Becoming a grandparent is a pivotal occasion in anyone’s life, even when it isn’t the first time. But the birth of Lisa Phillip's second grandchild was especially significant for the registered nurse from Deputy, Ind.

It was the day she realized she was going to die.

Lisa was not yet 50, but had struggled with her weight all her life. Virtually anorexic in her teen years, she put on more and more weight after the birth of her own two children. At one point she was nearly 367 pounds, and suffered from asthma, knee and back pain, high blood pressure and sleep apnea.

As a nurse and a mother, she’d gotten used to putting others’ well-being ahead of her own. Every day was as struggle, albeit one she’d grown accustomed to. She made do as well as she could, even discussed knee joint replacement with her doctor. But the day her granddaughter came home from the hospital, Lisa said, it hit her like a ton of bricks.

“I couldn’t even pick this baby out of the bassinet and walk to the next room without running out of breath or worrying that I would drop her. I actually had my husband spotting me in case we fell,” she said.

“And suddenly I knew: I would not live to see this child grow up.”

After being ordered by doctors to put on weight during her own pregnancies, Lisa said she “went to the other extreme.” The struggle of raising young children while also attending college for her nursing degree trained her to put her own needs on a back burner.

Before she knew it, she was so heavy it was impacting her ability to work at the pace she preferred or spend quality time with her family. They loved taking vacations to Disney World or other attractions, but she would wait in line for favorite rides wondering if she’d be turned aside for being too large to fit in the seats.

Lisa tried all the popular diets and weight programs, receiving direction from her doctors. But the pounds always returned. She even looked into bariatric surgery years earlier, but received erroneous advice from an unqualified doctor about the health risks and results she could expect, which scared her off. Still, she continued to worry about the long-term effects of obesity.

“I was an intensive care nurse, an educator and assisted with open-heart patients. So I knew what my weight was doing to my health,” she said.

Finally, after that fateful day with the baby, Lisa began to seriously explore bariatric surgery. As a nurse she knew how to perform in-depth online research on every hospital within a 120-mile radius, looking for those with the best safety records, patient recommendations, qualifications and outcomes. To her surprise, the Weight Loss Institute of Columbus Regional Health kept showing up at or near the top of every list.

“It was just a no-brainer.”

After attending an informational meeting — at which Lisa “raked the doctor over the coals” with detailed questions — she and her family members unanimously agreed that the sleeve gastrectomy was the best option for her. She underwent the standard six-month review process to try to lose weight again.

Lisa did lose about 30 pounds, but also made a more significant change: she undertook a serious exercise program for the first time in her life — even hiring a personal trainer. This, she said, made her stronger so she could better withstand and recover from the surgery.

Her procedure went like a text book. The doctors and staff at the Weight Loss Institute had helped her educate herself thoroughly about what to expect and how to manager her post-surgery recovery.

Lisa’s weight loss has been steady — six months after surgery, she had lost 170 pounds. She’d successfully retrained herself how to eat, and kept up with the exercise regimen. She participates in online support groups and enlists friends and coworkers as enablers of healthy habits.

“I make mistakes, but I get back on that horse real quick when I fall off. I have people who call me out and push me to exercise,” she said.

The results have been dramatic. Her energy level is through the roof. Lisa runs up flights of stairs without running out of breath. She no longer takes any medication for asthma or blood pressure, her sleep has improved, and her joint pain has fled. Another grandchild arrived, and she didn’t lose her breath while carrying her.

And the baby she did fear dropping? She’s now a strapping child of 40 pounds, whom Lisa easily tosses in the air and catches.