Find Out How Rodney Dropped 252 Pounds
Before
Rodney Jones, of Eastgate, survived a traumatic car accident that left him nearly immobile in the summer of 2009. It was the 100-plus pounds he gained post-accident, however, that nearly took his life.
A former truck driver, Rodney was unhooking a trailer from his truck on July 10, 2009, when his foot got caught in the wheels. “I pulled the pins and spun my body around, and basically shattered everything below my knee down,” the 52-year-old recalls.
Healthy Habits Come to a Screeching Halt
At the time of the accident, he weighed 375 pounds – about 60 pounds less than he’d weighed a few months prior. “Right before the accident happened, he started watching what he ate and was regularly walking at a local park,” his 28-year-old daughter, Megan, explains.
But, between his newly immobile lifestyle and diet (he spent nearly a year in a nursing home), his weight ballooned, peaking at 541 pounds.
Rodney went to physical therapy to rehabilitate his lower half, but the excess weight made therapy especially difficult, so his care team suggested weight-loss surgery.
How Rodney Connected with TriHealth
Online investigation and a co-worker’s referral led Rodney to George Kerlakian MD, of TriHealth Weight Management, in June 2012. Together, Rodney, his family and Dr. Kerlakian evaluated weight-loss surgery options, and ultimately decided on laparoscopic roux-en-y gastric bypass surgery, because it was the quickest way to remove the weight. “I really needed to get the weight off … 541 pounds is a lot of weight to be on a crushed leg.” Rodney adds. (Rodney ended up getting half of his left leg amputated in February 2013.)
Per instructions from Dr. Kerlakian and Rodney’s dietitian, Maria Adkins RD, Rodney followed a high-protein diet for two months leading up to surgery and went in for the operation in October 2012. From there, he met with Dr. Kerlakian every other month. Within a year, Rodney lost more than 90 pounds. “Dr. Kerlakian would say I’m doing tremendous on my weight loss,” Rodney says. “I’d just keep losing weight!”
The Second Operation: A Trunkplasty
As the weight disappeared, the excess skin did not. About a year after the gastric bypass, he met with Kevin Tymitz MD, another doctor on the TriHealth Weight Management team, to be evaluated for a trunkplasty (the surgical removal of excess fat and loose skin around the midsection). Dr. Tymitz’s warm demeanor, much like Dr. Kerlakian’s, put Rodney at ease. “It wasn’t like a doctor talking to you, it was like a friend,” Rodney reflects.
Rodney scheduled his second operation with TriHealth Weight Management for Feb. 3, 2014 and had 27 pounds of excess skin removed. That, combined with the weight he continued to lose, thanks to portion control and nutritious home-cooked meals his daughter, Megan, often provides, he’s now down to 289 pounds – a number he hasn’t seen in years. He attributes his weight-loss success to not only his surgical team, but also his family. “I’ve got so much support from my family, it’s been unreal,” he says.
Rodney – and Family – Look Forward to Life After Weight Loss
Now, Rodney’s looking forward to getting fitted for a new prosthetic leg, one that will fit better with his healthier body. He wants to hit his target weight-loss goal, 250 pounds – less than half his peak weight – before he gets fitted for his final prosthetic.
In the meantime, he’ll continue going to outpatient physical therapy three times a week, so he can gain his mobility back, and maybe even go back to work.
His wife and kids, on the other hand, are simply happy to have the old Rodney back. “We love Gatlinburg, and my parents and sister had gone on vacation right before his accident. That was the last time they’d had a vacation,” Megan says. “I think that’s one of his main goals – getting to the point where we can all go down to Gatlinburg, even for a long weekend, just for a little get away!"