Meet Ashley

What was life like before bariatric surgery?

My weight stopped me from feeling confident in my skin. Being perceived as a fat person is daunting and exhausting. You want the right people to perceive you, but of course, we can’t control that. It was frustrating to be perceived as lazy or unmotivated simply because of my weight.

If you put off the decision to come in for a long time, why was that? What kept you from booking a consultation?

Initially I put off the decision because my closest friends and family were opposed and felt it as too extreme of a measure to take “just” to lose weight. After more research and finding FWLC, I decided the worst thing I could do was keep avoiding it, and I scheduled my consultation after that.

What was it like to work with the team, from the start of your journey to today?

Julie was a wonderful coordinator to work with from the start. She answered all of my questions whenever I had any. Dr. Peterson made me feel safe in our meetings; it was crucial to me that I felt that way in order to keep moving forward in the process. On the day of surgery, I felt no hesitation – I only felt prepared. It was peaceful!

What is your life like now? What’s the #1 thing you love being able to do now?

I can’t even name one major thing I can do because there are so many things! A few examples being… getting back into running, shaving my legs without straining, bending over to tie my shoes is way less of a pain, and getting dressed is fun again! I also can’t deny how much easier it is to shop for straight sizes in store and not be pushed aside to plus sizes (and struggle to find cute plus sized clothing).