Employee Undergoes Successful Bariatric Surgery at Specialty and Transplant

Patient care assistant turned patient gets lifesaving weight-loss surgery

“Everything I did was hard. I was tired. I was out of breath. I actually felt my body declining.”

When Felicia Urdiales saw the number 403 on her bathroom scale, she was terrified. At just 25 years old, she was afraid for her life, and she was tired of struggling. As a Patient Care Assistant at Methodist Hospital, she was worried about her future.

“Everything I did was hard. I was tired. I was out of breath. I actually felt my body declining,” said Urdiales. “I knew that my coping mechanism as a child became eating, but I didn’t know how to break out of that habit.” Felicia tried lap band surgery in 2014 with a company that is no longer in business. When that procedure failed for her situation, she couldn’t go back to the location for a revision. She gained back half the weight she lost. Then last year, her co-worker told her about the Weight Loss Center at Methodist Hospital | Specialty and Transplant and kept reminding her to call. When she finally made an appointment, she met with the surgeon to discuss her options. Dr. Dana Reiss, a bariatric surgeon with Methodist Hospital | Specialty and Transplant, helped her figure out the best procedure. They decided to do laparoscopic Roux-en-Y (LRNY) gastric bypass. “I was really scared at first,” said Felicia Urdiales. “The lap band you can take out. The LRNY is permanent. You either do it, or you don’t. But if you don’t, you’ll regret it. That’s how I felt.” Urdiales said that Dr. Reiss was so knowledgeable and that gave her confidence in her decision. She also had her family’s support.

Today, Urdiales is making positive changes in her life and looking forward to the future. She’s planning to grow in her career. She wants to go to nursing school when her son starts kindergarten. For now, she’s enjoying the time she spends with her son going to places like the waterpark and feeling more confident each step of the way. “I’m at the six-month mark, and I’ve lost 60 pounds,” said Urdiales. “I get compliments from co-workers. Some say you look unrecognizable, which I don’t take it as rude. I acknowledge and accept what I looked like before. And I’m so happy I changed it.”

Ready to start your weight loss journey?

You can calculate your BMI or take a health risk assessment at SAHealth.com/weightloss. Methodist Healthcare Weight Loss Center has two locations: one at Methodist Hospital | Specialty and Transplant and another at Methodist Hospital | Metropolitan.