From The Past: May 28, 2007

A TV show makes its debut tonight on The Learning Channel at 9 PM. It’s called Big Medicine and it sounds very interesting.

This is what the website says:

BIG MEDICINE follows the personal stories of severely obese patients who turn to Houston’s Methodist Weight Management Center as a life-changing last resort. One of the most innovative bariatric surgery practices, Methodist adheres to a long-term, multidisciplinary approach that includes a plan for lifelong follow-up. At the heart of the operation is passionate father and son surgeon team Robert and Garth Davis, a pair who have dedicated their professional lives to raising awareness about obesity.

BIG MEDICINE offers a behind-the-scenes look into the controversial world of bariatric surgery. The series chronicles the emotional journeys and transformation of obese people who have opted to undergo weight-loss surgery in an attempt to regain their lives. Patients are captured at various stages in the process – before and during the surgery, through recovery and post-op care and often through cosmetic procedures designed to remove sagging skin after dramatic weight loss.

Often as gripping as the patient stories is the colorful relationship between this father and son team where old school meets new school head on. Dr. Robert Davis, aka “big D,” is true to the old ways of medicine and sometimes finds new techniques too flashy or unnecessary, while Dr. Garth Davis, aka “little D,” is eager to modernize the business. Despite these differences, the pair unites in the operating room to fight a common enemy and change lives forever.

I very recently found out that someone I know underwent gastric bypass surgery before Christmas. Each week when I saw her, she looked as though she had dropped 10 pounds. On the last day of school, I finally had the opportunity to ask her what her secret was and she told me. She said she was eating everything just fine and she felt so much better. I have to say, she looks great. I bet I’ll hardly recognize her when I see her next year!

*****

If you haven’t seen the show, Inside Brookhaven Obesity Clinic, you need to watch it. It is also on The Learning Channel. It comes on Wednesday nights at 9 PM.

The description says:

The Brookhaven Rehabilitation Centre in New York is home to 75 of America’s fattest people who are desperate to lose the weight that is killing them.