Long-time couples share a surgical weight loss journey
Chris and Michelle Miller have been married for 26 years, but after saying they are suffering from weight and health, they turned to surgery as a way to find a breakthrough to turn things around.
Marietta, Georgia — Chris and Michelle Miller get married at the age of 26 and love living with three dogs in Marietta.
There was only one problem.
For years, they have both felt squeezed by their weight.
Last fall, on a 12-day trip to Utah, they stopped by to take pictures with a scenic oversight, but spent most of their vacation driving.
Chris and Michelle Miller in Marietta, Georgia, both lost a total of £ 110 after undergoing weight loss surgery.
“We drove everywhere,” says Chris Miller. “We didn’t go out much. When we went out, we walked back to the edge. That’s it.”
At the age of 48, Michelle, who works for medical billing, has been suffering from her weight for 30 years.
“At the age of 19, I had thyroid cancer. They took out my entire thyroid gland and some lymph nodes here. That year I gained 100 pounds, but what did I do? But I couldn’t get rid of it, “she says. ..
At the age of 54, fire department inspector Chris Miller felt his weight was catching up with him.
He says he was close to £ 400 and his knee was shot.
Then I had diabetes.
“Diabetes struck me with revenge two years ago,” he says. “I had diabetes 10 years ago, so I’m really close to it. The next thing was a shot of my belly with insulin.”
So both Millers decided to undergo weight loss surgery.
“If we didn’t do it together, one of us would have failed,” says Chris Miller.
They came to see Dr. Nathaniel Lytle, Medical Director of the Obesity Surgery Program at Northside Cherokee Hospital.
As part of the process, they both underwent psychological screening to ensure that surgery was suitable for them.
“How supportive they are and how well they work together to keep things going, especially when a road crash occurs, how well they can change their lives and help each other really, the result is really. It can have an impact, “explains Dr. Lytle.
In January, they set out to lose as much weight as they could get into surgery.
On April 25, 2022, Chris underwent gastric vipass surgery.
“We make a small pouch from the top of the stomach, then get off and get some (small) intestines to reconnect to that pouch,” says Dr. Lytle.
Miller says his stomach is now the size of a hard-boiled egg, which dramatically limits the amount of food he can eat and the amount of food his digestive tract can absorb. ..
“Now there are protein shakes, protein bars, lots of soups,” he says.
Michele underwent gastric sleeve surgery on June 27, 2020.
“We basically remove about 80% of the stomach and make it a thin tube,” says Dr. Lytle.
Chris Miller’s father also underwent gastric bypass surgery after retirement, which Chris says gave him “another decade.”
A much more active lifestyle than his father lived before surgery.
Millers Health Insurance does not cover obesity surgery, which was $ 32,000 for both pre-surgery and follow-up care.
They take pictures of their progress every month.
Chris Miller has lost £ 72 and Michelle Miller has dropped £ 40.
Miller says he can see his own differences.
It’s weight loss from the face and from the hands, “he says. “I couldn’t make a fist. I literally go this far with these fingers. I couldn’t.”
You can also climb the stairs without breathtaking.
“And I think we’ll be better for it in the end. We’ll be happier because we can do something together,” says Michelle Miller.
“It’s not that hard physically,” says Chris Miller. “Mentally, you need to be ready. You need to change your life. This is a tool, not a magic wand.”
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