I want to introduce you to a real life Wonder Woman. This woman totally inspires me (and many others). She has been through so much, but hasn’t given up and remained positive throughout her journey. Dianne’s story shows that it’s not always smooth sailing, and things that are not so great DO happen! Anyone who has ever struggled with weight will appreciate the lengths some of us will go to for our self-esteem.
Dianne started her journey of a lifetime 3 years ago and in that time has had an amazing transformation. She vowed that she wanted to be a ‘wonder woman’ by the time she turned 50 and that’s exactly what she did – that’s a pic of her on her 50th Birthday dressed up as Wonder Woman (how hot does she look!). Her transformation includes weightloss surgery (with 4 revisions!), and plastic surgeries (with revisions too!).
Here’s the many steps Dianne had during her transformative time.
| Jan 2013 | 119kg – Gastric Sleeve |
| Jun 2014 | 81kg – Gastric ReSleeve |
| Aug 2014 | 68kg – Gastric Sleeve Stretch |
| Nov 2014 | 68kg – Tummy Tuck & Breast Augmentation |
| Mar 2015 | 71kg – Mini bypass surgery |
| Jul 2015 | 65kg – Thigh Reduction, Butt Lift |
| Dec 2015 | 61kg – Full bypass surgery (due to chronic reflux) |
Here’s a link to Di’s initial story just over 12 months ago. As you will see it wasn’t easy, but WOW, what a total transformation! Di gives us the details of the second half of her journey.
“I went back for the re-sleeve in June 2014 however unfortunately there were complications; I would vomit after only a few mouthfuls of food. This continued for a few weeks and so I went to day surgery in August to have my sleeve stretched. This did little to relieve the vomiting, so I had another one done in September – this time it caused a leak! Luckily it was up high so no acid had leaked into my body cavity – only some gas bubbles, bits of food and liquid had gone in and was caught within a few days. I was in hospital for a week. November came around and I had another stretch and then another in December but to no avail; I still continued to vomit. It turned out that my stomach had bent over and it was never going to straighten up. The good part was I had reached my goal, BMI 25 and my weight was down to 68kg!
“So after long discussions with my surgeon I decided to have the Omega Loop Bypass (mini bypass) and so in March that was done – and it worked. No more vomiting but… now things had gone to the other extreme. I could eat a full plate of food, without any restriction whatsoever! And within hours my body felt like it hadn’t eaten – I was struggling quite badly to NOT eat food. While I was trying to control the urge to eat I was losing the battle, I had started to put on weight. I was devastated. I had heard about something called the “Minimiser Ring” – it looks like a cable tie with 4 notches and it placed around the bottom of the pouch of bypass stomach to give back the restriction. So it was done, and although there was a little bit of restriction I still couldn’t really feel it – it had been placed on the second notch. My surgeon then took me back to surgery and tightened the ring to the 3rd notch as well as doing an endoscopy to ensure it wasn’t too tight. This time it worked! Everything was great, no more vomiting, and plenty of restriction.
“I went on to lose a further 3kg and during process I also went to South Australia to have my tummy tuck and breast augmentation with the wonderful Dr Mark Moore.
The thigh reduction is a cut in the groin that goes about half way down the inside of the thigh on both sides. The butt lift was done with a continuation of the where the tummy tuck scar ended on the hips and went around and across the back of the hips on each side but did not meet in the middle – there is a 2 inch gap. I also had some liposuction to smooth out the sides of the thighs.
“The surgery went to plan and I did my usual vomiting for 24 hours post surgery, but I couldn’t wait to see the results! However, when I got up to shower on day two I had a look and I have to say I was a little disappointed; it wasn’t as ‘smooth’ as I was expecting it to be. When the surgeon visited me I expressed my concerns. He said to give it time to settle as everything was swollen, which was true. However, I only saw a minimal amount of difference and over the coming months became quite unhappy with the way it all looked. My surgeon agreed to do revision surgery – I am booked in to have this done in April 2016.
“My family and friends are amazed at my transformation and tell me how amazing I look. I appreciate all of their compliments; it warms my heart. My younger family members (the ladies) say they are envious of my flat stomach. None of these surgeries were done to have an “incredible body” – I only wanted to rid myself of the excess skin so I could feel comfortable.”
“My surgery in April will be my last surgery in my journey to a healthier and happier life. I look forward to the future and all that it holds.”
Dianne’s pictures speak for themselves and thank you so much for sharing your story Dianne… all your efforts were completely worth it and we wish you luck in your future fabulous life! PSH