{"id":37285,"date":"2025-05-21T07:00:30","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T07:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?p=37285"},"modified":"2025-12-31T21:53:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T21:53:41","slug":"a-mothers-realization-leads-to-life-changing-weight-loss-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/a-mothers-realization-leads-to-life-changing-weight-loss-success\/","title":{"rendered":"A mother\u2019s realization leads to life-changing weight-loss success","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Marjorie Kulp, 52, lived with a multitude of health problems for years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was very sick,\u201d she says. \u201cI had fatty liver disease that was killing me. I had diabetes. I had high cholesterol and high blood pressure. I was incontinent. My knees needed to be replaced; I couldn\u2019t walk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kulp required a caregiver to help with things at home and a walker or scooter to be mobile.<\/p>\n<p>Four years ago, she met with <a href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/provider\/jonathan-spitz\/\">Jonathan Spitz, MD<\/a>, a bariatric surgeon at <a href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/location\/deaconess-health-education-center\/multicare-rockwood-weight-loss-bariatric-surgery-center\/\">MultiCare Rockwood Weight Loss &amp; Bariatric Surgery Center<\/a>. She decided that undergoing weight-loss surgery was a necessary step she had to take for her health and for her son\u2019s sake.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy son has special needs \u2014 I\u2019m his sole person, and I was dying,\u201d Kulp explains. \u201cI couldn\u2019t let that happen. I need to be around as long as possible for my child.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She says most of her health problems were related to being overweight her whole life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI weighed 190 at 17,\u201d Kulp shares. \u201cI was over 300 pounds when I went into surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Within six months, all her obesity-related health issues vanished.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe high cholesterol, high blood pressure, the diabetes \u2014 all went away,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m no longer incontinent, and I no longer need a caregiver.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Rediscovering mobility<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Because of the weight loss, Kulp got knee replacement surgery, which she didn\u2019t qualify for before bariatric surgery.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m walking more now than I had been able to in a long time \u2014 and unassisted,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to being able to walk, she discovered the weight loss allowed her to do things she never thought she could do.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve found that I really enjoy zip-lining, and I want to do more,\u201d Kulp says. \u201cThere\u2019s a course in Coeur d\u2019Alene where you have lunch up in the trees.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She can also do activities with her son without having to suffer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s hard to go have fun when you\u2019re miserable at the same time,\u201d she says. \u201cNow we\u2019re able to go camping again like we used to and do things he\u2019s only been able to do sporadically because of my health.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Ongoing care<\/strong> <strong>post-surgery<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Kulp still sees <a href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/provider\/kathrine-hawley\/\">Kathrine (Katie) Hawley, ARNP<\/a>, at the weight-loss clinic for regular check-ups, and will schedule an appointment with the dietitian if need be.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce you\u2019ve had gastric bypass, you need to eat correctly because your body doesn\u2019t absorb nutrients as well,\u201d she explains. \u201cIf I run into an issue with labs, like if my protein is off, Katie will adjust what I need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kulp\u2019s transformation was remarkable. She went from size 24 to 6.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve gone through a huge change,\u201d she says. \u201cPeople who haven\u2019t seen me in a while don\u2019t recognize me. I don\u2019t look like the same person \u2014 I\u2019m down about 180 pounds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, she\u2019s in the process of skin removal surgery (<a href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/services\/plastic-reconstructive-surgery\/testimonials\/marjories-story\/\">read about it here<\/a>). Once those surgeries are complete, she\u2019ll have even more ability to do the things she enjoys.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t wait for my skin to be fully healed,\u201d Kulp adds. \u201cI look forward to doing activities I haven\u2019t been able to enjoy in a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She acknowledges the surgery was a powerful tool, but not a magic wand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople think the surgery is easy and it\u2019s going to do it all \u2014 but that\u2019s not the case,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s a long journey, and you need to be committed, but it is so worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marjorie Kulp, 52, lived with a multitude of health problems for years. \u201cI was very sick,\u201d she says. \u201cI had fatty liver disease that was killing me. I had diabetes. I had high cholesterol and high blood pressure. I was incontinent. My knees needed to be replaced; I couldn\u2019t walk.\u201d Kulp required a caregiver to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":451,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,79],"tags":[169],"class_list":["post-37285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weight-loss","category-profiles-stories","tag-robotic-surgery"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.6 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A mother\u2019s realization leads to life-changing weight-loss success - MultiCare Vitals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Marjorie Kulp decided that undergoing weight-loss surgery was a necessary step she had to take for her health and for her son\u2019s sake.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/a-mothers-realization-leads-to-life-changing-weight-loss-success\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A mother\u2019s realization leads to life-changing weight-loss success - 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