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BIO-TALES Having My Engine Rebuilt
Having gone well past "chubby" sometime in the 1990s it was becoming serious that I do something about my weight. Who wants a heart attack? Who wants diabetes? Who wants to go in front of a camera when you're tipping the scales at 350? I had taken the "fat man" as far as I was willing in terms of the movies. If all I was going to be was a sight gag I was ready to retire. Exhausted and disgusted, I was feeling more than a little hopeless. I could lose 40 pounds in six weeks but inevitably I would gain it back plus 10 within months. From Weight Watchers to Pritikin to Jenny Craig to Phen Phen to cocaine -- I had tried everything over the years.
My mother, my sister
Susan and I came up with the same idea late last year. We had all
heard about Carnie Wilson's dramatic transformation and my Mom knew
a lady in Birmingham that had a similar surgery with great success.
The phone call from Mother set the wheels turning and I called Michelle
Phillips who introduced me to Carnie Wilson. Carnie was the key.
She had done all the homework and found the best Doctor and was
two years down the road with a new post operative life as a normal
sized person. Her enthusiasm and support were crucial for me to
take the plunge. Abdominal surgery is no picnic and I admit to being
mildly terrified as my surgery date approached. Carnie set me up
with Doctor Alan Wittgrove at The Alvarado Surgical Weight Loss
Center in San Diego. My date for surgery was April 9, 2002.
Michelle was a moutain of support and had me promise to keep my name on the surgery waiting list when I tried to back out in January of 2002. Michelle had seen Cass Elliot go through hell and eventually die at 34 because of her obesity. Cass tried every diet imaginable and like most of us would lose and then gain it all back plus some more. Michelle is fearless and she was determined that I was going to stay the course. "Ill go with you and see you into surgery when the time comes!" I kept my name on the list. On Monday, April 8th
Michelle met me in Toluca Lake and we drove to San Diego. We met
my Mother, Ann Barnard, at the airport and the three of us went
to dinner at The Del Coronado Hotel. They had dinner. I was under
pre-op orders to have nothing but water. It was a glorious night
and Michelle and my Mom hit it off spectacularly. The next morning
we were up and at the Alvarado Hospital by 6am. My two angels said
good-bye just before I was wheeled into surgery at 10.
I woke up to a phone call from Carnie who told me I was going to love my nurse, Rosemary. I did, indeed, love the remarkable Rosemary. The entire staff at Alvarado was exceptional. I have never had better care in a hospital. I felt like I had my engine rebuilt. And I had. I was up and walking that first night and after three days in the hospital my Mom and I were back at the hotel. Michelle grabbed the train back to LA and Mother took over for our week in San Diego. Jell-O and Broth. Broth and Jell-O. Learning how to eat again has been a challenge. So, what exactly was done to my insides you may be wondering... As best as I can describe it... Doctor Wittgrove did the surgery laparoscopicly which means through small incisions with remote tools instead of cutting me wide open. A new, much smaller stomach was fashioned and attached to my small intestines (bypassing the larger) and my old stomach was left intact but has no real job now other than manufacturing digestive fluids. For more professional details go to gastricbypass.com and you can get the full story plus a number to call if you are interested. Fast forward to July 2002. I am still a work in progress but have already shed some 90 pounds and feel terrific. My diet still consists mainly of soft proteins but I am adding soft fruit and vegetables and the miracle is I am not hungry. That knawing, constant hunger has subsided. I stay in contact with my clinical nurse, Leslie Jester, who keeps me informed (and in line!). The follow-up at The Alvarado Center is excellent and lifelong. I am now at the weight I was when I filmed BEETLEJUICE and I feel like a new man. As time passes I will update this Bio Tale with new pictures as I approach my goal weight of 200 pounds. Here I am with Carnie Wilson July 15th at my home in Toluca Lake. Current weight: 260
Stay tuned for progress on The Incredible Shrinking Shadix! |
