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Surgeon Testimonial

John Kelly, M.D.
My first impression of him was: friendly, knowledgeable, compassionate, attentive, understanding, and gentle.rnrnMy first impression of his was correct and has only grown stronger in my beliefs that he is and encompasses all these attributes and then some.rnrnHis office staff is as I expected they would be... very much like their leader and leaders. There are several physicians in the Weight Center and my experience with all the medical professionals at the office have been excellent. Everyone is friendly and very professional there.rnrnI was sad that I did not get to see him when I went in to have my staples out. I got to see his Nurse Practitioner who took out my staples and she is wonderful but, it would have been nice to see him just for a couple of minutes. I hope that I get to actually see him when I go in for my 6 week check up and my 6 month check up.rnrnHis experience in WLS is enormous and VERY successful! Listen to everything he says AND his staff. The entire group of professionals all work together as a well oiled \"machine\" of sorts in that they meet together frequently and always have the patient's best interest in everything they do. As a leader in the field he is not puffed up or full of himself. He is very humble and kind. He is trustworthy and honest. He is very helpful and when I was post op I had to call him with a question. He called me back and even though I could hear things were busy behind him, he was completely focused on our conversation and was not in any hurry to get off the phone. I felt I had his full attention as well by the answers he was giving me and he made sure that I didn't have any other questions before we were done. He also invited me to call him again if I had any other questions. I was so please and felt so glad when we were done talking.rnrnThe emphasis on aftercare is thoroughout the entire program, and not just from him. Through the four classes that we attend as participants in the program as well as at the introductory meetings and nutrition visits. Aftercare program is very structured and is extrememly important and they have developed a highly successful program that when followed as described, and taught to you, increases your odds of success exponentionally.rnrnHis nurse practitioner spent close to an hour with me and my family explaining the surgery and all that is included in the preparation, and procedure. She went over a booklet and pictures to reinforce what exactly is done. She explained to me and my family all the risks and answered all of our questions. She also had me read and sign the patient contract. This is AWESOME and I think it is a great step in committment to your health. Then Dr. Kelly came in and over 15 minutes or so re-emphasized the importance of understanding the risks involved and asked if we had any further questions and we asked a few. He was completely relaxed and focused on us... he was not looking to the door and making us feel like he was anxious to move on.rnrnI would rate Dr. Kelly with an A++ He is 100% interested in the patient and each person having a 100% successful outcome and ultimately a healthy life. And not for his numbers but for your sake.rnrnI would say that Dr. Kelly's surgical competence and his bedside manner and both great! I am so glad that I waited to have him perform the surgery! He is the best!rnrn
Member Interests
  • Dogs - I LOVE dogs! I hope to have a service dog in my future. I love Welsh Corgis!
  • Musical Performance - I play the Flute in a community band every summer! It is very fulfulling!
  • Theater - I LOVE Ogunquit Playhouse, The King & I, My Fair Lady, Nun Sense, and many more!
  • Writing - I am working on a book! Debbie Macomber and Barbara Delinsky are my inspiration!
  • Needlework, Knitting & Crocheting - My Grandmother taught me when I was 9 and I do it and teach it all the time!
  • Board Games & Puzzles - Scrabble, Sudoko and Word Searches! We love board games of family night!
  • Camping - Been camping in tents and trailers my whole life! I LOVE LOVE Maine!
  • Rubber Stamping - I love Stampin' Up and Scrapbooking!
  • WLS in your 40's - What can I say.. It took me 34 of 44 years to finally fight to get my life back!
  • Ceramic Painting - My daughter and I go together, our teacher is awesome and the ladies are great!

Latest Surgery Support Comments

  • Comment by Qbandiva on 2/11/09 9:28 pm
    God Bless you and congrats on jump starting your new life. The Path to the best is yet to come!
  • Comment by WyoGirl on 2/11/09 8:45 pm
    Good luck with your sugery! Keep us all updated!
  • Comment by Irishcoda on 2/11/09 4:07 pm
    Hi, just stopped by to wish you well, a speedy recovery, and great success & happiness to you!
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WeepingMermaid's Blog
WeepingMermaid's Blog


2 New Knees!!!
on September 22, 2011 9:24 am

I am soooo excited!!! March 28th I got a new right knee and on August 8th I got a new left knee!!!! WooooHooo!!!

