Summary
Dennis Cook, a former patient of Elias Ortiz & Company (EOC), shares his positive experience after undergoing the VSG weight loss surgery. He praises Elias and his staff for their excellent care and emphasizes that the surgery saved his life. Despite being informed by other surgeons that the procedure was risky, Elias agreed to perform it and ensured Dennis’ comfort and well-being throughout. Dennis heard about EOC from a friend who had also experienced successful weight loss through the company. He advises others not to wait too long for the surgery and suggests following the nutritionist’s advice for a successful recovery. Dennis describes his experience in Mexico as phenomenal, with a supportive and encouraging staff. He highlights the perks of staying at a resort and receiving excellent care. The surgery has completely transformed Dennis’ life, improving his perspective and overall health. He has lost 240 pounds and experienced increased energy and reduced medication use. Dennis regrets not having the surgery sooner and encourages others to consider it. He concludes by emphasizing the positive impact the surgery has had on his confidence and physical abilities.
Transcript
Hello everyone. My name is Dennis Cook, former patient of Elias Ortiz. I received the VSG vertical sleeve gastrectomy on July 21st, 2022. I am 42 years old and I currently live in Atascadero, California. And I had a life-saving procedure done with Elias and it saved my life. And my only regret is I didn’t do it sooner. He has a wonderful staff, great facility, and they met every one of my needs. I couldn’t have been happier with the outcome, down 240 pounds. My liver has been saved. My body has been saved. My mind is great. I’m doing fabulous. I’m on zero medications. And I couldn’t be happier. I feel 20 years old again. I chose Elias Ortiz & Company for my weight loss surgery because he is the only surgeon that agreed to do my surgery knowing that it was a very risky procedure. I was informed by many surgeons that I would not make it off the operating table alive considering my current disposition and disease process that I was in the middle of. I went ahead and rolled the dice and I had the surgery and I lived. He did everything he could to make sure that I was comfortable and I was alive and well. And had he not been able to complete the surgery, he would have just sewn me up, put me in recovery and sent me home. But he assured that I would live, however, I wasn’t supposed to. I heard about EOC from a very dear friend of mine who one year prior to me going and having a procedure done, she herself went and had an R&Y procedure and in that one year she lost 175 pounds. And she is the one that gave me the recommendation to apply. I applied everywhere to different surgeons throughout the United States, even Canada, Mexico. Elias was the only one that reached out to me and he reached out to me himself personally. And we made all the arrangements and the staff knew what they were getting themselves involved with and I still continued to move forward with the procedure and here I am right here before you. So as I mentioned before, my surgery was the VSG vertical sleeve. My surgeon was Elias Ortiz himself. And my surgery date was July 21st, 2022. I actually had two pieces of advice. One is don’t wait until it’s too late to have the surgery. Some people are so anti-surgery or against it. And I just encourage you to not wait until it’s too late. And my second piece of advice would be to listen to what your nutritionist say. Adhere to that diet. You don’t want to rush it because you’re healing, you’re starting over, everything is new. And like us new brought into the world, we got to start out with our liquids, our baby foods, our soft textures, our mechanical sauce. Then you move to solids, but don’t rush it because you’re only going to damage yourself and you’re only going to make things more difficult and you’re going to be discouraged on wanting to try new things as the time progresses and approaches. My experience in Mexico was phenomenal. I mean, you have a great staff. I mean, Abraham and Remy were just excellent. I could not have asked for a better couple of chaperones and compadres, just some friends to want to just be there by my side the whole time and just giving me every bit of encouragement that I needed. They were amazing. I loved it. How could you deny or not want to sit poolside at a resort, sipping on broth in a cabana next to a swimming pool, having people cater to you, having a deluxe room with all the movie channels. I mean, you really get a full experience being there. It’s not just going there for procedure, but it’s like a vacation too, a vacation with a lot of strict protocols and restrictions. So it was amazing. And I would do it again. And I encourage anyone else that wants to have weight loss surgery to make sure you do it. I don’t even know where to begin to tell you how it changed my life. It changed everything. Weight loss surgery has changed my perspective on just life in general. I appreciate life more, but I was also told that I was going to die if I had this surgery, but I didn’t. I lived and I survived and I’ve lost a lot of weight. I feel great. Don’t even have to use the extenders to ride in the airplane. You know, I am still holding up clothes that are way too big for me. Just underestimating just my actual body size. I have a lot more energy, stamina, endurance. Don’t have to take any medications for anything. No blood pressure problems. I don’t have headaches. I am doing fabulous. And only regret I have is not doing the surgery sooner. From the first day of surgery until 10 months later, I had lost 240 pounds. It has now been almost a year and a half since my surgery and I’m still 240 pounds down. I kind of skate in between a five-pound weight difference, but I went from being 420 pounds to 180 pounds. It’s an amazing feeling. It really is. Only thing that wasn’t as fun is having to go and buy a whole new wardrobe. Even my feet got smaller. I went from a size 13 shoe to a 12. I was wearing a 5 and 6 X shirts and pants to where I just wear an extra large now. And I like the outfit selections. There’s a lot more clothes that I can fit into and I don’t feel awkward going to places. Not even roller coasters anymore.
