What happens when determination and commitment combine? Meet Tom Morris!
Tom is a 51-year-old man who has struggled with weight all his life. In early 2017, Tom visited his physician to find out he needed hip replacement surgery due to arthritis. The surgeon told him he could not perform surgery on him until he lost some weight. This was a bit overwhelming for Tom. He had tried several times to lose the weight, but just had not been successful. At this point, his hip was in such bad shape that he was using a walker to get around. He was embarrassed that he was 50 years old and was using a walker. He knew if he didn’t lose the weight and get his hip replaced, he would die. He was referred to Memorial SportsCare. It was here that his physical therapist suggested he use the pools at the YMCA to get some exercise.
Tom started by taking water fitness classes at the YMCA. He would be there for two hours twice a week. He recently has worked himself up to two hours a day, six days a week. In addition, he was a patient of the Memorial Weight loss and Wellness Center. The program afforded him the opportunity to work with a life coach, a dietician and a physician who monitored medication. Through determination and hard work, Tom lost 80 lbs.
Tom’s surgeon, Dr. Romanelli was ecstatic with his progress and Tom was overwhelmed with excitement as they planned for the hip replacement. On October 16, 2017, Tom had surgery to replace is hip. Exactly nine weeks after that, he had a knee replacement. He felt like a new person!
There were times in his recuperation process when he felt anxious about gaining some of the weight back because he could not do any exercise and he missed the water. He wanted to get back in the pool and work on losing the last 50 pounds. He was especially worried about gaining any of the weight back. He got on the scale and was surprised that he hadn’t gained an ounce.
Tom is now focused on losing the last 50 lbs. He credits so many people to the success of his weight loss journey. He says from day one the staff at Memorial SportsCare and the YMCA were so encouraging and supportive. He gets a little choked up when he says, “these people literally saved my life.” He is especially thankful to his surgeon, Dr. Romanelli for giving him a new hip and knee and lastly, he is forever grateful to his co-worker, Kimee Armour who paid for his membership at the YMCA. Tom is pretty humble when you talk to him about his weight loss, he gives a lot of credit to a lot of other people. He says “if I can do it, anyone can.” But just meeting him for a short period of time for this interview, I see that he is a determined and committed person who just had a little help along the way.
Congratulations, Tom! Your YMCA family is so proud of you!