Recovery was challenging  for sure but I was determined. "Arthur" (itis) had me long enough!!!

After loosing 136 lbs I was approved for the much needed surgery to restore my mobility and I was thrilled!!! The first doc said no... 136 was not enough and I was sad  for 3 months... I cried and cried because that was always my goal for the weight loss... to get my mobility back... to be healthy and mobile.... then.... I realized... he's not the only surgeon on the planet!!! I went to the surgeon who did a fantastic job with my Mother's knees 9 & 11 years ago and he has done a fantastic job with mine!! I am soooo happy!!!

Every ounce of effort with the weight loss was worth the joy of my mobility!!  I have a long list of places I want to walk through! Back to NH to see so many places... to Maine to walk my favorite paths!!!

Starting this weekend!!! Going to walk Rachel Carson and Margian Way!!! The beach of course!!!

I even have permission to start training for the Pan Mass cycling event in 2013!!! WoooHooo!! That I do have to work off a few more pounds for ... but I can't wait for spring when I can purchase my bike for training!!!

Don't let Arthur (itis) get you down!!!

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Moving.......
on August 6, 2010 6:36 am
A quick note today    I am excited to be down by 133.3!!!    I feel frustrated too that it is not going as fast as I would like but.... after moving the gym will be 5 mins from  my house and I was already good about going when it was 45 mins away so.... I hope to become a complete gym rat soon!

We just finished moving from an apartment to a house   There is excitement and frustration with that.... it is not easy moving 14 years of living in one place. I now really know what it means to be settled in somewhere. You fill every space and crevace with stuff! All compacted in. Now we have a maxe if boxes to sort through and a couple storage units to sort out.

Going on a road trip to Georgia with my best friend to see her Dad in the hospital. I hope that while we are there he is able to have his surgery and be recovering comfortably by the time we leave on Friday.  We have all our protein bars and snacks packed for the road.  We wanted to make sure we have available to us what we need.... it is great to be traveling together and that we have both had the surgery  I am so proud of her!!! She has lost 90.5!!! WooHoo!

Okies... gotta get moving.... more when I return...

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Spring Walking!
on March 2, 2010 11:44 pm
My husband and I went for a wonderful walk "around the block" today!! He was my strong arm (instead of my cane) and it put a lump in my throat to have such a wonderful man that he would hold his arm up for me so I could walk more free than lumbering along with a cane or rolling along with my walker.  I have been sick for at least 10 or 12 days and it felt really great to get out in the fresh air!  I love that my husband will walk with me!! :)  It's good for him too!  It is exciting to feel FREE to walk with him like we used to when we were "young"!

There is soooooo much I want to do!!!! I watched Ruby tonight and I can't wait to go to FunTown USA and DISNEY!!!!!! Woo Hoo!!!! Fun Town is the warm up!!!! If I can make it there and on the rides then I will know that I can make it on the rides at Disney!!!! Ruby inspired me to get back on the go carts at FunTown .... the real ones not the "go carts" I use at WalMart to get around and shop lol!!!!

Excited about the warm weather because I was just given some really awesome tanks and shirts for warm weather and now I want to wear them!!!!  Next step... the bathing suit!!! I have to get rid of the one I had cause LOL!!!!! Not for me anymore!  One of the given items was a BabyPhat suit with the tags still on and in my size!!! OMGosh this is amazing.... just nervous to try it on and it is a lot bold for me but why not!

Right now I can't sleep cause I am nervous about a new med I started today..... I took two pills of another med Sat eve and Sun morning and had a WICKED reaction that I almost had to and probably should have called 911 for.  So now I am just trying to settle down enough to sleep...

