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Shawn Lockridge-Hermsen knew she had turned the corner on severe obesity when a granddaughter innocently blurted, “Grandma, I didn’t even recognize you!”
It was an uplifting moment for the 48-year-old Iowan, a validation that she had overcome years of self-consciousness, social isolation, and depression.
“It’s been a really great journey, just great,” she says.
Lockridge-Hermsen’s experience with the UI Obesity Surgery program at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics has indeed been a journey. Through personal resolve and with the program’s help, she has nearly halved her weight, improved her self-esteem, and enhanced her personal health.
The story hasn’t always been so happy. In fact, her high school years were “terrible.” As an obese teen, Lockridge-Hermsen didn’t “fit in.” Sports activities were out of the question, P.E. classes were an embarrassment, and real friends were hard to come by.
College life wasn’t much better as she continued a losing battle against obesity. Every dietary attempt—and there were many—fell short. At 5 feet, 4 inches and 275pounds, she avoided social opportunities. She was missing out.
After graduation, she was thrilled to land her first teaching job with the Western Dubuque County Community School District, where she has taught for the past 24 years. Still, repeated efforts to shed the pounds failed and the social constraints of obesity—she ballooned to 375 pounds—continued to haunt her psyche. Even marriage to her very loving, accepting husband, Don, in 1999 did not assuage her feelings of inadequacy.
Clinically depressed, Lockridge-Hermsen took a one-year sabbatical from teaching to pursue bariatric surgery. The questions were many. What were the risks? What were other peoples’ experiences? Which program offered the best chance for success?
Her Dubuque physician, Andrea Ries, MD, highly recommended the UI Obesity Surgery program at UI Hospitals and Clinics. She arranged a consultation with Isaac Samuel, MD, director of the UI obesity surgery program. In additional to Samuel, the program includes other expert laparoscopic obesity surgeons such as Mohammad Jamal, MD; bariatric clinical nurse coordinator Debi Heitshusen, RN; a dedicated clinical dietitian; internists; and psychologists.
“We take great pride in taking a comprehensive approach to helping each patient,” Samuel says. This approach includes extensive patient education encouraging pre- and post-surgical lifestyle behavior modification designed to help patients achieve weight loss for life.
For Lockridge-Hermsen, these lifestyle changes included modified dietary habits and exercise that resulted in the loss of 30 pounds before surgery.
Finally, on Feb. 8, 2005, which also happened to be “Fat Tuesday”, Lockridge-Hermsen’s dreams came true when Samuel performed a laparoscopic bypass procedure (which he helped introduce in Iowa). The bypass effectively restricts the amount of food she can eat and makes it more difficult for her stomach to absorb ingested food.
The procedure helped Lockridge-Hermsen drop to 185 pounds—nearly half her former weight. Her dress size dropped from 34W to size 12. She does her part by adhering to the recommended lifestyle changes.
“In many ways I feel like Dr. Samuel and his staff have given me a second chance at life,” she says. “Everyone in the program—and I mean everyone—was so helpful and supportive. I’m forever grateful!”
Nationally Recognized Program
- 1966: Birthplace of obesity surgery under Edward Mason, MD, the “Father of bariatric surgery”
- 1990’s: James Maher, MD, and Cornelius Doherty, MD, (president, American Society for Bariatric Surgery, 1989) extend program horizons
- 2000: Maher, Doherty, and Isaac Samuel, MD, introduce the laparoscopic approach to gastric bypass in Iowa
- 2005: Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa extends bariatric surgery “Center of Excellence” designation to UI program
- 2006: Under the leadership of Isaac Samuel, MD, the program attains national Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association “Blue Centers for Bariatric Surgery” status. The designation underscores the program’s excellence in patient education and outstanding clinical outcomes
For more information, patients and families should:
For consultation or referral, physicians should call UI Consult.
--Michael Sondergard
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“I am the luckiest person in Iowa; I’m back doing what I love most; teaching and truly living life to its fullest!”
—Shawn Lockridge-Hermsen
Mohammad Jamal, M.D.; Debi Heitshusen, R.N.; and Isaac Samuel, M.D.
Teacher overcomes heartache with help from UI’s acclaimed obesity surgery program
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