I’m Karen Hallford and I live in Georgetown, Texas and I am casting director. I also have opened a business called food as a result of the surgery.

Before I had surgery I felt like I was on the downhill side in my life. I was diabetic. I had high blood pressure. I had high cholesterol. I had sleep apnea. I weighed too much. No matter what I did I couldn’t lose an ounce of it. Every night I would look at my hand full of all these medications I had to take and think that I’m going to die. I had – I was to the point where I put a shot in my stomach every morning and had to keep pricking my fingers through the day to watch my blood sugars. It was terrible and the day my endocrinologist said you know there’s a surgery. We could do that you’re still in the window of opportunity to give it a try would you do it and I jumped on it and it’s the very best thing I’ve ever done for myself in my life. Before I left the hospital I was no longer a diabetic.

My doctor, my endocrinologist told me about a surgeon that was right here in Austin who had magic hands and that if she was going to have a surgery she would use him. My highest weight was 277 pounds. I had the gastric bypass surgery which I have had no knock on some woods somewhere no complications none, nothing no problems. I recovered very quickly. I pretty much I watch what I eat but I did that before but I’m healthy now. There’s a big difference between my health now in my previous health. My previous health I struggled. I felt I don’t know if this is something interesting or not but I wrote to my friends because it was phenomenal. I accidentally I was talking to someone across the parking lot the other night and I missed two steps. I had two step step down to the parking lot. I didn’t see it and I bounded right over him and started falling and I caught myself just like that. My balance I regained my balance and I caught myself. Six months ago that would have been a serious injury and I would have face-planted on the parking lot. Everything in life is so much better. Nobody teases me about huffing and puffing. I’m not hot. I don’t have sleep apnea. I don’t have to put that thing on my face at night.

If you’ve even considered weight-loss surgery do it. Do it. Please do it for yourself and everybody who loves you. Dr. Ganta is a dream. He really does have magic hands absolutely I mean I can’t say it better than to say I’ve had absolutely no side effects. I’ve had absolutely no complications. Every second of the way I’ve been confident and comfortable with my surgeon even when I was trying to decide what surgery would be right for me he sat down, he gave me my options he even told me the odds of like this one I don’t recommend but here’s what it is. Here is this surgery and the odds that you’ll get rid of your diabetes are 87% and 13% not and then this one over here is 99% 98% to 99% effective to get rid of the diabetes but it’s invasive and he told me what was involved and it was scary. So we both decided together to go for the 87%.