Thinking about breaking out of the 2's and into Onederland!!!!! 28.2 to go to get to 199!!!!! Keep on pluggin away!!!!

I bought some tank tops in the REGULAR section of clothes at WalMart!!!!!! REGULAR!!!!!!!  I put them on and thought WOW!!!! I actually fit in it!!!!  I got some dress pants cause they were two for the price of one and the long sleeve oxford shirts were on sale too!!!! I am sooo excited... I am thinking I might be feeling well enought to go back to work.  Scared to death of doing a resume'.  I am soooo afraid that I have nothing to offer on paper and that I won't be acceptable as a possibility.  I know what I am doing and when I do something I know I can be and will be good at it but.... it has been so long and there are so many other talented people out there I don't think I have a chance.... anyway.....

I have noticed that people and men have been nicer to me... holding doors and stuff like that.... interesting!  Too bad for them they missed out on the journey... mine!

I am VERY VERY EXCITED for my best friend who is having her surgery soon!!! She just found out that she has been APPROVED!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!  She found out on March 2 but she was actually approved on the 23rd of FEB!!!!!  The letter should come in the mail any day then!!!!  The best wonderful feeling in the world!!!  We were all doing the HAPPY DANCE!!!!!  Her tentative date may get bumped up sooner with the approval!!! She is ready and my calender is clear!!!!! Let's do this thing!!! :)

Alright enough for tonight!!! I have to go settle down and try to sleep... thankfully I don't have to be anywhere in the morning :)  Goodnight!







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Almost 1 year!
on January 27, 2010 10:04 pm
Almost one year has passed since my surgery Feb. 11, 2009 and guess what!

I bought a size 20 jeans!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Before my surgery the only jeans I could wear were elastic waist and very stretched and size 30/32!  I have gone down 10 or 12 sizes of jeans and added a zipper!!! LOL!  I was excited with 26/28 then 26, then 24, then 22 was amazing but now 20!!!!  I have also remembered that not all jeans are equal! It tried on one pair that was snug... and two others that were certainly more 18 than 20 but then I found this pair that was just right!!!!!!    It is tempting not to buy more... maybe one more so I have one to wear and one to wash LOL!  I still look at them when I pick them up to put on and think - these are really going to fit me???? Then they do!!!   And my shirts!!! I am wearing an 18/20 or a XL... just 1X!!! I remember buying a 5X... a 30/32... I had to purchase new bras too... a little more support for the girls!!!! But the number went down about 8 inches!!!!! Woo HOO!!!!

My right hip, knees and back have been all pestering me off and on for a several weeks now so they gym has been slowed down for now... I hope to get back to things as the arthritis settles down and leaves me alone.

The big Christmas gift this year was a puppy! My parents thought I would like one now that I can "keep up" with her! I am sooo excited!  I am looking forward to taking her for walks when the weather gets warmer and more pleasing to be outside for a long period of time.

I will be speaking/sharing at my friend's church on Feb. 6th about my journey. I am a bit nervous.. my Mom will be there... but I am excited to share the experience, strength and hope that I have been given because of my new life post surgery!  Potatoes will be piled in the middle of the room. 120 lbs of potatoes to be exact.  They represent the 120 pounds I will have lost by then :)  I am at 118 right now so who knows if I can loose 2 more by next Saturday only God knows.  Each potato represents a fear, doubt or insecurity that was piled into my life either by me or by people around me. Some people bring potatoes into my life and some take them out :)  It will be interesting for me to sit in front of a physical pile of the pounds I have lost..... Some days I still feel like I haven't lost anything and then other days... like today... I felt the change and felt "thinner".  They say it takes up to 5 years for my mental body image to catch up with the physical body image...

92 lbs to go to reach MY goal.  Keep prayin please!!!

