Amita Rajani, who could not move out of her bed once, has shed 165 kg after a life-saving bariatric surgery. She now takes a morning walk every day
Amita Rajani has been spending four hours outdoors every day. She's shopped for Diwali and her mother has made homemade chocolates this year. But what is so special? For the past eight years, Amita's world was restricted to the bedroom of her Vasai home. Her weight was close to 300kg and she was unable to get up—let alone move around.
A year-and-a-half after a life-saving bariatric surgery, Amita is now down to 135kg and can finally stepped out of her house. "Now I don't stay home. I go out every day. I have been meeting my relatives and I have even planned a trip to Kerala" says Amita, who is now 43.
Her weight gain did not happen suddenly but was a gradual one. She was 116kg when she was in class 10. "In 2007, we consulted doctors in UK but since I have a kidney issue, they said the surgery was a high-risk now," said the BSc graduate. who at one time ran a small soft toy factory.
Dr Shashank Shah, bariatric surgeon at Laparo Obeso Centre and Hinduja Hospital in Khar blames it on metabolism. "She was five feet in diameter and so a special bed was made for her. Her mother has been taking non-stop care of her for the past 25 years," he says, adding that most patients like Amita suffer from metabolic issues. "She is not a big eater. The fact that she was a diabetic complicated matters for her," added the surgeon, who undertook the challenging surgery.
Transporting Amita to the hospital was an additional challenge for which a crane was put into use.
Initially scared of survery, Amita is now happy that she took the leap of faith. She underwent a sleeve gastrectomy, in which the size of the patient's stomach is reduced. Following the surgery, her apetite dropped drastically and metabolism shot up. "She lost over 100kg in the three months following the surgery, as her body was converting fats into energy," said Shah.
Over the months, the weight loss has tapered off. As Amita increases her physical movement, she is likely to shed more kilograms, but it is the change in the quality of life that she is most happy about.
"I used to work online all these years as I couldn't move around. My mother too wasn't able to go anywhere as she had to be there for me," says Amita.
Her mother Mamta, 64, has watched her daughter put on weight gradually despite physical activity. "She used to love walking. But post 2007, she wasn't able to walk anymore," she says.
Now Mamta too has been living life with full vigour. Recently, for the first time, she was able to leave the house and go to see her relatives.
Dr Shah is alarmed at the number of patients above 150kg, who are walking in into his cabin. "In 2003, I would see around 30-40 patients a month, and now, I see around 900 every month. They are from all strata of the economy and the number of adolescent patients is rapidly going up," says Shah.
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