Andy became a patient of SWLC in July, 2008.
He was a 42 year old Diabetic who struggled with his weight for two decades and had finally come to the difficult conclusion that unless he made a radical change in his health Andy would not likely live to dance at his daughter’s wedding, or even see his son graduate from University (maybe even High School).
Andy was sure that many people who struggle with their weight had experiences similar to his; he dreaded going to see the Doctor because every time he felt he was always given a stern lecture that he needed to lose weight – so Andy avoided going as much as possible. He never stepped on a scale and despite being a diabetic he almost never checked his blood sugar levels because in the back of his mind Andy knew what these devices would tell me him and he did not want to hear it, that would have robbed him of the ability to rationalize and lie to himself that he was ok – as healthy as a horse.
Despite having everyone in his life tell him time and time again that he needed to do something about his weight, it took a scare to make him see it for himself. One night, for reasons Andy will never know he had the sudden need to spend extra time tucking his children in at night, hugging them and making sure they knew how much their Daddy loved them – Andy had a fear that he was not going to wake up the next day.
Thankfully he did wake up and told his wife of his fears, Linda responded with words he will always remember and cherish; “You always say you would die for your children, why won’t you live for them?”. Andy’s moment had arrived; he made the personal commitment to live for his family. Andy made his first of many, many visits to SWLC less than a week later and his journey began.
Many of us look at losing weight as a number – and yes in his case it is a substantial number – but losing weight is so much more than what the number on a scale says. These are some of the things it has meant to Andy:
- His children are no longer embarrassed of his weight
- He looks forward to seeing his Doctor and actually want to see his test results
- His Diabetes is under excellent control, the last round of tests showed his sugar levels to be the same as a non-diabetic
- He lives a far more fulfilling life; Andy is not restricted in anyway because of his weight. He has climbed the highest peak in Africa, trekked through the Andes and now planning to try a marathon
There are a thousand other little things that have improved in his life as a result of his decision and commitment to live a healthier life, none of them have to do with the number he sees every morning on the scale.
Being able to dance at his daughter’s wedding and living to hold his grandchildren are the things that inspire him now – how can a number on a scale compare to that?