A St. Johns County woman has a new respect for Mother’s Day after surgery changed her life. Katie Anderson says a big transformation is making a difference in her experience of motherhood.
St. Johns woman shares new perspective of Mother’s Day after ‘transformational’ gastric bypass surgeryClick It or Ticket campaign: Lake City police join statewide effort to reduce crash fatalitiesRead full article: Two 100-year-old WWII veterans recognized by St. Johns County commissioners Facing a $23 million deficit, Dr. Brennan Asplen says voucher programs are pulling funding from public schools — and he’s pushing back on state allegations that he directed teachers to vote a certain way– Katie Anderson recently did cartwheels with her children.
Anderson credits a transformational, life-changing surgery with changing her experience of motherhood for the better and giving her a new respect for Mother’s Day.
“I can do things that I have not been able to do in quite some time and do a lot of stuff for my kids,” she said. “It really wasn’t about the external,” Anderson said. “That is always a bonus. But it was really the physical medical issues that I was facing that I needed to get control of.
” Anderson said she battled extreme high blood pressure and PCOS, which is a hormonal imbalance that affects the ovaries. It contributed to her going through early menopause at 41 years old. Anderson believes the change is her new lease on life. She loves doing things like biking, hiking, paddleboarding and just spending time outside with her husband and kids.
Anderson also dealt with severe sleep apnea, along with being diagnosed with depression and anxiety.
“There was a lot of shame and guilt that I carried a lot from the inability to lose weight,” Anderson said. She told News4JAX she wanted to change her lifestyle to be there for her children, who have special needs. Her 9-year-old son, Nate, has Down syndrome, autism, is G-tube fed and is nonverbal. Her 11-year-old daughter, Mackenzie, has Level 1 autism.
Her son, Nate, is 9 years old. He has down syndrome, autism is G-tube fed and is nonverbal. Mackenzie is 11 yead She has Level 1 Autism. Keanna is Anderson’s oldest daughter who died when she was 11 years old back in 2014.
She had muscular dystrophy. And her eldest daughter, Keanna, had muscular dystrophy and died at age 11 in 2014.
“I am thankful for the children that God has blessed me with,” Anderson said. “Since my health is well, someday I will be here long enough to watch my own daughter have a child. Even though my oldest has passed away, I am still connected with some of her best friends that just became mothers this year.
” Dr. Miro Uchal, a bariatric surgeon at Ascension St. Vincent’s Hospital, performed Anderson’s surgery, which was one of about 10,000 he’s done in his long career.
“People become themselves,” Uchal said about the transformation that happens as a result of the surgery. “The bariatric surgery is not about how you look, how pretty you are. But it is about the health and true you. ”She loves doing things like biking, hiking, paddleboarding and just spending time outside with her husband and kids.
“It is freeing,” Anderson said. “It feels like chains just dropping off of you. All of my tattoos I did not have my tattoos before. It has just become my testimony on my sleeve that I cannot try to hide it anymore.
”Aaron Farrar joins News4JAX as a weekend morning reporter after working for a year at WFXR in Roanoke, Virginia, as a morning news reporter and primary fill-in anchor. Georgia church shifts from supporting firefighters to helping homeowners recover from Brantley fire‘Nothing short of a miracle’: Some Brantley County homes spared as wildfire damage comes into focusBack in business: St. Johns County food truck park reopens after commission voteNews4JAX hosts donation drive at Channel 4 to support Brantley County wildfire victimsMan seriously injured in Butler Beach road rage shooting describes harrowing encounterWhat we learned about Councilwoman Tyrona Clark-Murray's removal from DCPS classroom dutiesJacksonville couple works to get discounted mobile homes to Brantley County wildfire victimsIt's time for a bath!
Scrub a dub dub, it's time to wash the tub. New crop of greens coming soon! It's time for a bath! Scrub a dub dub, it's time to wash the tub.
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