Plain and simple this amazing Nurse Practitioner not only changed my life, extended my life and more than likely saved my life. In July of 2021 I received the words from a doctor that if I did not have gastric by-pass surgery I would most certainly die much sooner than I should. How rude, how disrespectful, HOW TRUE! I quickly informed him that it wasn't going to happen. I was ok with myself, I thought, but I really wasn't. I was morbidly obese, when I had started watching my weight again, for the hundredth time I exceeded 350 pounds, which sadly was not my heaviest. 

I always have struggled with weight loss, enjoying much success, probably exceeding hundreds of pounds over the course my life, but without fail, the weight always came back as I had failed yet another diet. Despite his frankness, what he was saying was spot on. I didn't like hearing what he had to say, but it was so true. I was a diabetic, I was controlling my diabetes though, but only because I was taking five diabetic drugs and insulin, up to 150 units a day. Sadly I blamed my family history on this disease, not my diet. Generally speaking, I had no cardiac issues, although my birth father died in his early 70s because of heart-related issues, and after having a serious heart attack and triple by-pass at 53 and other heart attacks along the way, three of his siblings died of heart attacks at early ages and both of his parents died of stroke, three of my half siblings on his side all had heart-related issues, my birth mother had a series of strokes, her mother had died of a massive stroke and her father of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, but so far I was lucky enough to escape any of those issues. 

Frankly I was blind to the risks, after all I had always been a big guy. I played football, I always believed that I was meant to be big! After the doctor message to me I went home, prayed a lot and thought about my next steps, after all, I was and had been many times over, a weight loss failure, so I had every excuse in the book why it wouldn't work again. So, I made an appointment, wondering what was going to be different there, what kind of magic Kool-Aid they were selling that was going to help me lose weight and secretly keep it off. 

I arrived at my appointment and after going through the initial, weight and other questions by the medical assistant, very kind, but again just the same routine over again. In comes this spunky, tiny Nurse Practitioner by the name of Liz. Oh, she was friendly, really outgoing, all those great attributes, but I thought to myself, "I bet she's never had a problem with weight one day in her life, but she's going to tell me what to do." But as we were talking, I expressed to her that I would not undergo weight loss surgery and that I needed help. Liz was different, she listened and I immediately felt like she was there for me, she cared about me! And she was going to do what she could to go through this journey with me. And she was sincere about it. She gave me some instructions for my next appointment to start a food journal, and told me that she was going to review my drug list to look for possible issues there. Well, wait a minute, she was going to work for me and with me, ok, I thought, maybe this will work.

I arrived at the next appointment, and again, in came Liz, filled with energy, ready to work for ME. She mentioned a drug that I was on and spoke to me about the main side effect being weight gain. She also offered to change that drug to another without the same effects and then we reviewed my food diary. Page after page per day that I had written down, and some simple things that I had realized, "I wasn't eating just to satisfy my hunger, no I was eating far beyond that. So I made changes and she was excited for me and encouraged me. 

My weight loss became really exciting, 20 lbs, 50lbs, 75lbs, 100lbs. Inches were dissolving off my waist. It was working, and the whole time, Liz was always there encouraging and talking me through another month or two or six weeks or three months, or through Thanksgiving and Christmas, never once in any way speaking of anything but how great I was doing. 

We continue to talk about my weight loss and one day we were having a discussion and I explained to her, that I will no longer have to hear snide remarks about me nearly dying at six months old from malnutrition. She stopped me and asked me to explain. That was a great breakthrough moment, when she explained that my subconscious was more than likely responsible for my weight. At six months old my birth mother had left me in her apartment unattended for two and three days at a time, I nearly died and spent two months in the hospital. I finally had an answer that made me feel like I wasn't a complete failure when it came to weight loss and I now can bask in and enjoy the successes that I have had because of her and my hard work. Just yesterday I purchased a new pair jeans, with a waist size 34, when we began this journey, I sadly was wearing a 48. I owe a great deal to Liz Bordoni, my health, and my life.