Welcome!

We're so glad you found our blog! It's been quite a journey for us... Maybe we should start at the beginning and introduce us!

We are three WLS post-ops who lead separate support groups in the greater Portland area, who have a passion to see a more cohesive, informed, proactive, educated WLS community.

Dina McBride is the Patient Support Coordinator for Dr. Aniceto Baltasar. Her open BPD/DS surgery was performed by Dr. Baltasar on July 2, 2002 in Alcoy, Spain. Her weight at the time of surgery was 365 pounds with a BMI of 64. She had out-of-control diabetes (on five oral medications) with fasting blood sugars regularly in the high 200’s and low 300’s; stroke-level hypertension (on four oral medications), severe obstructive sleep apnea that prevented her from laying down at all (use of a c-pap at maximum setting was completely ineffective), severe chronic GERD (on two medications), stress incontinence, etc. Due to severe degenerative joint disease standing for more than 30 seconds was an impossibility. In the 9 months prior to her DS she underwent two knee surgeries due to damage to her knees, and for nearly 2 years prior to her DS she was wheelchair-bound.

Since her DS surgery six years ago she has been free of diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, GERD, stress incontinence, a couple of hundred pounds, and from early on post-op - her wheelchair. She has current pictures posted here. Interestingly enough, Dina’s husband John is also a BPD/DS post-op, and their son is a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy post-op.

Since her own surgery she has been acting as a leading support person to other Baltasar patients in a variety of capacities. Her official title is now “Baltasar Patient Coordinator” - offering assistance with a wide array of tasks, including providing research tools toward making a decision for or against surgery, answering questions pertaining to traveling internationally for surgery, facilitating online and in-person support groups, assisting patients with tracking their post-op labs and interpreting results, as well as consulting on appropriate diet and supplementation for post-ops.

She can be reached at 503.887.6147 or dinacmcb@comcast.net

Helen McCann is the Beaverton, Oregon Support Group Facilitator. Helen had weight loss surgery in November of 2002 in San Francisco. After several years of health problems, including two broken ankles, and treatment for breast cancer, her weight was totally out of control. She was unable to walk without the use of a cane, and was in constant and severe pain. Her BDP/DS surgery was performed by Drs. Jossart and Feng of Laparoscopic Associates of San Francisco. Her starting weight was 350 pounds, with a BMI of 55 – defined by the medical community as super-morbidly obese. Before surgery, she suffered from a number of co-morbidities, including asthma, severe acid reflux, stomach ulcers, severe osteoarthritis in all major joints, sleep apnea, uncontrolled high blood pressure, uncontrolled high cholesterol, pre-diabetic blood sugar levels, etc.

Helen is a local CPA owning an operating her own home based business for the last 20 years. At 6 years post-op, the majority of her pre-surgery health problems have been resolved by weight loss. She now weighs 185 pounds and is no longer obese. She loves to walk, hike, bike, and is an avid gardener. She lives happily with her pets – Blue the cat and Muffin the dog. She has been coordinator of the Beaverton WLS support group for several years. She can be reached at 503-230-0560 (home and office phone) or 971-998-7840 (cell phone), or via email at h_mccann@comcast.net and helen@hmccanncpa.com.

Lee McKibbin is the Pacific Laparoscopy Support Group Facilitator for the Portland, OR/ Vancouver, WA area.

Lee’s struggle with weight began in her mid 20’s. Each loss of weigh was followed by the subsequent weight regain plus more. When her weight reached 280+ pounds with a BMI of 48, she knew it was time for a permanent solution. After researching all types of weight loss surgery she chose to have a Lap DS. Surgery was performed by Dr. Robert Rabkin of Pacific Laparoscopy in September of 2003.

Two years after her WLS, Lee traveled to Vitoria, Brazil for her reconstructive surgery with Dr. Fabio Zamprogno.

Today, Lee coordinates the WLS Support Group for Pac Lap in the hope of offering a place where both the pre-op and the post-op patient can go for information and support.

Lee can be reached at 360-260-7447 or by email at grammylee@comcast.net

We hope you'll check back here often - we hope to post pertinent information about upcoming conferences, developments in the field of bariatrics, and want to welcome any questions you might have about WLS and support in general!