Contributing Authors
Contributing Authors
Dr Bradley J. Amson (MD, FRCSC, INC)
General Surgery
General & Bariatric Surgery
Advanced Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery
Dr Amson has been practising in Victoria BC for more than 20 years. Although certified as a General Surgeon, Dr Amson has a passion for Bariatric Surgery. He is a advocate in every sense of the word for the people who struggle with obesity. In his artciles, Dr Amson contributes the technical and medical expertize of a professional and a doctor who has the expereince to back it up.
Bonnie Blackhall
Bonnie has dealt with morbid obesity, binge eating, body image issues and mental illness since her teen years. It is only recently that she has been able to speak of her journey.
Bonnie received BPD/DS (biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch) surgery 2006 in Brazil after waiting years for a surgeon closer to home who then became ill and gave up practice. The prospect of having to start the waiting game again was too much to handle so the decision was made to travel to Brazil. Bonnie felt that BPD/DS in Brazil was my best chance for long-term success and strongly believe in the clients’ right to choose what is best for them. Bonnie has also had reconstructive surgery 2009 in Costa Rica.
Bonnie is alarmed at the ongoing maginalization we experience in British Columbia, particularly within our medical system. Treating bariatric surgery as ‘elective’ contributes to this marginalization. Her dream is to finish her social work degree and become involved in a holistic ‘Centre of Wellness’ for bariatric surgery here on Vancouver Island.
She completed her research project recent not only as a requirement for her degree but also to help give those of us who have been silenced a voice in the on going fight to gain axceptance for weight loss surgery in BC..
Jean Hamilton
Author and spoke person for Weight Loss Surgery, Jean Hamilton has a unique and personable way of expressing the joys, frustrations and fears related to her WLS journey. She lives on Vancouver Island and is involved in a number of WLS support groups here including being one of the co-leaders of the Victoria group. After a 3 year wait she had a gastric bypass done by Dr. Amson in September 2006, when Jean first met him she was at her highest weight of 460 lbs. Since surgery she has lost over 300 lbs.
Jean has not had any direct complications as a result of having the bypass, however she has had a number of things happen do to the extreme weight loss, for example she had a multitude of hernias because her abdominal muscles were so loose and also developed a large number of kidney stones in both kidneys, but with everything that has happened she has no regrets of having the surgery. As for reconstructive surgery so far Jean has had a lower body lift to remove the excess skin from my mid-section and to tighten her abdominal muscles and she is planning on having her thighs and upper body including the bat wings on her arms done in the near future.
Presently she is writing her book “A Fat Girl’s Butterflies” which journeys her struggles with my weight right from the time she was a toddler until present day when she finally feel like she has control over it. Earlier this year the idea to write this book was pitched to her and she decided to take up the challenge. For more info check out the books website at http://www.wlspublishing.com.
Bryan D. Llewellyn
Bryan is a Biomedical Scientist and has worked as a histotechnologist for about 40 years. He was born and grew up in the Edmonton and Tottenham areas of London, England.
After immigrating to Canada, Bryan worked in Health Sciences Centre (Winnipeg, Manitoba), and the Thompson General Hospital. After that he went to the Prince George Regional Hospital in the city of Prince George located in the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. He was the supervisor of the Histopathology Laboratory there for more than 26 years. After retirement in May, 2002. he moved to Ladysmith, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island.
Bryan is currently waiting for Roux-en-Y surgery. It’s been 4 long years so far, and with the current budget cuts by VIHA, Bryan expects to wait for some time to come. Bryan feels that WLS is the last option left to save his life. He’s seriously worried that surgery won’t happen soon enough for him.
Ron Merk
Is Lead Author and contributor to WLS Support. Ron is both a post-operative patient of weight loss surgery and has more than 10 years of experience in writing articles and supporting others along the journey of weight loss surgery. In addition to writing about WLS, Ron is a certified Life Coach with 34 years of business and management experience. He often writes articles about leadership, recognition, team building, coaching and various other people centered subjects. Ron is featured on many other media sites and blogs.
Ron brings reality centered real life lessons to his articles. Everything he writes comes form actual experience tested and forged through his own experience or work he’s done with others.
