Proud

I have been wanting to write about something for a really long time. Something that happened to someone I love and someone I have loved for a really long time. But it was never my story to tell so I never felt right telling it.

Until today.

But I will not be telling the story. My sister will be. She has so graciously allowed me to copy her {blog} and post her pictures on this matter. I will tell you my thoughts after you read her story.

Ok...so it's not HER story. It's HIS story. And by HIM I mean my brother in law Tim. This is HIS story. In HER words about HIM.

Tim's Transformation

This post has been a long time coming. If you've known Tim for any length of time you have watched him over this past year completely transform himself. I figured it was time to write his story and if in any way we can help others who have questions or are questioning the procedure he had, then that's just a bonus. 

I met Tim officially in junior high but we didn't become friends until high school. Then after about two years of being friends, I fell in love with him. If you've been around him for any length of time you know what I'm talking about when I say he's easy to fall in love with. He's got such an easy going attitude and is always willing to lend a helping hand and has the funniest personality of anyone I know. 

When we graduated and went to college Tim slowly started gaining weight. It wasn't dramatic at first, but after we got married and "real life" set in, it became more apparent. We both worked and then two years after marriage, Landry came along. Tim was always a stress eater. Without playing sports or working out consistently the stress eating and not being active caught up with him. Before he knew it he was 325 pounds. 

He had a stressful job, a wife, two kids and a mortgage. He was happy on the outside but on the inside he was miserable. He hated what he saw when he looked in the mirror. He tried various diets and would loose weight but would always put it back on. I'm a pretty healthy person and I try to eat well and work out pretty consistently. I would try to have him eat like me but it never worked. He would get so frustrated and quit. 

I love Tim. I have since I was 17. His weight was never an issue with me. I think it got to a point where I just looked past it. I knew he was big, but I never said anything. I mean why should I tell him, he knew it! I remember the day he told me he wanted to have surgery. We had taken a photo at Christmas with the four of us and he saw it and hated it. 

We have a close friend who had the surgery three years ago so Tim knew what to expect with this surgery. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but after trying everything else he knew this was the right choice for him. He consulted with one doctor and didn't meet the requirements for the surgery so he met with Dr Fenzel and he really worked with Tim. It turned out Tim had a hiatal hernia. So when they went in to fix that they also did the gastric sleeve surgery. All we had to pay were the hospital fees and doctors fees. That was an answer from God. I had prayed for us to find a way to make this work for us and it did. 

Surgery was set for June 8. He went in early that morning and I got to go back to see him about three hours later. He was really groggy and sore. They make you stay in the hospital until you can swallow 12 medicine cups of water. That's hard! Plus you have to be able to keep them down. 

The week after we got home was hard. He couldn't keep anything down and would dry heave for days. But after a few days of that it got much better. I will say it took a lot of getting used to at first. I was so accustomed to making dinner for the four of us the way I always had. And Tim would take three bites and be done. It was such a change from the old Tim. Plus, there were so many things he couldn't eat on top of that. It took some researching on my part but I knew it was for his own good. 

About one month after surgery is when we started seeing a few changes. About three months after surgery other people started seeing a change and noticing. 

I took pictures of him every few months and once we started looking back at them you could really see how far he had come. 

I want to share his before and afters for those that are wondering how this surgery can work. 

Before-June 7, 2015 (325 pounds)

After- June 7, 2016 (190 pounds)

Tim was asked by his doctor to interview and tell his story for their office and media outlets. I was so proud of him. It was really out of his comfort zone but he really wants to help others. He's had so many people come up to him and ask about the surgery and procedure and he's always willing to give them the story straight up.

I don't know about you, but I couldn't be prouder of him. He took a situation that was hurting him and fixed it. He will be around now for Kara and for Landry and Hayden. He looks amazing. He feels great. He walks into a room and people stare....and they don't stare cause he's the large one of the group anymore. They stare cause he's hot. 

I am allowed to say that....he is my brother in law after all!

Timothy Michael Smith,

I couldn't be more proud of you. You have worked really hard and have set such an example for people now. I know you don't like being the center of attention but get ready for it. Your story is going to help a lot of people. I love you so very much!

~Dani