TAKING ACTION
500-pound North River man preparing for gastric-sleeve surgery
North River man is eager to have gastric surgery for a healthier weight.
NORTH RIVER, N.S. – Christian Pratt would love to go swimming with his children. But he can’t find swim trunks to fit.
He’d love to try sledge hockey with them. But he doesn’t fit the sled.
At 5-ft. 8-in. and weighing 509 pounds, there are many things Pratt can’t do. He has plans to change that, though.
One of the things he hopes will help is gastric-sleeve surgery, which he’s booked in for on April 20.
“People ask if I’m scared about going in for surgery, but I’m not,” said the 40-year-old North River man. “I’m scared of dying before I have surgery.”
Pratt was average weight as a child but, like many members of his family, struggled to keep the pounds off as an adult. His big spike in weight came after he injured his back, while working on a construction apprenticeship, in 2008. He already weighed 280 pounds. Unable to walk comfortably, more were soon added.
“I used to be active and involved in sports,” he said. “Now, I feel sick and like I’m going to pass out when I carry groceries into the house. I can’t walk far, and stairs are my nemesis.
“I want to do things with my wife and kids. I want to be around to see my kids grow up.”
He’s afraid of dying in his sleep and uses a machine to deal with sleep apnea.
Pratt said one good thing that came out of his back injury was getting to stay home with his children. Feeling he should contribute to the family income, he tried a few things, including making pens on a lathe and printing T-shirts. None of his pursuits were as
successful as he’d hoped.
His sons, Kyle, who will be 12 in April, and Gavin, nine in April, are average weight but Pratt watches their eating habits closely, afraid they’ll end up like him.
He has a sister who is currently on the wait list for gastric bypass surgery.
“A few years back I was referred to Halifax for gastric bypass surgery, but after a while I removed myself from it, thinking I could take care of the problem myself,” he said.
He tried weight loss programs and fad diets. At one point he lost about 40 pounds but then gained it back.
He did research on gastricsleeve surgery and learned it could be done through small incisions.
“We don’t have that option in Nova Scotia, so I have to go to Toronto,” he said. “It’ll cost me $21,000, so I had to take out a loan. It’s expensive but it came down to: ‘Do I want to be here, or do I want to die?’”
It was when he married
Wendy, in 2006, that he was lightest as an adult – 240 pounds. She and his other family members are supportive of his decision to have surgery.
Pratt said he always feels hungry and was getting up during the night to eat. He recently stopped doing that. At the first of the year he gave up drinking pop.
He’s trying to get out more. He looks forward to warmer weather when he can join other members of the Miniature Aircraft Society of Truro in the field. He became a member three years ago.
“I know I have to make changes in my diet and activity,” he said. “I hope those changes, and the surgery, will bring about a big change in my weight and I hope I can inspire people to do things about their weight before it’s too late.”
Pratt’s blog can be read online at https://christianconquers.wordpress.com/