Where Are They NOW?

If you have been a member of ObesityHelp or reading OH Magazine for a while, you have had a chance to meet some really wonderful people. We caught up with a few of our friends who have been featured in the past to find out where they are now and what they are doing.

Writing and Inspiring

Allison Bottke - Featured in OH Magazine 2005 Issue 4

Since her Fall 2005 OH cover, Allison Bottke’s career as an inspirational author and speaker has continued to soar. With 23 published books to her credit, she has joined a relatively small contingent of professional writers able to work in the publishing worlds of both nonfiction and fiction.

Allison’s first two novels, A Stitch in Time and One Little Secret, are currently being shopped in Hollywood for possible screenplays. A series of three novels geared for “fashionable boomer babes” will be published by David C. Cook Publishers. The first book in the Va Va Va Boom trilogy is called I Could Have Danced All Night and releases in 2009.

Her newest nonfiction book, Setting Boundaries with Your Adult Children, Six Steps to Hope and Healing for Struggling Parents, is published by Harvest House and has garnered great reviews. A significant component of this book is the SANITY Support Group, a national support group network that is springing up from coast-to-coast to empower parents to set boundaries.

“Since my gastric bypass surgery in October of 2000, I’ve lost 120 pounds and I’m happy to say I’ve kept it off. It’s not been an easy journey, but all-in-all it’s been an amazing ride and I’d have the surgery again in a heartbeat,” Allison said from her home in Dallas, Texas. “I don’t think I could have accomplished all that I have if I still weighed 280 pounds. I’m healthier than I’ve ever been and I feel incredibly blessed to be living the dreams of my heart.” Learn more about Allison at www.AllisonBottke.com.

A Decade of Success

Craig “Big-T” Thompson - Featured in OH Magazine 2005 Issue 2

“The day I went in for gastric bypass surgery, I weighed exactly 400 pounds. Back then, I couldn’t imagine standing on stage in London, singing Sinatra classics for a crowd of 14,000 music lovers. I couldn’t imagine dancing with my wife to a live big band during an outdoor concert on an autumn night in New England. And, I certainly could never have fathomed playing three rounds of racquetball together and living to tell the tale.
“Of course, we weren’t married back then, and truth be told, I’m not sure she would have found me all that appealing. I know I didn’t. But, within a year of weight loss surgery, I went from a size 56 to a 34, and my life has never been the same since.

“This May marks the 11th anniversary of my gastric bypass, and I am thrilled to say that I have kept off nearly 200 pounds for more than a decade. In fact, I am more fit now than I have been since I joined the Navy at age 17.

“When it comes to my long-term success, exercise and the changes to my diet are only half the equation. For me, most of the changes happened in the gray matter between my ears. I am continually reminded that the weight was only a symptom. To have the life I dreamed of, I needed to change not just how I managed food, but also how I managed my emotions. Today, I offer up a daily prayer of gratitude and practice the disciplines needed to maintain a healthy weight, so I can enjoy the life I could once only imagine.”

Paying It Forward

Amy Williams - Featured in OH Magazine 2004 Issue 4

“I was originally featured in OH Magazine with an article on a condition I have, lymphedema, and my struggle with obesity. Since then, I have lost over 400 pounds, and four years later have maintained my loss. I have undergone a tummy tuck and arm lift. Losing the weight has greatly improved my lymphedema and my life has done a complete 180.

“Although lymphedema is something I will always struggle with, it hasn’t stopped me from living out my dreams. I have done things I never thought possible, like driving a car again, riding in an airplane, starting an OH support group, doing patient advocacy work for lymphedema and obesity, speaking at an ObesityHelp event, doing an update show for MTV’s True Life ‘This is me now,’ and so much more.

“I now continue to pay it forward to the bariatric community I have grown to love. I work with a local hospital’s bariatric program as a bariatric patient advocate; my role impacts the lives of hundreds of people. It brings me great joy to know the work I do will potentially improve someone’s life and there are no greater words than to tell a patient, ‘You are approved!’ God has blessed me with a second chance at life, and I don’t take one minute or breath for granted.”

