\u201cThe joy of life is the gift of the journey.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jason Finley has this quote tattooed on his body in Old Norse rune characters. This mantra helps to commemorate the challenges he\u2019s overcome and remind him to be grateful for the gift of life.<\/p>\n
Finley\u2019s journey hasn\u2019t been easy, and the gift of life wasn\u2019t always assured.<\/p>\n
In 2010, Finley was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin\u2019s lymphoma. For 10 months, he fought the disease at the MultiCare Regional Cancer Center.<\/p>\n
Toward the end of his treatment, he acquired a lung infection as a result of his chemotherapy. To combat the infection, Finley was given a high dose of prednisone for two and a half months. The result of this was a rapid weight gain of more than 150 pounds.<\/p>\n
There was hope. Finley beat cancer and today remains 100 percent cancer free. But it came with a cost. The chemo took a toll on his body, causing neuropathy in his feet and weakness in his legs.<\/p>\n
Finley knew he needed to lose the weight, but his body wasn\u2019t making it easy. Inspired by his experience at the cancer center, he got a job at MultiCare in supply chain and started working night shifts \u2014 which tends to result in less-than-ideal nutritional habits.<\/p>\n
But Finley doesn\u2019t back down from a challenge. He started in the Medical Weight Loss program through the MultiCare Center for Weight Loss & Wellness.<\/p>\n
When he still wasn\u2019t getting the results he needed, Finley did his research and talked to his medical weight loss team to figure out if surgery was right for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople say it\u2019s the easy way out, and it can be if you do the surgery and nothing else,\u201d he says. \u201cBut to get a transformative result, it takes work. I wanted to make the most of this tool \u2014 the surgery \u2014 because I wanted a big transformation in every sense of the word.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aside from not feeling great in his body, Finley had a CPAP machine for sleep apnea and medication for high blood pressure and cholesterol.<\/p>\n
Finley had his gastric sleeve surgery in November 2017 and got to work. He wanted to do everything he could to keep his body strong and mitigate weight loss changes, such as loose skin, through muscle gain. He drank protein shakes, worked out with a trainer for seven months and recently started training with an MMA fighter training for Ninja Warrior who is helping Finley take his strength to the next level.<\/p>\n
To date, Finley has lost 170 pounds and plans to keep going. He\u2019s been able to toss all the medication and say goodbye to the CPAP. He just completed his first 5K and is looking forward to more, including participating in a Tough Mudder race next year.<\/p>\n
But the most exciting victory for Finley is that he\u2019s back on his bike, which he truly missed after the cancer diagnosis and weight gain. Finley and a friend who also underwent weight loss surgery (inspired by Finley\u2019s success) celebrated their new healthy futures with a 52-mile mountain biking journey through Olympic National Park. He is having a cycling adventure with friends in Lake Tahoe this October and plans to ride in Mary Bridge Children\u2019s Courage next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has truly been the change I was looking for,\u201d says Finley. \u201cI\u2019m grateful for this journey and I don\u2019t plan to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cThe joy of life is the gift of the journey.\u201d Jason Finley has this quote tattooed on his body in Old Norse rune characters. This mantra helps to commemorate the challenges he\u2019s overcome and remind him to be grateful for the gift of life. Finley\u2019s journey hasn\u2019t been easy, and the gift of life wasn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":123,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weight-loss"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n