Before he had open-heart surgery in 1998, the only weight problem Lynn had was continually pushing himself to lift more and more of it. A dedicated bodybuilder, his huge arms and ripped torso announced to the whole world that here was a guy who practically lived at the gym, going seven days a week.

But a hole in his heart was discovered while still in his early 20s, requiring major surgery to repair. The recovery was difficult, and vigorous exercise seemed too far out of his grasp. Motivation waned. His weight slowly ballooned up to almost twice what it was in his weightlifting prime, eventually hitting 280 pounds.

That may not sound like that much, but one has to consider that Lynn is only 4-feet-5-inches tall. “Because of my height, it was almost the equivalent of weighing 400 pounds,” said the North Vernon man, who works as a materials specialist at Cummins.

His personal life suffered. Lynn found he couldn’t do as much with his wife, Jerianne, and their three kids, two boys ages 13 and 11 and a girl age 10. The man whose body was once envied by others became embarrassed to show himself in public. When his family visited an amusement park in 2011, he had to use a motorized scooter to get around.

“Just walking to the mailbox and back got tiring. I was talking to the doctor about having knee replacement,” he said.

Fortunately, Lynn had an extremely supportive family environment. Jerrianne encouraged him continuously, and the kids would coax him into physical activity. The real breaking point came in talking with his mother-in-law, who had undergone bariatric surgery at the Weight Loss Institute of Columbus Regional Health.

Part of Lynn’s challenge was his athletic past. As a self-made man who had built his body up, he found himself having trouble asking others for help. “I had the mindset that if people couldn’t do it themselves, they were just copping out.”

But with the assistance of medical staff, his family and a fresh outlook, Lynn took the big leap. His surgery took place in December 2011. In the months after, the pounds just flew off. His activity level increased dramatically. Soon he was playing baseball and other sports with his family.

“This past summer, I was able to do things with my kids I hadn’t been able to do for 10 years,” Lynn said. After setting an initial goal of 170 pounds, Lynn eventually surpassed it. A year after his bariatric surgery, he weighs 134 pounds. At age 38 he’s lifting weights again and putting muscle mass back on. He goes to the gym every day. Discussions about knee surgery are a thing of the past.

In addition to dramatically improving his health, the experience has also cemented an already strong family bond.

“They were my biggest driving motivators,” Lynn said. “I hated being on the sidelines.”