She is one of three family members working at IU Health and she has a motto: “Act like You’re the Patient.”

By IU Health Senior Journalist, TJ Banes, tfender1@iuhealth.org

On any given day, Kellie Tillotson can be juggling up to 25 procedures. Working alongside a team of people she calls, “Unsung heroes,” Tillotson is an anesthesia nurse, caring for patients both at IU Health University Hospital and Simon Cancer Center.

She’s been with IU Health through four name changes and a career that spans 33 years including positions with Riley Hospital’s infectious disease unit, and IU Health West Hospital’s neurology unit.

“I love that neurology team. Their doctors and patient care is amazing, but seven months ago, I felt a pull to move to surgery,” said Tillotson. Part of that pull came from personal experience.

A cancer diagnosis resulted in multiple surgeries and treatments at IU Health University Hospital.

“They did such a great job taking care of me. I felt so at ease coming out of surgery and I knew they were not recognized often – partly because they are with the patient when we are asleep,” said Tillotson. She took treats to the staff to show her appreciation and then took the leap of faith joining the team.

She is quick to recognize IU Health Dr. Aladdin Hassanein for his professionalism and personal commitment to her surgical needs.

She joins her twin sister, Jamie Birkle, and her daughter, Janikka Tillotson in the unit. Birkle is a senior improvement leader, and Tillotson is a team lead, certified surgical technologist.

Sometimes I joke that this is “Kellie’s Clan” because I’m always recruiting family and friends to join IU Health. “Sometimes people don’t see all that happens in surgery because it’s not so out in the public eye,” said Tillotson. She talks about how one patient went in for a procedure on his birthday and the team orchestrated a chorus of “Happy Birthday” before his surgery.

“I often ask: ‘Have you been a patient, or do you know anyone who hasn’t been a patient?’ I think that explains why everyone deserves the very best care and we should always work to impact lives in a positive way,” said Tillotson.

“As one of the oldie but goodie staff members I explain my role like this: ‘You should treat every day like Christmas Morning. Every day is a gift and some days you may get the gift you were hoping for, and other days you may get the gift you weren’t so excited about but every day you should still hope for the best.’”

After receiving bariatric surgery at IU Health North in November 2021, Megan Carr has lost more than 200 pounds. Now, she’s focused on feeling healthy.

By Charlotte Stefanski, cstefanski@iuhealth.org, writer for IU Health’s Indianapolis Suburban Region

Megan Carr had struggled with weight her entire life.

Like many others, she gained a few pounds during COVID-19, but by 2021, she was at her heaviest weight of 485 pounds, and she knew she had to make a change.

Carr has been a team member at IU Health for 12 years, starting out as a buyer for pathology labs. Currently, she is a portfolio manager for supply chain contracts, which includes respiratory, anesthesia, lab, and wound care service lines.

Just over five years ago, Carr’s mother passed away suddenly due to blockages in her heart.

“My mom was my very best friend. She was just a huge support system. We were very, very close, so watching her die was hard,” Carr said. “Some of the conditions she had could have been prevented if she had taken better care of herself. She was one of those people that took care of everyone else around her.”

While losing her mother was difficult, Carr became inspired to take better care of herself. She not only wanted to watch her nieces and nephew grow up, but she wanted to be active in their lives.

After connecting with the bariatric team at IU Health North Hospital one year ago, she’s been able to lose 235 pounds.

“I thought I needed to live for (my mom), the life that she could have continued to live, had she taken better care of herself,” Carr said.

‘I needed to do something drastic’

Carr had tried every diet in the book. From Weight Watchers to keto, nothing seemed to work. If she lost weight, it always seemed to come back.

She began researching other options and came across bariatric surgery—a type of surgery that helps to reduce food consumption and helps with weight loss by removing a part of stomach.

“I needed to do something drastic so that I couldn’t slip off this diet. I had to do this, I had to change the physical makeup of my body and make that stomach smaller,” she said.

Carr came across IU Health North’s bariatric surgery program, which included not only surgery, but expertise on nutrition, fitness and psychology.

Dr. Ambar Banerjee, Carr’s bariatric surgeon, explained that while many associate weight loss with bariatric surgery, it is much more than that.

“In today’s world, we call it metabolic surgery, because it tends to improve the metabolic rate of the patient,” he said. “This leads to not only weight loss, but also improvement of medical problems patients have that are directly related to obesity or weight gain.”

Those medical problems include type two diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obstructive sleep apnea and more.

Bariatric surgery can be broadly classified into three different categories; a restrictive procedure, where the patient’s ability to eat more is restricted; a malabsorptive approach, where there is absorption of less nutrients in the body; and the third category is a combination of the two, restrictive and malabsorptive.

The procedure Carr received is called a a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, a combination of both a restriction and malabsorption.

