For Chris and Stacy Disney, dropping more than 330 pounds was more about what they gained than what they lost.
The couple light up when they talk about their journey together through Community Healthcare System’s Healthy 4 Life program.
“I still giggle when certain things happen now. Like when I used to drop something on the ground when I was around 300 pounds, I would just get another one of whatever it was. Now I can bend down and get it no problem,” Stacy Disney said. “Life’s not a struggle. Chris Disney can get his arms all the way around me to hug me. For me, it’s those little things that are bigger things that a lot of people take for granted.”
The Park Forest couple underwent gastric sleeve surgery, with Chris Disney having his procedure done in November 2018. His current weight is around 250 pounds, down from his pre-surgery weight of 486.
“You still always nitpick yourself: I wish I could I do this or change a little here,” Chris Disney said. “But then you look back at where you started, and you say, ‘Well, damn! OK!’ ”
His main motivation to get healthy was his 10-year-old daughter, Grace.
“I started to think about what it would be like for her if I wasn’t here,” said Chris Disney, 47. “I figured if there was ever a good reason to change, it would be that. That made me start looking into weight-loss surgery. I checked around in the area, all the different programs. Fortunately, I found Community’s Healthy 4 Life.”
Before losing the weight, he was facing a slew of health problems. Those problems melted away after the surgery and inspired the Ford electrician to make another life-changing decision — go back to school.
“I was type 2 diabetic before, and I’m not now. I had severe obstructive sleep apnea. I don’t have that anymore,” he said. “I sleep so much better. I have so much more energy. And all of that together inspired me to go back to school for exercise science. It worked out as a bonus!”
Among the couple’s healthcare team is bariatric surgeon Paul Stanish, MD, who performed their procedures.
“Some people think bariatric surgery is a quick fix for weight loss. It’s not. Patients still have to put in the hard work,” he said. “Stacy and Chris are perfect examples. A combined 330-pound loss is not something that comes easily. Surgery is just a tool; you still have to put in the work. To see success stories like the Disneys’ makes what we do at Healthy 4 Life worth it.”
Stacy Disney’s resolve to have the surgery was “one of the hardest but easiest decisions I’ve ever made.” COVID-19 and the restrictions it brought pushed her surgery to March 2022. The Healthy 4 Life team supported her decision to postpone the surgery until she was ready and could have her loved ones by her side.
“There was no way I could be in the hospital for this life-changing surgery without my husband, my mom and my people there. When I told (the Healthy 4 Life team) this was my decision, they absolutely praised me,” she recalled. “They said, ‘We are here to support you in any way we can. When you are ready, you say the word.’ ”
Two years later, Stacy Disney gave the green light for the surgery. Nearly a year after that, she stepped on the scale to see she had lost 100 pounds! To commemorate the milestone, she got a tattoo of a mountain range and the words, “It’s not always a straight climb to the top.”
That inked adage reflects the struggles she – and her husband – had faced before finding success with Healthy 4 Life.
“I had tried Weight Watchers; I did the low-carb thing; I limited my calories. All of those things were making me miserable. If I lost 20 pounds, I would then gain 30 back,” she said.
Chris Disney also tried “pretty much every commercially available diet plan.”
“You felt like you were starving because you weren’t eating right when you are on these diets. It was a never-ending battle,” he said.
The couple credit Healthy 4 Life’s team of doctors, nurses and nutritionists with ending the battle and becoming what felt like a supportive family rooting them on.
“They are always a phone call or an email away,” Stacy Disney said. “It is very much an extended family. They know you by name; you’re not just a patient.”
“If you have a question about your diet or some effect that you’re experiencing, everyone is right there,” Chris Disney added. “It’s like a library. Everything you need to know is in the Healthy 4 Life office.”
For more information about the surgical and non-surgical options available through Community Healthcare System’s Healthy 4 Life, visit COMHS.org/services/bariatric-medicine.