To read more about Amy, please visit www.obesityhelp.com/member/amywilliams/ and www.amylhwilliams.com.

Losing It All

Ron Lester - Featured in OH Magazine 2005 Issue 1

Ron Lester weighed about 580 pounds when he had gastric bypass surgery in June 2000. Since then, he’s had 17 plastic surgeries and even his gallbladder removed—a total of 20 surgeries in the last eight years.

Redefining himself and going through huge changes over the last few years have been challenging for Ron. He says he literally lost everything, but it has helped him to appreciate the things he has been given. Ron lost his mother this last year to cancer. He cared for her as she struggled with the disease. He says the process was the most excruciating experience he has ever been through. However, in spite of it all, Ron is actually the happiest he has ever been. Among the things bringing him joy is the “true love” he has found with his girlfriend, Kate.

Ron has started to get back to his career in entertainment after a few years of retirement. “I am getting ready to co-produce and act in a film about the life of Rusco (Fatty) Arbuckle,” he says. Ron also has a horror movie in the works and another project lined up that hits very close to home, as an actor best known as the “fat kid” from Varsity Blues. Ron explains, “A friend of mine wrote a movie for me which is currently titled Glutton for Stardom that is basically about a heavy kid who grows up to be a heavy adult, and accidentally becomes an actor and a celebrity, and then loses the weight and finds that he has to put on a fat suit to be able to find work. It is a funny story, and it sort of mimics a lot of the stuff I have gone through in my life.”

Looking back, Ron realizes that there will always be tough times, but he’s found a new appreciation for life and is happy to be living it.

Read a new full-length interview with Ron Lester at www.obesityhelp.com/promos/RonLester/ and learn more about him at his website: www.ronlesteronline.com.

Hanging with Big Will

William “Big Will” Elijah - Featured in OH Magazine 2005 Issue 3

It’s been a long time since we first covered your story and your 333-pound weight loss in OH Magazine. Have you maintained your weight loss over time? Yes, I have. The lowest I got to was 211 pounds. Now I’m about 235 to 245, back and forth.

What are you doing that’s new and exciting? I’m in the process of developing my own stage act called “BW 360 Degrees” where four dancers and myself do a variety of music styles with original music thrown in. I play different instruments, dance, sing, do a little acting, and video production. I’m working on my second audio book, called Walking Thru the Mind Field. I also hosted and spoke at the OH Michigan Conference at the end of May. So I have a lot on my plate, but I’m feeling very fulfilled creatively.

Personally, I recently got married in November 2007 to a wonderful woman named Tracy, and I have a new stepson named Anthony. I have lots of new friends and a new neighborhood. 

Is there anything else you would like to share? Well, there are no more surgeries to report...! It’s all mental work now. I’ll be five years out on June 30, 2008. It’s been an up and down battle, but I’m so glad I did this for myself and family. As always, I look at life this way: my choices, my changes, my chances... my life!

Keeping It Real

Annie Hall - Featured in OH Magazine 2007 Issue 1

“I can hardly believe it’s been eight years since my Fobi Gastric Bypass surgery. Looking back, I can honestly say that it was the best decision I could have made. It’s amazing how something like that can change one’s life so drastically. I’m much more confident than I was back then when I was carrying all that extra weight around.

“Before my surgery, I was constantly obsessed with food, anticipating and planning my next meal. Now, my focus is on many other things instead of food. I have a better attitude towards food and it has become my friend, instead of my enemy. I gave away all my ‘fat’ clothes—no more ‘extra large’ for this gal!

“I am in my second marriage. I have a very slim and athletic husband! He loves to hike and ride his bike with me. I couldn’t be happier; we’re always on the go. When we’re home, we eat simple food, like salads or grilled salmon.

“Although my weight fluctuates at times, I don’t obsess about it anymore. I simply make adjustments, such as eating less and exercising more. As a recent breast cancer survivor, my outlook towards life has changed. I wake up each morning feeling grateful for my healthy body—and I want to keep it that way!”

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