Mather Hospital Bariatric Success Stories - Kelly, Rocky Point

Kelly, Rocky Point

Kelly Clark feels like she has lived two different lives. “My whole life started over for me after surgery,” Kelly said. “It was a new beginning, a new time to focus on myself, on my goals, on my marriage, on my career and really to just be happy — and that has been the best gift I’ve ever received. “I’m not Kelly who was really fat before. I’m not Kelly who had weight loss surgery. I’m just Kelly. And that is awesome.”

Mather Hospital Bariatric Success Stories - Anthony

Anthony, Port Jefferson Station

Something just wasn’t adding up for Anthony Santangelo. What he thought were the good things in life, especially his insatiable appetite for his wife’s excellent cooking, were making him feel horrible. “I just felt terrible,” said Anthony, a safety supervisor, who was 350 pounds with a 56-inch waist. “It was getting worse and worse, I was really obese and it affected my sleep at night.”

Mather Hospital Bariatric Success Stories - Monica, Coram

Monica, Coram

Monica Freyberg is the living embodiment of before-and-after. “My life before the surgery was boring, uneventful and like a prison,” she said. “After the surgery I have to say I feel blessed, excited and fortunate.” Before bariatric surgery with Arif Ahmad, MD, at the Mather Hospital Bariatric Center of Excellence, the 38-year-old mother of two felt she “was trapped in somebody else’s body.”

Bariatric Success Story - Mather Hospital - Gemeli

Gemeli, Amityville

Like so many people with weight problems, Gemeli Loney’s life was about limitations – the things she couldn’t do or was afraid to try because of her weight. “There were so many things I always wanted to do that I didn’t have the confidence to do, whether it was something athletic, for example, or trying something adventurous or traveling. Life before was about limitations, some conscious and some self-conscious.”