Bariatric surgery has her playing with kids<\/b><\/p>\n
Until recently, Felicia Sumareh of Fairwood could only do one thing when she took her five children to a roller rink or amusement park: watch.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey would ask me, \u2018Mom, do you want do this, do you want to do that,\u201d says the 40-year-old single mother. \u201cWe would go to roller rinks and I would just sit down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amusement parks weren\u2019t any better. The safety bars were too tight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never could get on the rides; I would have to watch them,\u201d Sumareh says.<\/p>\n
Getting on the floor to play board games or change diapers was even difficult for Sumareh.<\/p>\n
But not since Oct. 22, when she had gastric-bypass surgery at Washington Bariatric & Weight Loss Center at Valley Medical Center.<\/p>\n
The 5-foot-6-inch Sumareh has since lost about 70 pounds, going from 265 before surgery to 193. Her goal weight is 140. Her clothing size has dropped from size 26 to 14.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a huge gap in those numbers. But Sumareh doesn\u2019t much notice.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven now, when I look in the mirror, I see plus-size,\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t visually see any difference in me. Everyone around me notices I\u2019m different, but I don\u2019t see no difference. I see the same. But I know inches are coming off, based on my clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n
What Sumareh does notice is her increased energy. She works out at the gym at least five days a week, and practices tae kwon do with her children three days a week.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I can skate,\u201d Sumareh says. \u201cI can ride bikes. We go mountain biking. I\u2019m just able to do more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sumareh\u2019s increased energy is appreciated by her five children, ages 2 to 13.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, nothing seems like a big difference,\u201d says Austin, 10.<\/p>\n
Still, he says he\u2019s happy his mom is losing weight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI kind of like it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
But Austin and his brother and three sisters always praised their mother\u2019s looks.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy children said I was beautiful,\u201d Sumareh says.<\/p>\n
They protested when she told them she was getting gastric-bypass surgery<\/p>\n
They said, \u2018Why mom? You\u2019re fine just the way you are,\u2019\u201d Sumareh recalls. \u201cBut then they saw the weight come off, and said, \u2018Mom you look skinny.\u2019 But then they saw I had more energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aside from more energy, gastric-bypass has cured Sumareh\u2019s diabetes and lowered her blood pressure and cholesterol.<\/p>\n
Relieving medical problems and improving life expectancy is the point of gastric-bypass and lap-band surgery, the other type of weight-loss surgery offered at Valley Medical Center.<\/p>\n
Gastric bypass is more invasive than lap-band surgery, but allows for more weight loss \u2014 up to 70 to 75 percent of excess weight, compared to lap band\u2019s 50 to 60 percent.<\/p>\n
In gastric bypass, the stomach is divided into two parts: the upper the size of a ping-pong ball and the lower the size of a Nerf football. A segment of small intestine is attached to the upper pouch, which allows food to bypass most of the stomach, reducing the amount of food that can be eaten.<\/p>\n
In lap-band surgery, an inflatable ring is stretched around the upper part of the stomach, creating a small pouch that controls the flow of food. The ring can be adjusted to shrink or expand the size of the pouch.<\/p>\n
Both surgeries are intended as \u201clast resort\u201d weight-loss methods.<\/p>\n
Gastric bypass was Sumareh\u2019s last resort.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019ve been overweight pretty much all my life,\u201d she says. \u201cAs my mom said, I came out big.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her weight started going up and down in her 20s, and the weight stayed after she had her first child, Dylen, 13. Diets didn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a rollercoaster, up and down,\u201d she says. \u201cI lost weight, and then it would come back. It was just a rollercoaster.\u201d<\/p>\n
Juggling five children, early childhood education classes and a job as an assistant director at a Seattle daycare center made keeping track of meals difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason I gained weight is I didn\u2019t eat properly,\u201d she says. \u201cI would skip meals. Sometimes I didn\u2019t eat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since having her stomach divided, Sumareh can eat only half a cup to one cup of food in one sitting. She eats six meals a day. She and her youngest, Sincere, 2, split plates when they eat out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be in trouble when she gets older \u2018cause she won\u2019t want to split no more food with me,\u201d Sumareh laughs.<\/p>\n
Sumareh\u2019s portions are limited, but not her food choices.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only thing lately is carrots,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve tried them shredded, cooked. But that\u2019s the only thing that\u2019s giving me a problem at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dylen helps Sumareh cook at home.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says, \u2018Mom can you eat this?\u2019 Or, \u2018Is this too much?\u2019\u201d Sumareh says.<\/p>\n
All her children have helped, especially during the few weeks just after surgery.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt brought me and 10-year-old Austin closer,\u201d Sumareh says of surgery. \u201cHe didn\u2019t like to see me in discomfort. He wanted to make sure he was doing his chores. Then when mommy got better all was back to normal,\u201d she laughs. \u201cBut he was making sure all the girls were doing what they were supposed to do. That was neat to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sumareh calls her children her support group.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole thing has been like a family affair,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Family time has increased since Sumareh\u2019s surgery.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like we\u2019re having more quality time instead of rush time,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd my kids never say anything, but I think they\u2019re prouder (of me) when we go out in public.\u201d<\/p>\n
So is Sumareh happy with the results of gastric bypass so far?<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d she says. \u201cI think my kids are, too. Now they can\u2019t keep up with me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Emily Garland can be reached at emily.garland@reporternewspapers.com or (425) 255-3484, ext. 5052.<\/p>\n
Weight-loss center<\/b><\/p>\n
Washington Bariatric & Weight Loss Center is at the north end of the Valley Medical Center campus, at 4033 Talbot Road S., Suite 560, in Renton. For more information, call 425-251-5111 or visit www.valleymed.org.<\/p>\n
The next free informational seminar on weight-loss surgery at Valley Medical is on the first floor of the Medical Arts Building on June 4 from 6-7 p.m. Call 425-251-5111 to register.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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