Silver Cross BMI Surgery Helped Suburban Man Build a Success Story
For the most part, Chris Ratuszny was dealing with his morbid obesity.
How morbid?
“I had to lose some weight before it would even register on the scale,” said Ratuszny, 38, who lives in Chicago’s far south suburbs. “When it did, I weighed 527 pounds. And I’m 5’9”.”
Oh, there were some signs: extremely high blood pressure; borderline diabetes; and even skin disorders, such as rashes and scaling from his skin being stretched so much by his weight.
“I also run a property management company, and I like to do things myself. So, it was tough climbing ladders to check roofs and stairs to view apartments, but I did it,” said Ratuszny.
But in 2016, he had a wake-up call – the worst kind.
“My cousin, who was my best friend, died of congestive heart failure due to being morbidly obese. I said, ‘That’s enough.’”
The Right Program
He already knew diet pills weren’t for him, so Ratuszny surfed the internet for options. He came upon the BMI Surgery program at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox.
“I don’t know what it was, but something told me this was the program for me.”
He attended a Weight Loss Seminar hosted by Dr. Brian Lahmann , who co-founded and developed BMI Surgery at Silver Cross Hospital, which has the only program in Will County that has been named a MBSAQIP accredited center – Comprehensive and Blue Distinction Center for Bariatric Surgery.
He was interested in the program but was disappointed there were no patients there to give him personal stories of their successes. So, he set up an appointment with Dr. Lahmann, who suggested he attend one of the hospital’s BMI support groups.
Ratuszny was moved by the stories related during the group, so much so that he not only scheduled a gastric sleeve procedure with Dr. Lahmann, he continued to attend the support groups, and still does.
Before the gastric sleeve surgery – which changes the shape and size of your stomach, reducing the amount of food you eat at one-time – Ratuszny had to go through pre-op testing, including cardiac, pulmonary and psychological exams.
Then, there was the pre-op diet, which not only helps shrink the liver before surgery, but prepares the person mentally for the lifestyle changes they will need to adopt for the rest of their lives.
Determined to Be a Success
Ratuszny took the changes to heart immediately. When told he would need to do the high-protein/liquid diet for two weeks before surgery, he set his mind on four weeks. No more cheesecakes and Dr. Pepper or Mountain Dew.
“When he heard that, Dr. Lahmann said he wished all his patients would do that,” Ratuszny explained. “I told him, ‘I am going to be your success story.’ He said, ‘Prove it to me.’”
And Ratuszny has. At one point, he got down to 188 pounds. But he always knew there was a body builder under all that flab. So, he put on some 35 pounds of muscle and won his first competition recently.
In addition to working for a railroad and with his property management companies, he also now serves as a personal trainer and certified nutritionist. But not for the extra money.
“If I can help one person not go through what I did with obesity, it will be worth it,” he said.
Like Family
Ratuszny admits being “afraid of food” for a while after surgery, not wanting to jump back into his previous habits. He slowly re-introduced healthy foods – nuts, chicken, fish and other high-protein offerings.
He rarely drinks alcoholic beverages, and never has carbonated drinks, “diet” or not; opting for protein shakes, a lot of water, and Quest chips and bars.
Ratuszny knows the gastric sleeve surgery was only a tool to give him the foothold needed to change his life. The rest was up to him.
He gets a lot of support from his fiancé, and, of course, from his Silver Cross family.
“Other places treat you like just another patient. Silver Cross treats you like one of their family. They care,” he said.
For more information about Weight Loss Surgery at Silver Cross Hospital, visit https://www.silvercross.org/care-treatment/weight-loss-surgery/ .
