Patient Stories
Sutter Orthopaedic Institute
Michele - Saying Yes to Life
Michele knows the first part of her story is one shared by countless women and men. She hopes that telling others about her journey will encourage them to follow suit and find the same happy ending—and new beginnings—she now enjoys.
For years, Michele’s doctor told her she needed to lose weight, but offered no suggestions beyond eating less and exercising. She tried both, but was constantly defeated by genetics and a bad knee that made walking across the room painful. Over time, her increasingly sedentary life and weight brought about more serious health problems, including diabetes, sleep apnea and high blood pressure.
But Michele’s a smart woman who makes her living building computer systems for a bank. She did her research and was pretty certain knee replacement surgery and weight-loss surgery would enable her to get healthy, but her doctor felt both were too risky. By August 2006, when her weight climbed above 300 and she was walking with a cane, she decided she had to take action. She changed to a new primary care doctor, Heather Lucas-Ross, M.D., at that time a resident at Sutter’s Family Medicine Residency Program.
“Heather was wonderful,” says Michele, “she really listened to me and heard my frustration. She got me a referral to an orthopedic surgeon to talk about knee replacement surgery.”
When Dr. Scott Smith saw Michele, he agreed her knee was damaged enough to require replacement, but was reluctant to perform the surgery. Michele recalls, “He said 55 was too young for a knee replacement and that he couldn’t do it with the amount of weight I was carrying. After he told me that, he must have seen my despair, because instead of turning me away, he recommended I have weight-loss surgery to get the weight off so that he could perform the knee surgery. He even told me he would help me get through the process insurance companies require before paying for weight-loss surgery.”
Michele was determined to hold up her end and show Dr. Smith she was serious. After undergoing gastric bypass surgery by Dr. Donald Waldrep at Sutter Roseville Medical Center in October 2006, she stuck with her program and lost 60 lbs. before Christmas.
Says Michele, “When I told Dr. Smith I was ready, he told me he couldn’t perform the knee surgery until after the first of the year, so I said ‘Okay, how about January 2 nd?’ The look on his face was priceless, but he agreed.”
At first, Michele struggled to get the flexibility her physical therapists wanted, but when Michele discovered she could easily workout on a stand-up style exercise bike, she launched full speed into recovery. “I really wanted to be able to ride a bike again,” says Michele, “so when I started riding the upright stationary bike, my desire took over. By May of that year, I rode my own bike 23 miles.”
Michele continues cycling and living an active, energized life. To date, she has lost 120 lbs. and 73.5 inches—and she no longer has diabetes, sleep apnea or high blood pressure. She feels great, looks great, and has an unstoppable enthusiasm for life.
She says about her journey, “I couldn’t recommend anyone more highly than I do Dr. Smith. And I think he got a big kick out of being part of my success and truly enjoyed it. I tell people to never give up and never give in. Find a doctor you can work with, do your part, and believe in yourself. If you believe you can do it, you will.”