(Pictured right: Tina before surgery on a family vacation and Tina post-op using one of her favorite exercise machines)
Tina was at the doctor’s office for her annual checkup when she was asked to step on the scale. “After I got on the scale, I knew I needed to make some lifestyle changes,” says Strickland, age 64. “I weighed 279 pounds and had high blood pressure and was borderline diabetic.”
During that appointment in February 2022, Strickland and her doctor discussed the possibility of bariatric surgery, with the hope it would help get her on the road to better health. Her doctor recommended she speak with Dr. Brian Walkowski.
“The consultation went very, very good, and I knew right after that meeting that a gastric sleeve procedure was the perfect option for me,” she says. Strickland became extremely committed to the surgery and began working out intensely to make the recovery from the procedure less difficult. She weighed 194 pounds on the day of the surgery.
She feels like “a completely new person” since the procedure. She is down to 120 pounds and living the life she always wanted.
“I walk at least 5 miles a day Monday through Friday, and 3 miles a day on Saturday and Sunday,” she says. “I also go to the S&T Wellness Center and lift a lot of weights, which is something I couldn’t do before.” The S&T Wellness Center is staffed with exercise physiologists who guide gym members on their exercises, help create custom plans, and offer support when needed.
“I went to a couple of amusement parks recently and I was able to go on rides that I haven’t been able to go on since I was a kid. I really feel great.” Strickland’s physical appearance has changed so drastically that relatives from out of town didn’t recognize her when they picked her up from the airport on a recent trip to Florida. “I didn’t tell them that I had the procedure,” she says. “I was waving at them, but they drove right by me and didn’t recognize me. They called to ask me where I was standing. It makes me feel good to see how much I’ve changed.”
That change wouldn’t have been possible without Walkowski and the IRMC staff, she adds. “Without Dr. Walkowski and the things he taught me, there is no way I could have done this,” she says. “He sat and talked to me and answered every question I had. He really cares about his patients.”