Denny Woods' Weight Loss Journey

Denny Wood, Weight Loss Surgery Patient & Success Story

My name is Denny and I’d like to share my story with you. As you can see from this photo, I’m blessed to have a wonderful family and because of my weight loss surgery, I’ll be around for many years to spend it with them, living my life to the fullest.

It wasn’t always that way, though. Last year I weighed in at 487 pounds. I suffered from acid reflux, sleep apnea, leg infections, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and was headed towards full-blown diabetes. I work as a sergeant at the Brentwood Police Department and it was getting increasingly difficult to get in and out of my cruiser. I wasn’t as fast as I wanted to be on the football field. I spent more time on the couch and putting off playing with my kids than I care to admit. But the day my Dad passed away from complications of diabetes, it was a real wake-up call and I finally started to take my weight problem seriously.

I made the decision to learn more about weight loss surgery so I attended a free information session by the NH Medical & Surgical Weight Loss Center. The three surgeons and program psychologist were all there and gave everyone lots of food for thought (no pun intended!) and took the time to answer all of our questions. Afterwards, I filled out my application and set up an appointment to learn more about starting the process. I had no idea how comprehensive this program would be, including a nutritionist, physical therapist, and support groups in addition to the doctors and nurses on the team. I never felt like I was doing this alone. And for me, that was a big deal because I didn’t have complete support from my family in the beginning (more on that later).

After months of preparation and lots of hard work to meet the program requirements, I had my gastric bypass surgery in February of this year. Since starting all of this, I have lost over 170 pounds and I'm still losing! I’m not done yet, but my team is still with me and will be for a full five years to ensure my success. I’m active again. I feel like a brand new person and have been able to really enjoy my freedom, my sports, my job and most important of all, a future with my family. My wife, Angie, is now incredibly supportive of my decision to do this. She was the most hesitant about my decision and took a little more convincing to get on board with all of it. But now that she’s got her husband back, all of her reservations are out the window!

Please check back as I’d like to continue sharing my story with you. I’ll keep you posted on how things are going and let you know what it’s like to really live my life again.

If you’re interested, there are free monthly information sessions about the program. Click here to see upcoming dates and locations.