‘I never thought I would feel this good at this age’ — bariatric surgery helps woman enjoy retirement

Caroline Barnhart lost herself over the last couple of years.

Or, rather, she lost her entire current weight of 145 pounds — and then some — after bariatric surgery.

“It saved my life,” she says. “I’m going to be 69 in August. I never thought I would feel this good at this age.”

Barnhart wasn’t heavy when she was younger, but started putting on weight after a hysterectomy at the age of 30. The slow but steady weight gain of five to 10 pounds a year crept up on her.

But she never considered weight-loss surgery until she stepped on the scale at her doctor’s office.

“She weighed me at 303 pounds,” Barnhart recalls.

Her BMI was over 50.

“I was in shock,” she says. “I was so scared. I didn’t even think — the words did not come from my brain, they just came out of my mouth: ‘What does it take for my insurance to pay for weight-loss surgery?’”

Barnhart was told she qualified and made an appointment. She was scheduled for surgery at Valley Medical Center in Renton, but with two weeks to go, the clinic called to cancel. Because of COVID-19, they suspended their program and were sending patients elsewhere, recommending she look at Swedish, UW Seattle or MultiCare Health System.

After researching the program, Barnhart settled on MultiCare. A co-worker recommended Kelly Blair, MD.

“A sister of my best friend works at MultiCare, so I asked her, ‘What do you know of Dr. Blair in Covington?’” she says. “She just sang his praises to the sky and back.”

Barnhart is now joining the chorus.

“I’m in love with Dr. Blair,” she says. “I have not had this much confidence in a doctor in years.”

Barnhart and Kelly Blair, MD.

With multiple adhesions and scar tissue from previous surgeries for gallstones, Dr. Blair warned that instead of the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure Barnhart wanted, he might need to do a sleeve gastrectomy and asked if that was OK. She told him if it was the only option, to go ahead.

“He spent an extra hour and a half removing adhesions so he could do the Roux-en-Y,” she says.

Some of the adhesions had overlapped and were tightening around her intestines, which could have created a serious blockage without the surgery, which she had in April 2021.

“So, it saved my life in more ways than one,” Barnhart says.

Now at a weight of about 145 pounds, she feels better than she has in years. Along with the weight, Barnhart has said goodbye to the CPAP machine she used nightly for sleep apnea, the asthma and blood pressure medications she used to take and the aching knees and feet that kept her from enjoying simple pleasures like taking her dog for a walk.

She lives full time in an RV with her husband, traveling between Arizona and Washington.

“There are four steps to get into the RV,” Barnhart says. “In the past I would have to take one step at a time and hang on to the handles. Now, I can run up those steps and I’m not winded.”

She also said goodbye to spending thousands of dollars on supplements and weight-loss programs that never worked for more than a short time.

“People say ‘Eat less and exercise more,’ Barnhart says. “But my body didn’t understand that. I needed help. [After bariatric surgery] every pound that I’ve lost has been a forever pound lost, no more of that yo-yo thing.”

The surgery wasn’t about looking good, but about feeling good, she says.

“It’s been about my health,” Barnhart says. “My health has been compromised and sidetracked because of my weight.”

But she acknowledges the changes to her appearance also feel pretty good.

“I walk by a mirror, and I don’t recognize myself!” Barnhart says.

It has also helped her enjoy retirement in ways she hadn’t anticipated.

“I can dance the night away and shake what my momma gave me,” Barnhart laughs. “And that feels good.”

Learn more about bariatric surgery at MultiCare.