Testimonial for duodenal Switch Belgium – Kristy Dorton

Kristy Dorton, Kingsport, TN

Duodenal Switch Belgium

I have struggled with my weight my whole life.
I was one of the “fat” kids growing up.
I was able to lose about 50 lbs my senior year of high school and kept it off until I had my twin sons.
Gradually I gained back the 50 lbs and more.
I had tryed all the traditional weight loss things,
weight watchers, slimfast,
you name it.
I might lose a little but then regained it within a year.
My final straw came when i went to the Doctor and he told me I was pre-diabetic.
My mother had died a few years back from complications of diabetes and several of her aunts had died from diabetes complications also.
I knew I had to do something or else my future was looking very grim.
A lady I went to church with had had the DS surgery in Mexico about 3 years ago and had such wonderful success that I questioned her about what she thought would be best for me.
She gave me the name of the website to get the information and after talking with my husband about the information I found we decided to see if it was something we could afford to do.
Even though the costs are signifigantly less than in the US it was still a lot of money for us.
We decided to take out part of our retirement for me to have the surgery.

I kept
worrying about this decision until a friend of mine said “do you think this surgery will add possibly 10-15 years to your life?”
and I said yes and she said “then what kind of price can you put on 10-15 years more with your family.”
At that point I decided to just accept that the cost was worth the outcome.
I was all ready for the surgery and never really worried about it until my plane landed in Belgium.
Once I landed it was like at that point I realized that this was it….I really had to overcome my fears.
Once the Doctor came to see me that night,
Dr. Sonneville,
he really put me at ease.
He is such a intelligent man and also has such compassion for his patients.
I felt so much more at ease with my decision.
The next day I had the surgery and all went well.
I was sore but up walking around the following day.
I made a point to try and walk as much as I physically could so I could build my strengh up as quickly as possible.
I was released from the hospital after 3 days and went to the Villa Centra Passe to stay for the rest of my recovery.
One thing about the Villa…it was one of the most relaxing places to stay.
It was quiet and we spent a lot of time on the terrace enjoying being outside.
We were treated very good at the Villa and they made our stay a very memorable one.
Over all I had a very good experience with having surgery abroad.
I can’t say it didn’t have some down things (the long flights),
but it is still something I would recommend to anyone who was needing the surgery and that has a flare for adventure.

Separate message to Dr. Sonneville:

We want you to know we are so happy to have met you, and count it a high honor to name you as our new, but lifelong friend.
You definitely made our trip to Belgium even more special than it already was.
Thank you so much for what you did for Kristy.
We truly believe this surgery will extend her life as well as improve the quality of her life, which is a blessing to me as well.
You are a fine, honorable man, Dr. Sonneville. We hope to see you again sometime in the future, and we will be praying for you and your success in everything you do in this life.

Please keep in touch, and if you ever come to America, we would love to see you, and we would welcome your family as well.
Take care, and we will talk to you later.