Mujeeb Siddiqui, DO, FACOS, FASMBS
Medical Director - Bariatrics

At 388 pounds, Victoria Martin of Palmyra, Missouri felt tired all the time. “I had no energy to do anything in my life, and I felt like I was missing out on so many experiences by just simply existing,” Victoria explains. Along with the physical toll on her body, Victoria’s weight was wreaking havoc on her overall health. In addition to taking lots of anti-inflammatory medications to relieve the pain in her joints, she was on medication for diabetes and high blood pressure and wearing a CPAP mask to sleep at night.

Before Rachael’s Bariatric surgery she felt stuck, depressed, and disappointed in herself for letting food addiction have so much control over her life. “My body hurt, I struggled to do simple tasks. I was weak, mentally and physically. I love food, all food, I think about food all the time. It’s a legal addiction that surrounds us in everything we do, everywhere we go.” After being in the Hannibal Regional Weight Management program for a year and losing 92 pounds Rachael is feeling recharged, important, worthy, stronger, and more confident. “Now I’m not afraid to try new things and I know I can control this path in life and it’s not controlling me.”

Mike Rohn of Pittsfield, IL is no stranger to pain. For years he suffered from severe back and knee pain, leading to back surgery in 2019 and then later that year Mike had a total knee replacement. Being a long haul truck driver for more than 27 years meant Mike usually had most of his meals on the go, which were not typically very healthy. This led to a gradual increase in weight gain over the years, and at the time of his knee surgery in 2019 Mike weighed over 360 pounds, had severe sleep apnea and high blood pressure.