From couch potato to confident

Keith Brock didn’t need anyone to tell him he was stuck; his friend’s couch made it painfully clear. He tried to get up off of it, but at 437 pounds, he was trapped and couldn’t move.

"I panicked. I was wedged into the cushions and couldn’t get out. I was too embarrassed to ask for help," Brock said. "It took me a while to get off the couch, but I finally did it. That night, I called my wife and told her, 'I can’t do this anymore.'"

Weighed down

Everyday tasks were difficult for Brock. Shopping for clothes was a nightmare. He had to special-order a size 6XL shirt for his cousin’s wedding to go with his size 54 pants.

“Everything was so hard. I had to wear whatever I could find,” he said. “At the wedding, I had to wear my pants under my stomach, otherwise they wouldn’t fit.”

Frequent work travel added another layer of frustration. Airline seats were painfully tight, and eventually, he had to buy two just to fit.

“I was so unhealthy,” he said. “I was a prisoner in my own body.”

Quality of life gained after weight loss surgery

After a lifelong struggle with his weight, that one moment – getting trapped in a friend’s couch – was the turning point. It tipped the scale toward Brock having weight loss surgery, a decision that would ultimately transform his health, confidence and entire life.

Nine years ago, he consulted with Steven Hodgett, MD, a surgeon with North Florida Surgeons who performs weight loss surgery at Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville. Dr. Hodgett confirmed that Brock was a good candidate for bariatric surgery.

While there are other weight loss tools, including medication, surgery remains the most effective and long-lasting option for people battling severe obesity, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Brock underwent a sleeve gastrectomy, a procedure that reduces the stomach size by about 80%, leaving a tube-shaped sleeve. It limits the amount you can eat and alters gut hormones to help decrease hunger.

Before surgery, Brock had severe sleep apnea and was put on medication for Type 2 diabetes. Less than four weeks after surgery, Brock and his wife took a scuba diving trip for his birthday, without diabetes medication.

“My blood sugar was completely normal less than a month after surgery, and I no longer needed it,” Brock said.

Today, he’s 238 pounds lighter and finally able to enjoy the things that once felt impossible. Flying is no longer an ordeal. It’s easy to find clothes that fit. And best of all, he has the energy to keep up with his kids and his hobbies, which include skateboarding and scuba diving.

“It’s been a journey of self-discovery, health and newfound confidence,” said Brock. “The life I have today would not exist without weight loss surgery.”

The Baptist Center for Bariatrics and Reflux Surgery is a nationally accredited center of excellence. For more information, visit baptistjax.com/weight loss or call 904.202.SLIM (7546).