Eleven years later and still going strong after weight loss surgery
Sherry Matchett knew something was wrong when pain in her left leg became unbearable and caused her to fall more than once. At 5-foot-4 and weighing 283 pounds, she soon learned that part of her spine had collapsed, pressing on nearby nerves and limiting her mobility. Her doctor gave her three options – undergo back surgery, lose 100 pounds or explore bariatric surgery.
“I’d always wanted weight loss surgery, but I couldn’t afford it, and my insurance wouldn’t cover it,” said Matchett. But with a referral and a supportive care team, she found herself under the care of bariatric surgeon Dr. Juliet Holder-Haynes.
Holder-Haynes, a surgeon who specializes in weight loss surgery, understands that bariatric procedures are much more than shedding pounds.
“Obesity is a complex disease that impacts nearly every system of the body,” she said. “When we help patients lose weight, we’re not just improving how they look or feel – we’re also preventing or reversing conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea.”
For Matchett, who had gastric sleeve surgery in August 2014, the impact was almost immediate.
“It was amazing. I didn’t have that problem anymore,” she said. “They told me I had a couple slipped disks as well, but once I got that weight off, the pain stopped. I told myself I wasn’t going to gain it back.”
And 11 years later, she hasn’t. Matchett now weighs 170 pounds and has kept the weight off through a combination of mental focus, consistency and lifestyle change.
“You have to be mindful of what you’re putting in your mouth at all times,” she said. “I just go with the plan. I’m so conditioned [that] now it doesn’t bother me to not eat what others eat.”
Her journey to the operating room wasn’t quick. She spent 9 to 10 months preparing, attending appointments with a dietitian and psychiatrist and undergoing lab work.
“She did not play,” Matchett said of Holder-Haynes. “If you missed your appointments, she would push your surgery back. I didn’t miss one.”
Before surgery, patients are required to lose about 10% of their body weight and go on a strict two-week liquid diet.
The weight loss surgery transformed how she felt and how she moved.
“I didn’t even realize how heavy the weight was until it was gone,” she said. “I became more active. I felt like a new person. I love the way I feel, I love the way I look. So mentally, I think I’m going to stay here. I’m not going back.”
Matchett, who works in daycare, often hears parents guess her age in her late 30s. “They’re shocked when I tell them my real age,” she laughs. She was 42 when she had the surgery and now, over a decade later, says she feels younger than ever.
Her confidence, which she says she always had, even at her heaviest, has only grown. “You get this little ego rush and you know you’re looking good,” she said.
One of her post-weight-loss goals? Finally shopping at Victoria’s Secret. “They never had my size,” she said. “I used to just buy T-shirts. But I always told myself, ‘When I lose this weight, I’m going back in there.’ And I did.”
Although she was excited about the upcoming surgery, Matchett kept the news quiet, only telling her sisters and two close friends. “You hear horror stories,” she said. “It didn’t scare me, but it made me stop telling everyone about it.”
One of her childhood friends – a size 12 when Matchett began her journey – changed her own eating habits alongside Matchett. She’s now a size 8 and has stayed there ever since.
More than 10 years after weight loss surgery, Matchett continues to live a life full of energy, mobility and pride. “People said I’d gain the weight back after surgery,” she said. “I proved them all wrong. Eleven years later, I’m still going strong.”
Holder-Haynes says that’s the power of bariatric surgery paired with mindset. “Surgery is a tool, not a magic fix,” she said. “But for patients like Sherry who put in the work and stay committed, the results can be truly life changing.”
By the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery