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8 months out :)
on October 19, 2009 10:03 pm
Okay... so things are slowing down but I am already half way to where I want to be. :)  I have a new routine at the gym and it's a killah!  I do 4 super sets of three or four things and oh my oh my... today my arms felt like rubber!!!! I guess I am getting better since it hasn't killed me yet but phew! do I sweat!  I am really very happy to have this routine and I am looking forward to the results. :)

I am very very excited to be going to Rye Brook OH Event this weekend!!! This is going to be awesome!  I will be packing my bag tomorrow evening!  We (my best friend and I) will be shoving off for NY on Friday about 11:30 after the morning appt. she has. I can't wait!

I have my "costume" picked out for Friday night he he he!  I am giddy as a kid on Christmas!  It is going to be so much fun to meet so many people who understand what it is like to be me :)  I am looking forward to meeting so many people!  Please tell me/send me a message and let me know that you are going and maybe we can make arrangements to meet up :)

I am also looking forward to the learning that we will be doing and the samples we will be able to try!  I hope there will be lots of things that I will find to be awesome!

EXCITED!!!!! 



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My Story

Hello!  My surgery was February 11th. It began at 3 pm and ended around 5:30 pm. My doctor spoke to my family at 6 and said everything thing went without a hitch! I remember trying to wake up and smile for my family so they would know I was okay :) They tell me they asked if they could wet my lips but they said no no no because I was nauseated and didn't want anything to escalate! Thank God it didn't! I spent the night in the PACU - Post Anesthesia Care Unit, because they didn't have any beds available on the floor that most bari patients go to. That worked out fine as I was having some dips in my oxygen levels and the nurse was right there to remind me to breath though my nose to keep my levels up. :) They got me out of be about 6 am to wash up etc. I was amazed to be up so soon but they were very patient and very gentle! They washed my back and rubbed lotion on it... that was wonderful!

I went to my room about 1pm on Thursday the 12th. I remember meeting the roommate who was leaving that day and she looked great! Then I think I slept for a while because next I knew she was gone and someone else was being wheeled in from PACU who had had their surgery a few hours ago. We were the perfect room mates. She likes quiet and neither one of us are big TV watchers. The room was big enough for both of us to have our "space" and visitors.

I went home about 3pm on Valentines day :-) ! The ride was bumpy and I made sure to brace my tummy on the ride.

I had to start a chart to keep track of my fluids and stuff.... had I thought about it more I probably should have started that before surgery rather than figuring it out on Percs! But it turned out fine.

I am keeping track of every ounce I drink, grams of protein, when I take my meds.

I had my staples out on Monday the 23rd and that was fine. I weighed in for the first time since pre-op on Feb. 4th. I figured that I lost about 12.5 or 12.7 pounds since then. I keep feeling like that number is small, but I have to remember that 12.5 pounds is 50 sticks of butter! It is a great visual for me! I am going to the store tomorrow and put 12 packages of butter in my shopping basket to see what it looks like! And to feel how heavy that really is.

Some days I really want to EAT for the taste of the food in my mouth, but then I think of the big picture... my INSIDES are HEALING and I am fine.

I am mixing Sugar Free Carnation Instant Breakfast sessions and Syntax Nectar protein drinks and that seems to be working. I have to use Lactaid milk though because I did have a ton of gas from the milk. The Nectar is really good... well the apple is okay but I really like the Caribbean Cooler with lots of ice and I throw in a packet of sweet & low to take the edge off :)  I also got some ISOPURE drinks too! They are a bit pricy but I got them for about $3.50 each by getting a case at The Vitamin Shoppe near my home. That is where I got the Nectar too. The Vitamin Shoppe has a frequent buyer program that is free to sign up for and you earn points and money to spend from Jan-March at the beginning of each calendar year.  GNC was WAY WAY too pricy and had next to nothing of what I was looking for.

I have my nutrition appointment on March 4th when I look forward to being advanced to puree and soft foods like cottage cheese, applesauce, yogurt and soft scrambled eggs! I can't wait!  I have already bought some of the things I will need so that I am ready! 

Thank you to everyone who put forth thoughts and prayers for me for my surgery! They were a wonderful help and comfort to know they were there! I hope and pray all my other date mates are doing as well!

Marcia