Chicago Weatherman Update
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FTVLive told you that legendary Chicago Weatherman Tom Skilling had gone under the knife to undergo gastric bypass surgery last week, to battle his ongoing weight problem.
The surgery appeared to be a success and Skilling is now home recovering.
He also seems to be a bit bored, so he posted a looooooooong update on his social media:
Dear friends,
An update on how all is going after my bariatric bypass surgery four days ago. I had no idea so many of you would take the time to message me!!! The response has been beyond anything I had imagined--like something out of a different universe. . My goal had been just to offer an explanation why I would be away for perhaps 4 to 6 weeks in case anyone was wondering. Instead came a flood of good wishes and kind words. The response has blown me away! HEARTFELT THANKS to each of you for taking the time to take the time and energy to write me here. If there EVER was any doubt--and there wasn't in my mind---it's certainly an understatement to say---THERE SURE ARE caring people in this are i this world.
My surgery occurred Wednesday of this past week at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. My surgeon, Dr. Eric Hungness and the team he has put together there, were--and ARE--- nothing short of extraordinary. Bariatric surgery is complicated. You come to realize this as you engage in educating yourself about what's involved. It isn't surprising that this is so. When you start altering the way food is processed in each of us, it's clear you're dealing with one of the most elemental processes in one of the most complex natural systems on this planet----our bodies. Impacts are layered on impacts.
I needed help taking this on. Obesity messes big time with our body's workings and its chemistry. I had to try to put my weight right or there were apt to be potentially serious health issues ahead.
The decades of work and research put into perfecting the bariatric bypass procedure has led to quite a thorough understanding of the positive impacts on many of the most onerous and life-threatening aspects of obesity--among them, high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep disorders, breathing issues and trouble exerting one self to walk even several blocks to the store or up a flight of stairs--which is where I was at..
I have to be honest in telling you, when I emerged from that operating room late in the day Wednesday, I felt a truck had hit me. I hurt so bad, in what seemed to be so many places, I couldn't even begin to tell you where the pain was greatest. It was like my entire body was screaming--"What in the world have you done, Skilling???" Yet, the next day was ENTIRELY and I mean ENTIRELY different. I'm not going to tell you I was entirely pain free. I'm still not four days later. But pain meds and the care which were extended to me had me feeling like a very different human being than the one who first emerged from the operating room. I was able to start walking around in remarkably short order--which you're encouraged to do to avoid blood clots. Perhaps just as importantly, I was able to sleep, allowing the healing process to begin.
Among the things done in bariatric bypass surgery, as has been laid out to me by Dr. Hungness and his team, is that the top portion of one's stomach is stapled off, allowing a space for food intake which is only 1/8th what it was--that amounts to less than a cup. This means meals must be small--VERY SMALL--and must consist of pure protein--i.e. meat, fish, etc. NO veggies, no beverages. When I'm not eating, I'll be required to sip water and other beverages to stay adequately hydrated.
At the same time, the stapled top portion of the stomach--what amounts to a new, radically smaller stomach--- is routed to the central and lower intestine, meaning less of the byproducts of eating enter the rest of your body. That includes the nutrients once delivered in larger meals. This makes protein shakes and vitamin supplements a new way of post-surgery life.
But here are the pay-offs--and they're BIG. First and foremost, reducing and hopefully eliminating obesity. That, in turn, cuts blood sugar levels BIG TIME turning back and/or reducing and severity of any diabetes--the disease which indicates out-of-whack blood sugar levels. Also likely to occur: reduced blood pressure, a drop in cancer and stroke risks. Energy increases while significant weight loss occurs. Just how much, I'm told, varies, but it is most often significant. And maintaining the weight loss will depend on altering diet for the rest of one's life. So I have my work cut out for me beyond the surgery.
The coming weeks will show the extent to which all this takes place. But I can tell you, despite being on a liquid diet now, I'm not hungry. By shrinking the stomach, you shrink the production of hunger hormones which encourage you to eat more. Blood sugar levels are already down.
I have a good several weeks of recovery ahead of me and Dr. Hungness, if he sees this, will tell me if I've gotten any of this wrong. I'll be sure pass any corrections along. But you do some really intense due diligence getting ready for a procedure as involved as bariatric surgery, so I think I'm on track here.
Sorry for the length of this. But I've approached this with great curiosity and know I'm probably not alone in having heard about this procedure so I thought some might find this interesting.
I hope you've had a chance to enjoy today's gorgeous weather and I thank you again for the many kind words and communications! I update developments as they occurr. My very best to each of you and be well in the coming week!!
