Obesity took Jessica’s mom at age 55. She didn’t want the same to happen to her.

“My mom died of a heart attack early. She was only 55, and it was due to her being obese for so long. That’s pretty young, and I want to live longer than that,” said Jessica Barnett. “That was the catalyst. I could see myself following in her footsteps. I really didn’t want to die.”

This is the primary reason for Jessica’s decision to have weight loss surgery. She had been on a 20-year weight loss journey, that culminated with her surgery in May 2015. At that time, she weighed in at 250 pounds, wore a size 22 and had a BMI of 40.

Jessica started her weight loss surgery journey like all other patients at Sentara. She watched a formal presentation on obesity, how it affects overall health, the science of obesity, how to treat it, what surgeries are available and how pre-operative and post-operative processes work. She then went to see Dr. Dockins for an initial consultation.

At this point, some patients decide not to move forward, but Jessica elected to proceed. She committed to a medically supervised weight loss program with a nutritionist. Most patients spend three to six months losing weight and going through pre-op testing to make sure they are fully educated, and it is safe for them to proceed with surgery. The staff works with patients to make changes prior to surgery; these pre-operative changes ultimately aid in their post-surgical success.

“Most morbidly obese people who try to lose the weight without surgery regain all their weight within two years,” Dr. Dockins said. But the education Sentara provides helps people to prepare for a healthy lifestyle. Patients are given the education followed by surgery to set them up for long-term weight loss success. “Weight loss surgery is a tool we use to help achieve the goals of life-long weight reduction and resolution of the medical problems associated with obesity. The lifestyle changes that people make throughout the process is just as important to their long-term success,” said Dr. Dockins. He teaches patients to use that surgical tool.

Jessica took Dr. Dockins’ advice to heart and made the healthy changes required to maintain permanent weight loss. “One of the things that’s a big change for me is being conscious of portion sizes,” Jessica said. She replaced all her dishes with smaller, picnic size dishes. She also began a regimen of walking five to six miles per day. Her family uses the dishes and walks with her. As a result, they have lost weight, too.

Jessica now weighs in at 143 and has been maintaining that weight for the past three to four months. She wears a size eight, which she achieved in nine months. She is no longer trying to lose weight, but just to maintain it.

Losing all that weight has meant a change in shopping habits. To find the right size, Jessica often has to shop in the junior section. “But I don’t want to look like a teenager,” she said. She turns to the Internet and personal shoppers to help her get the right size and styles for her.

Jessica also takes advantage of the support groups offered by Sentara, which provide in-person support and through a private Facebook group. The online group shares healthy recipes offer words of encouragement and holds clothing swaps, so members don’t have to buy a completely new wardrobe as they lose weight. “It’s inspiring for people who are going through their surgeries,” Jessica said.

Jessica isn’t alone in her struggle with obesity. The Center for Disease Control says more than one-third (34.9 percent or 78.6 million) of U.S. adults are obese. Dr. Dockins said a typical patient he sees might be 150 to 200 pounds overweight. Like Jessica, they’ve tried medication, diet modification, and exercise to no avail.

But this isn’t just a desire to look better. Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, and the estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. is in the billions.

Dr. Dockins aims to improve those statistics one patient at a time. To attain that goal, Dr. Dockins performs gastric bypass surgery, the surgery Jessica had, and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. The goal of these surgeries is not only to lose weight but to help alleviate those health problems that come along with obesity. He estimates that only about one percent of people who have access to weight loss surgery take advantage of it.

Dr. Dockins doesn’t stop with surgery; he says he wants to continue to be a resource for his patients long after he sees them in his operating room. “I’ve performed hundreds of surgeries, but more importantly, I’ve followed hundreds of post-op patients for the months and years after surgery. This long-term relationship helps to ensure that patients’ medical problems are resolving, they’re losing weight without developing nutritional deficiencies, and they are maintaining

a healthy lifestyle. The life-long follow-up is just as important as performing the initial surgery. “I want patients to lose weight for life. I do my best to work with people and make them successful.”

Jessica Barnett would agree. “He [Dr. Dockins] is a wonderful man,” said Jessica. “He saves many lives. He cheers for you. I’m very lucky I found him.”