Weighing 214kg, Jasmine Sciasca knew her best chance for losing weight was to have gastric bypass surgery.
Unable to afford the $20,000 for a privately funded operation, she turned up in person at a health board meeting in Wanganui, hoping a personal plea would convince it to give her the life-saving procedure.
only 25, she had been told that the extra kilos were killing her, and despite diets and exercise, she couldn’t shed them. Sadly, the board turned her down, and she was back to square one in her diet-or-die journey.
“It’s so easy for people to say that I should just stop eating and exercise more, but it’s not that simple,” she told the Weekly back in oay.
Since then, Jasmine – who has diabetes and other obesity-related health issues – has continued to lobby for gastric bypass surgery, and has also given dieting another go. This time, she’s losing weight.
Putting herself on a special milkshake diet and exercising more, she has managed to drop 20kg, making it the first time in years that she has weighed under 200kg.
“It feels great, but I do yo-yo and that’s why it’s still important for me to have the operation and get the long-term benefits,” she says. “I’ve still got lots more weight to lose, but I’m proud of how far I’ve come.”
Since appearing in the magazine, Jasmine has received letters of support from overseas and an offer of a gastric bypass operation.
A surgeon in South Korea contacted her and wants to fly her there to perform the surgery – but only if he can document the process for publicity purposes. However, Jasmine’s being cautious about the offer.
“I’m opened-minded about it. I’m not dead against it,” she explains. “If I knew there were going to be no complications, I’d consider it.”
But Jasmine says the safest and best option for her is to continue her crusade with the health board.
“Fingers crossed – it’s a new year, so let’s hope it brings me good news,” she says.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
