"This has changed my life and I don't feel like a
failure anymore. I just like me again. This has
given me back my life." - Linda

I was tired all of the time. If I sat down on the floor
I could not get back up. I'd have to crawl and pull
myself back up on a chair. I had very bad
osteoporosis in my back and my knee. I couldn't
walk a long distance without having to sit down. I
was constantly out of breath and sweaty. Even

walking up a flight of stairs in
my house would make me out
of breath. I felt like I was a
miserable failure every day.

I was at my daughter's
wedding, and I looked around
and I saw my daughter
Stephanie, who was the bride,

and my
daughter Liz,
who was the
maid of honor,
and realized

everyone was grown up, beautiful, and happy. I had done a good job and I
realized that there was no reason for me to be fat any more. My children were
going to have children, who would be my grandchildren, and I wasn't going to
be able to participate in their lives. I wanted to be a healthy young grandma
and not an obese, not well grandma, with high pressure that wouldn't allow me
to be involved. Now my daughter is expecting a baby in November of this year,
and I could be a good healthy grandma.

I have so much more confidence in everything that I do everyday. I feel that my
husband and I rekindled our friendship and are having fun. I tried always to be
upbeat, but there were so many things I couldn't do, that I was anxious all of
the time. Now I'm up for anything. I have more confidence at work. I have
more confidence in my relationships. I don't feel like a failure. I just like me
again.

My general practitioner had told me several years ago about Fairfield County
Bariatrics and mentioned that he had several patients who came here, and that
this was the place to go to. In 2007 I got a job at Norwalk Hospital, so it kind of
flowed that if I was going to have this done it would be done here. I also met a
patient of Dr. Floch's who worked at Norwalk Hospital and had the surgery with
him. She told me how wonderful Dr. Floch's office was. The minute I met
Dr. Neil Floch I knew that he was the guy. The people in his office are fantastic.
When you call, your calls are immediately returned. I had questions and all of
my questions were answered. Everyone in his practice is caring, loving and
non-judgemental. It's like having your own cheerleading squad. Everyone is
"so for you." It doesn't matter if it is, or isn't, a loss of 100 lbs. It's about being
supportive of the other person.

I didn't know what the right procedure was for me, and I felt that Dr. Floch got
to know me as a person and what my needs were. We discussed the options. He
made his recommendations and we made the decision together. When I go to
the seminars people ask why I made the decision that I did. The answer I
always give is that my doctor and I decided together what was the best for me,
and what would afford me the best success. Its not that you are just another
patient in Dr. Floch's practice. Everyone is an individual and everyone feels like
you are the only patient.

This has changed my life. This has given me back my life. I'm the care giver.
I'm the nurturer. I was always taking care of everybody else, and by taking care
of me now, there is actually more of me to go around, because there is less of
me to be involved in everyone else's life. I am able to do what I like to do best,
which is love my family and my friends.

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