‘I don’t want to be the (future) grandpa sitting at the end of the dock, I want to be the one in the water’
Chris Ohm, Waconia, has been involved in athletics and coaching his whole life. A former collegiate athlete, Chris knew he always carried some extra weight, but never felt overweight or uncomfortable with it. He had exercised throughout his adult life, but by his mid-forties found himself in a repeated cycle of “lose a little weight, gain back more.”
“I was starting to get a little uneasy seeing myself in photos, and when the scale read 306 pounds, I decided I had to do something now, as I didn’t want to spend my senior years inactive,” Chris shared. Chris started exploring options for weight loss surgery and being from Waconia, Ridgeview was top of mind for him.
Thankful for first-class care and treatment
Chris consulted with Jeffrey Baker, MD, and Ridgeview’s Bariatric & Weight Loss team and together they determined the best option for him was sleeve gastrectomy surgery. With this procedure, the stomach is stapled and then separated, resulting in a long, tube-shaped stomach that is about a tenth the size of the original. The remainder of the stomach is removed, and this smaller-sized stomach limits the amount of food that can be eaten.
The team required Chris to lose about 30 pounds prior to surgery — both to put him in a healthier position for surgery and as a show of commitment that he was a good fit for the program. Chris’ weight loss surgery was in January 2020, and throughout that year, he lost an additional 60 to 70 pounds.
Until discussing sleep with Dr. Baker, Chris had not realized the reason he was waking up exhausted each morning before having the surgery was because he had sleep apnea. “My wife could vouch that I was a snorer, but it wasn’t until after surgery that I realized what it was like to sleep through the night and wake up well-rested. Quality sleep was the best thing I didn’t see coming from surgery. It is such a gift to have my energy back,” Chris said.
“The treatment and care I received at Ridgeview was first class. The entire team is fantastic. There was always a conversation about who I am as a person — I wasn’t just ‘someone having surgery’ to them. They asked about me and my family and truly wanted to get to know me along the way. They genuinely cared and wanted to be part of my journey,” shared Chris.
Renewed confidence and hope of an active future
Five years post-surgery, Chris remains at his target weight of 220 pounds. “When people ask about my weight loss, I like to compare it to walking around with two bags of water softener salt on your shoulders and then feeling the difference when you put them down — life is a whole lot easier without those 80 pounds,” Chris explained.
“Since surgery, I have had the best few years. It’s been life-changing in so many ways and physically I feel like I am college-age again. Being a school administrator and college sports announcer, having my athletic frame back has dramatically increased my confidence.
“I’ll be 50 this year and I’m looking forward to another 50 years. My kids are becoming young adults, and I want to be active with future grandkids. I don’t want to be the grandpa sitting at the end of the dock, I want to be the one in the water,” Chris said.
If you are considering weight loss surgery, Chris encourages you to, “Ask questions. Be inquisitive. Surgery isn’t magic and you have to be committed, but if you’re starting to check off these boxes — ‘overweight, poor sleep, low energy’ — it may be time to take that first step. If I hadn’t asked questions, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Ridgeview's Bariatric & Weight Loss team is dedicated to weight loss and long-term weight management. If you could benefit from support in achieving your weight loss goals, visit our website to learn more about surgical and non-surgical options.
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