, obesity is actually a disease,” Campbell said. “When you try to lose weight, your body wants to hang on to any excess fat that it can because it goes into its primal form of not knowing where or when the next meal is.”
Campbell was selected for the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, which is a type of weight-loss surgery that involves creating a small pouch from the stomach, which is then connected directly to the small intestine,” according to Col. Eric Ahnfeldt, who is the chief of Surgery at EACH.
“Food bypasses most of the stomach and the first portion of the small intestine, which reduces the amount of food you can eat at one time and decreases the amount of fat and calories your body absorbs from food.”
The procedure is typically a laparoscopic or robotic process, using a DaVinci Surgical Robot. The surgery lasts a few hours and patients typically remain in the hospital for one to two days.
On the advice of her care team, Campbell worked hard to find a healthy balance of nutrition, sleep and activity. Even before her first appointment with the Bariatric Surgery team, Campbell found a fitness center to get started on her weight loss journey right away and ended up starting fitness training at the same gym where she would eventually find a new career as a fitness instructor.
“I don’t want people to just assume that you get the surgery and then you lose the weight and the journey ends,” Campbell said. “You have to tend to your body, mind and spirit daily, because it is still a struggle every day. I genuinely believe that you have to become in tune with your new self and make decisions daily that are sometimes just a little bit harder.”
While studies show that bariatric surgery patients can lose 60-70% of excess body fat within the first year, lifestyle change is a crucial aspect of keeping the weight off. Campbell’s advice to people considering the surgery is to get on top of a good workout regimen while preparing for surgery.
“Adding fitness into your routine now little by little will help make the entire process a lot easier,” she said. “Most people who do not know about the surgery assume that the weight just drops after the surgery, and while it does, exercise goes hand in hand with the journey, not only for physical health but your cardiovascular and mental health as well.”
Mental health is a key aspect of overall health and Campbell says that her weight loss has also helped improve her mental health.
“Not only has the surgery helped me feel more secure in my body, I have also kicked my depression medication to the curb,” Campbell said. “I now handle my anxiety with healthy physical activity. Since doing so, I’ve minimized my drinking, and I am happier and stronger physically too.”
Campbell says she also wants people to know that it’s okay to not have good days on your journey to better health.
“Sometimes you do still see who you once were in the mirror,” she said. “But you have to acknowledge your journey and how amazing you are and give yourself a little grace.”
While bariatric surgery may not be right for everyone who wants to lose weight, Campbell says that she would absolutely recommend it for anyone who meets the criteria (see chart below).
“Change is scary,” she says. “And the idea of surgery is scary, but the team at EACH is amazing and WILL take such amazing care of you.”
The Bariatric Surgery team says that those who qualify and are interested in the surgery should sign up for their Bariatric Introductory Class.”
“The wonderful aspect of our Bariatric Center of Excellence is that patients can go through our preoperative pathway without committing to surgery,” said Charlotte Andrews, a certified Physician Assistant and the EACH Bariatric Program Coordinator. “I encourage patients who qualify to participate in the program. Our preoperative pathway will educate you on so many aspects of lifestyle to include consults with our Dietitian Team, Wellness Center Team, Behavioral Health team and Pharmacy Team as well as an Orientation presented by one of our Bariatric Surgeons.”
Andrews says that before patients commit to any surgery, they first get to meet their multidisciplinary healthcare team, and receive meaningful education which helps prepare them for surgery. At the end of the pathway, if patients feel like surgery is right for them, they can elect to proceed.
Campbell says that during her journey through the weight loss process she become a bit obsessed with strength training.
“This surgery has taught me so many other strengths and that I never knew I had and interests I never knew I would want to learn about. I am competing in my very first bodybuilding competition in September. On top of re-learning who Robin is, I’m learning how to continue to make myself 1% better every single day from here on out.”
Campbell says that her daughter now gleams when people ask her about her mommy.
“My daughter looks at me and speaks of me with so much pride,” says Campbell. “She tells everyone that her mommy works out and is a workout teacher and that she and I are going to open our own gym together one day.”
Campbell says that now that she’s achieved so many of her health goals, her future goal is to become an Army officer.
“My dream occupation is to work in the Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness program and continue to help others while serving my country,” she said. “I always wanted to, but my weight and insecurities held me back. Now I am confident and in the best shape of my life and I want to continue to positively influence others as well.”
For more information about bariatric surgery, speak with your primary care team or visit the EACH Bariatric Surgery Center website for more information: https://evans.tricare.mil/Health-Services/Hospital-Care-Surgery/Bariatric-Surgery-Center-of-Excellence.
CRITERIA FOR BARIATRIC SURGERY AT EACH:
• Body Mass Index 35 or greater
• BMI 30-34.9: with Type 2 Diabetes
• Age: 18-65 (over 65 case by case)
• Healthy enough to undergo a major operation
• Failed attempts at medical weight loss
• Absence of drug and alcohol problems, No nicotine use
• No uncontrolled psychological conditions
• Consensus by multi-disciplinary team
• Understands surgery and risks
• No untreated potential medical causes of morbid obesity
• Must be dedicated to a lifetime of lifestyle change and follow-ups
DO I NEED A REFERRAL?
• Patients can now self-refer! Call the appointment line at (719) 524-2273, and request to schedule for the: “Bariatric Introductory Class.” This is a virtual group appointment intended to give patients an overview of the program at the EACH Bariatric Surgery Center. It is offered every other Tuesday at noon.
• Patients can also obtain a referral from their primary care provider to “General Surgery: Bariatric Program.”
| Date Taken: | 08.22.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.22.2024 11:59 |
| Story ID: | 479230 |
| Location: | FORT CARSON, COLORADO, US |
| Web Views: | 909 |
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