Lisa Griffin

Lisa wrestled with her weight all of her life – from her first Weight Watchers meeting at age 14 to eating anything she wanted throughout college where she studied nursing. “I gained more than just the Freshman 15,” Lisa recalls. “It was more like the Freshman 50!”

At age 25, she married her husband and was thrilled to walk down the aisle in a size 12 wedding dress. But ten years later, Lisa’s world was turned upside down with just a single phone call.

Lisa’s husband had been unexpectedly killed in a tragic mountain bike accident, leaving her as a widowed single mother with a three- and six-year-old. Living in Columbus, Ohio at the time, Lisa moved back South to be closer to her family and went from being a stay-at-home mom to a full-time NICU nurse at Shelby Baptist Medical Center.

“I worked full-time and made sure my kids were happy,” Lisa remembers. “They were my first priority. We did baseball, basketball, cheerleading, volleyball. Each year I took care of my kids, but I didn’t take care of myself. I was very, very stressed. On our budget, cheap food wasn’t always healthy food, and I often stress ate,” she says.

Over the years, she slowly began to gain more and more weight. One evening, at the end of a shift, Lisa did not feel well. “A coworker took my blood pressure, and it was 230/110. It was in that moment I knew, if I didn’t do something, my excess weight would kill me,” Lisa says.

Lisa had read about gastric bypass surgery in the past and decided to discuss the procedure with her father, a family practice physician and brother, an internal medicine physician. Once they both gave Lisa their blessing, she started on her journey.

On January 8, 2003, at 45-years old, Lisa had gastric bypass surgery at Shelby Baptist Medical Center. After the procedure, the weight began to come off quickly. After six months, she’d lost 75 pounds. After a year, she’d lost 100 pounds. It was 2 years later she met her husband, after being a single mom for 13 years!

“Gastric bypass was not only life-saving, it was Lisa-saving,” Lisa says. “I still remember sitting at church one morning, and I looked down, and my legs were crossed. I hadn’t crossed my legs in ten years! It’s those little things that mean so much. When you have been overweight all your life, those little things are big things.”

Lisa is now the Bariatric Manager at Brookwood Baptist Medical Center and is dedicated to helping her patients live healthy, happy lives.

This testimonial reflects the experience and outcome of this patient. Actual results will vary.