brad's battle

There are so many avenues you can take to try and keep weight problems under control/find control/regain control. None of them are easy and every weight cursed individual - be they underweight or overweight - responds in a unique way to most if not all of the methods to resolve the problem. I know. I've gained and lost and regained between 165 pounds to 325 and back to 170. Kept it off for several years and then it slowly climbed ... lost 50 or 60 pounds ... it found me again - y'all know the drill.

My point is that calorie, portion, intake control is the hardest thing to do because you can not just quit eating. You can quit smoking, drinking, drugs, sex, hoarding, or washing your hands too many times a day, but you can not simply just STOP eating. Sometimes the solution requires some extraordinary intervention.

So I have a friend named Brad who has struggled with a severe weight problem most of his life. Dietary and exercise programs were never successful. In 2007 Brad topped 507 pounds and despite all of his efforts, was gaining about 60 pounds a year. With the encouragement and assistance of his doctor, they applied to the only Saskatchewan program for gastric bypass surgery, and was rejected in April 2008 as not meeting the criteria of Dr, Kalban’s program.

Expanding their search outside of the province, Brad was accepted to Dr. Ferries’ program in Red Deer, AB. With his first appointment scheduled for June 8, 2009. a call in April 2009 informed him that Dr. Ferries had chosen to cancel all out of province patients, so the search was on once more with a letter to the Alexandria hospital in Edmonton.

With the continued deterioration of Brad’s health and walking becoming difficult, a friend who had the surgery in Brazil suggested Brad discuss this option with his doctor. Brad was accepted to the Brazilian program and began to prepare to go to Brazil. Brad and his wife Denise were prepared to do whatever they had to, to pay the projected cost of nearly $20,000.00 to extend Brad’s life. Pre-surgery fundraising efforts by friends and family helped to supplement their funds.

October 13,2009 Brad had his gastric bypass Roux en Y surgery in Brazil. The surgery was a success. However, a few days later Brad contracted Pneumonia in both lungs and had a blood clot to his left lung. The lung infection sent him to septic shock and shut down his kidneys and on the evening of October 19, 2009 Brad almost died due to these complications. By the grace of god, Brad is now out of ICU but recovering very slowly and is still in the hospital in Brazil. Medical bills from just the treatment of the complication alone have now passed $90,000 and Brad is out of ICU, but isn’t home yet. It’s been over a month.

The office of the Minister of Health has refused assistance claiming they simply do not have any programs that apply to this situation. The ministry indicated that preapproval for out of province coverage should have been arranged before Brad’s surgery. Brad had not applied because others he knows, who also went to Brazil, were previously rejected.

Brad is not looking for anyone to pay for his "elective" surgery, that was his choice. We are asking for assistance to cover the costs for the treatment of the complications portion. Dr. Marchesini has done 3000 gastric bypass surgeries with a 99% success rate, and Brad is only the third patient to suffer complications.
Fundraising efforts continue, with great thanks to the Eagles Club Ladies Auxiliary, the Victoria Club, and a whole host of generous hearts. A PayPal account for direct donations has also been set up and funds can be sent to bmilligan-davis@spotcheckservices.com or send a cheque payable to Denise Bantle at 1540 Albert Street Regina Sask. S4P 2S4
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For more information or to schedule an interview please contact Denise Bantle (306) 949-4815