It was only when I started to focus on myself that all my dreams came true. I’m so thankful to St. Luke’s and the entire staff at St. Luke’s Weight Management Center. I’m finally able to be the version of myself I always wanted to be.
Struggles with infertility can test the strength of just about anyone and Michelle Borst, 39, of Easton, was no exception. The frustration of trying to become a mom for 13 years was almost unbearable. But just when she stopped focusing on her pregnancy dream and started focusing on herself, she was finally able to become a mom.
When Michelle and her husband made the decision to have a baby, she was completely focused on becoming a parent. But as the weeks, months, years went on, she and her husband couldn’t make their dream a reality. The culmination of years of poor food and lifestyle choices led to the weight piling on. After consulting fertility specialists, everything seemed to check out for both Michelle and her husband, except for Michelle’s Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) which was most likely impeding the process. Frustrated by the years of unsuccessful fertility treatments, her aggravating PCOS symptoms and overall mental strain, she decided that she was going to stop focusing on what she couldn’t achieve and start focusing on what she could achieve, which meant losing weight and getting healthy.
At this point, Michelle was approximately 120 lbs. overweight and while she tried on her own to lose a few pounds here and there, she knew that if she was serious, she needed help. When she attended an information session at St. Luke’s Weight Management Center, one of the speakers shared her story about infertility and bariatric surgery and getting pregnant with twins post-surgery. That was the push she needed to go forward; her sleeve gastrectomy was scheduled 11 months from that day.
Michelle’s surgery with St. Luke’s resulted in a 110 lbs. weight loss and an 8 lbs. 9 oz. baby boy! “The surgery helped me lose the weight and change my lifestyle. I began exercising, ran two half marathons and countless other races. Through this, my dreams of starting a family came to fruition,” says Michelle. Michelle’s son is almost five months old and she’s so grateful that she has this precious gift. Her PCOS is also dormant thanks to her healthy lifestyle. “It was only when I started to focus on myself that all my dreams came true. I’m so thankful to St. Luke’s and the entire staff at St. Luke’s Weight Management Center for walking me through the process from pre to post-surgery and still helping me today,” says Michelle. “I’m finally able to be the version of myself I always wanted to be.”