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Keisha Xicotencatl's Testimonial
At 29, months before my 30th birthday, I had made up mind that my life needed to start all over again. I had always prayed for a new body, if they could only come up with a brain transplant, I would just take any thin person’s body, I just wanted a second chance to start all over again.
I wanted to be married, I wanted to have kids. And somehow in the back of my mind I knew I could not have that being morbidly obese. I had plenty of boyfriends throughout my life, but never one I would consider “husband” material. After all, who would love me if I could not love myself. At my largest, I weighed 319lbs and suffered from a relatively rare disease of pseudotumor cerebri, sometimes known as intercranial hypertension. It is a disease that affects obese women by producing too much cerebral spinal fluid and applying pressure to the optic nerves. If not treated it could lead to blindness. I had lived with the disease in remission for nearly 7 years until a car-accident and a rapid weight gain of 50lbs caused a relapse. I knew that weightloss surgery was my only option. So I searched for the best possible surgeon possible. I joined a website called Obesityhelp, which lead me to Dr. Nazarian and the Liv-Lite program. My family was reluctant to agree with my decision, but after meeting Dr. Nazarian and Rick Mark of the Liv-Lite program and seeing and hearing from patients that were living full lives, they became my source of strength before and after the surgery. Dr. Nazarian instilled a sense of confidence that their loved one was in the best of hands. Rick Mark was my champion through the insurance process. Temple Hospital in Los Angeles, had the best nurses that one could ask for. Three months after my surgery, I went off all medication related to my pseudotumor cerebri. Within 6 months, I had lost nearly 100lbs and started to living life again. By my two year anniversary, I had lost 162lbs half of my entire body weight.
I am no longer the shy person, hidden by her weight. I take on challenges head on, both professionally and personally. The changes that I have made in my life have proven that the only person keeping you from living is you. The only person, who can change your life, is you. I have learned throughout this process that I am the keeper of my destiny, and my weight held me prisoner too long to enjoy all of life’s blessings.
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