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5
"I remember I got in my car and just cried and cried and
cried on my way to work," she said, crying again.
"I couldn't believe that I had gotten myself to that point.
God, I haven't talked about this in a while. But how did I
lose control? If I had all the money I spent on gyms and
weight-loss programs, this pill, that pill, nutritionists,
behaviorists, I'd be a millionaire. And I just thought:
'How did I get to this point where I'm actually thinking
of cutting my stomach because I cannot do this on
my own?'"
Ms. Tysz said she had been thinking about weight-loss
surgery for 10 years. Six months after her consultation,
she underwent bariatric surgery.
The procedure and beyond
"Matilde had a vertical sleeve gastrectomy, which means
about 60 to 70 percent of the stomach was removed.
That leaves the stomach as a narrow tubular structure
that looks like a skinny banana," explained Dr. McMullen.
"Once I made up my mind, there was no turning back,"
Ms. Tysz said. "The team here has been tremendous."
"We have two nutritionists and a psychologist on staff,"
said Dr. McMullen.
"We also have a social worker holding support groups
who focuses on weight-loss surgery patients."
Ms. Tysz said it's important to have a psychologist to
talk to, since emotional changes come along with the
physical ones.
"I was completely afraid of the new Matilde," she
said. "The heavy Matilde, she accomplished a lot. I
will always love her because she had to fight so much
harder to get people to look past the weight, past
this fat girl, the big girl, the heavy-set girl. They had
to get to know me in order to like who I was. I'm the
same person. It's just that the old Matilde held on
to the weight for protection from a lot of different
things, but it was time to let it go."
Ms. Tysz recently did the Tough Mudder, a half-mile
obstacle course in the mud, even though she doesn't
like getting dirty.
"I was able to finish every obstacle," she said. "It was a
big achievement for me. Now I want to do a 5K. I want
to do things. I'm not afraid anymore. I lost 100 pounds,
but I have gained a life. I've gained my life back."
Before After losing 100 pounds
Matilde completing her first Tough Mudder race.
