Brittany Burns
December 12, 2023
Stuck. Overwhelmed. Unhappy. That’s how Brittany Burns felt five years ago. She was 24 years old, a single mother of two, working 40 hours a week at a fast-food restaurant – and she weighed over 400 pounds.
She suffered from crippling back pain that made it difficult to perform her job and made it nearly impossible to enjoy play and activities with her children.
“I was very uncomfortable because I was so big,” she said. “I couldn’t get out and run with them. I couldn’t do anything with them. Who wants to live like that?”
Brittany had tried to lose weight, but between the hours she spent working and taking care of her kids, she had little time, energy or resources left to spend on herself.
Brittany was born in Tallahassee at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH) in 1994. She spent her childhood growing up in Chattahoochee, Florida. From a young age, she struggled with her weight, and over the years, her mother took to her various specialists to understand and address her weight gain.
Brittany grew up fast, having experienced significant trauma, including the loss of her father when she was 12. She had her first child at 17, and her second child when she was 23, but her relationships were tumultuous, which made it difficult to focus on her health.
Brittany Burns, 29, had struggled with weight gain her entire life. Her dramatic transformation is the result of her dedication to a complete lifestyle change and the support of TMH’s bariatric surgery program.
In 2018, Brittany decided she couldn’t live like that anymore, and she began to explore bariatric surgery. Her road to surgery would be long with many stops and starts, but Brittany would eventually find her way back to TMH. First, she had many obstacles to overcome.
Brittany had no employer-sponsored health benefits or paid time off. The process of pursuing bariatric surgery with Medicaid was daunting, but she began scheduling her initial appointments. Then, in October 2018, Hurricane Michael tore through Northwest Florida. Like many, Brittany’s life was in upheaval following the storm.
At that point, she walked away from her plan to pursue surgery.
Still, Brittany knew she had to make a change if she wanted to improve her life, and so, she set her sights on another goal: a new job, one with access to health insurance and paid time off.
In 2020, she landed a job at the Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee as a human services worker, assisting patients with eating, bathing, changing clothes and brushing their teeth. But then, tragedy struck again — Brittany’s home burned down, and she lost everything. She would spend the next couple of years moving herself and her children around to live with different family members.
Committing herself to weight loss while working and caring for her children felt impossible, but Brittany wanted it badly. After one year of employment with the state, she received benefits and scheduled a doctor’s appointment – this time for her overwhelming back pain.
Her provider prescribed medication to alleviate her pain and recommended she consider bariatric surgery. Brittany was hesitant, having already once explored that path, but her provider referred her to Greg Laffitte, PA-C, MS at TMH Physician Partners – Endocrinology, Obesity & Diabetes.
Now Brittany was on the path to her new life.
“When I met Greg, I knew I would be successful,” she said.
“Anything I can think of that I can physically do, I do it,” Brittany Burns, 29, said after losing more than 215 pounds with the support of TMH’s bariatric surgery program.
It was important to her that Greg introduced himself and let her get to know him before asking her to share about herself. This made her comfortable at a time in her life when she was almost always uncomfortable. Greg worked with Brittany to create a personal treatment plan that would best suit her situation and lifestyle, and he helped her prepare for her eventual surgery.
At that point, Brittany weighed 377 pounds, and Greg encouraged her to lose about 18 pounds by her next appointment in two months. She immediately quit drinking soda, which had become a staple of her diet. When she went back for her next appointment, she had lost over 16 pounds.
Greg continued to encourage her to lose weight in preparation for surgery, and so for the next eight months, she worked out, mostly in and around her home at first because she was too embarrassed to go to the gym.
“I didn’t even like people looking at me,” she said. “I wasn’t comfortable, so I just walked down an old country road that nobody ever really went down.”
Preparing for surgery wasn’t easy, but Brittany was dedicated.
“I didn’t think I had this in me, but Greg has probably been my biggest motivator throughout this whole thing,” she said.
Greg also referred her to a therapist, Dr. Kay Colvin-Guthrie, PhD, to support Brittany through the mentally and emotionally challenging journey.
“Some days, I struggled to make it through and be positive for others,” Brittany remembered, but she is grateful for her care team.
Greg’s daughter, Megan Bell, PA, also helped Brittany prepare for her surgery. Megan works at TMH Physician Partners – General Surgery with Brittany’s bariatric surgeon, Joey Jarrard, MD. Brittany had completed the required bariatric surgery seminar, but Megan helped to put her at ease by further explaining the details of her upcoming procedure and answering questions.
On the morning of surgery, May 9, 2022, Brittany weighed 303 pounds. She felt safe in the care of Dr. Jarrard, a father of four, who could relate to Brittany’s desire to come home to her kids and play with them.
Dr. Jarrard is the only fellowship-trained bariatric surgeon in the region and has helped TMH to earn a distinguished national accreditation by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP). Brittany knew she was in good hands.
Brittany’s surgery took about two hours, and although she felt sore and tired for several days after, she was excited to get out and move as each day felt better than the last. Brittany was back in the gym two weeks later for light exercise and back to work the following month.
Most patients return to work following surgery within two to four weeks, depending on their job demands and personal recovery needs.
This past June, Brittany celebrated her 29th birthday and all that she’s accomplished. She currently weighs 184.9 pounds, (only 14.9 pounds away from her goal of 170), and she decreased her waist from 69 to 32 inches.
“Watching Brittany succeed has truly been amazing,” Greg said. “Her overwhelming success is due to her disciplined and steadfast commitment to becoming healthier. She now embodies remarkable personal healthcare, and it has been an honor and a privilege to participate in her transformational journey.”
Before weight loss surgery at TMH, Brittany Burns had crippling back pain. Now, she can enjoy exercising and playing sports with her children.
Brittany works to keep her body fit, strong and healthy.
“I’m not just dieting. Anything I can think of that I can physically do, I do it – I’m active in the gym every other day, I lift weights, I do cardio, I do squats, I do everything,” she said. “I don’t ride a mower to mow the grass; I push it. I don’t take the elevator at work; I always take the stairs. This success takes everyday life changes.”
But Brittany has even more to celebrate – this past October, she moved into her own place with her children, now 11 and 6 years old.
“I don’t have to worry about imposing on family or bothering other people – it’s a good feeling,” she said.
She also now enjoys playing ball with her kids all the time.
“Sports are a big thing in our family,” she said, “and I haven’t been able to play since I was in middle school because I’ve just been so heavy and miserable.”
Brittany Burns’ weight loss journey continues as she moves closer to her goal weight after having lost 215 pounds following bariatric surgery at TMH.
Brittany is proud of herself, but she’s not done yet. She has bigger goals, and she’s excited for what is to come. She just finished her state board exam to become a Certified Nursing Assistant, and she has her eyes on the Licensed Practical Nurse certification next.
She is also thankful – thankful for her providers at TMH, her family, particularly her mother and grandmother, her job and for the opportunities to improve her life.
What advice does she have for others who may be interested in bariatric surgery?
- Make sure you’re ready: If you’re not ready for the lifestyle change that comes with wanting to lose weight, you need to rethink it and try again.
- Listen to your doctor: You can’t make things hard for your doctor – you’ve got to be willing to do what they tell you, because if you don’t, they’re not going to take you seriously.
- Good luck!
Ready to get started on your weight loss journey? Complete the interest form, and a member of TMH’s weight loss team will call you to answer your questions and help you take the next step.