Prior to receiving surgery, Carr worked with nutritionists to develop a low-carb and low-fat diet plan. The goal was to drop 50 pounds in a six-month period, where Carr would check-in monthly to see her progress. She also had to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to ensure she was mentally prepared for such a drastic surgery.

“I could tell Dr. Banerjee cared about me as a patient. Even when I first met him, he just he continued to say, ‘This will change your life in ways you probably wouldn’t think about,’” Carr said. “He was just always very encouraging. I didn’t feel like just another number, I felt like he truly cared.”

Carr was able to lose 55 pounds, bringing her weight down to 430 before her procedure. She knows that some might consider the surgery an easy way out, but she stresses that it’s not. It’s something she’s had to work on every day.

“The dietitians, the surgeon and the nurses, they set up a program for you to be successful, and you just have to follow it,” Carr said. “That’s why I think I’ve had so much success. I’m one of those people, that when I get something in my mind, I’m going to do it.”

Seeing year-long success

On Nov. 19, 2021, it was time for Carr to go from team member to patient. While she was a little nervous, she found plenty of support in her care team.

From the nurses manning the phones to Dr. Banerjee, Carr said everyone was helpful and available. As she walked into the surgical area, Carr received cheers from the team.

“In that moment, when it’s happening and as you’re getting on the bed, you’re really nervous,” Carr recalled. “They cheered for me because they knew what I had done to get there to that point and all the hard work. I was just excited to start my new life.”

To qualify for bariatric surgery, Dr. Banerjee explained that a patient typically needs a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40, or a BMI of 35 with health problems related to obesity. During Carr’s initial consultation, her BMI was around 70.

“Depending upon the initial weight of the patients, we do a vast majority of our bariatric surgeries—but not all of them—laparoscopically or robotically with small incisions,” Dr. Banerjee said. “That is the reason we have such good outcomes, because open surgery is related with a lot more risk for complications.”

With the Roux-en-Y procedure, patients typically lose weight for one-and-a-half to two years. Post-surgery, Carr remembers her stomach being a little extended, but once her scars began to heal, she noticed the weight beginning to fall off.

People started noticing Carr’s weight loss, her clothes began to fit more loosely and most importantly, she felt better and could do more.

Her health problems related to her weight, including obesity, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, were also improving or already gone.

“I didn’t realize how bad I felt. Even just going to the grocery or shopping at a store, I would get tired very easily,” Carr said. “I kind of limited what I did in activity.”

After losing more than 200 pounds, she can keep up with friends while traveling and play games with her nieces and nephews.

While losing weight comes at a more gradual pace now, she’s still trying to catch up mentally after having such a life altering procedure.

“I still see myself as the Megan that started this process, but now I’m different in how I physically look. In almost a year, it’s weird to think about. I hear those numbers and people say, ‘Oh, you look great,’” Carr said. “It’s still kind of surreal, because for so long, I was the picture of terrible health, and now it’s the opposite.”

Dr. Banerjee knows there is a lot of hesitation from patients when it comes to bariatric surgery. It’s not an emergency procedure of a condition that needs immediate help, it’s a choice. However, it’s a choice that can lead to a healthier and longer life.

“They have to make that first move. We are there to help them support them and get them through the process,” he said.

Sharing her story

While undergoing bariatric surgery was a personal choice for Carr, she wasn’t alone in her journey. About a week before her procedure, she began documenting her journey on TikTok and Instagram.

It was mainly for her, so she could go back and look at her progress, and it was also a way for her friends and family to stay updated. She didn’t expect to find a community.

“I shared the good, the bad, the ugly. Whatever it is, I’ll share it,” Carr said. “But in doing that, I found this community of other bariatric patients that live all over the United States.

Those viewing her journey on social media also shared their good, bad and ugly, as well as recipes or post-surgery tips. It helped Carr feel connected and inspired throughout the process.

Every month, she posts a video with pictures of her progress, sometimes getting more than 1,000 views.

“It’s connected me to people in a deeper way, because they see what’s going on with me,” she says.

Dr. Banerjee adds that having a strong support system is important for bariatric patients because there will be some hard days, both before and after surgery.

“This is a journey. This surgery, unlike most other surgeries that we perform, doesn’t guarantee success alone,” he said. “This surgery needs to be followed up with a lot of hard work, a lot of motivation and there are going to be moments when it feels very depressing for these individuals.”

Now a year out from her procedure, Carr continues to be focused on being healthier—both in nutrition and activity. A goal of hers is to one day walk or run a marathon, possibly the Disney Princess Marathon with her sister-in-law.

Carr was 41 years old when she had her procedure—and for anyone on the fence about bariatric surgery—she says don’t wait that long. She encourages those interested to research IU Health’s bariatric programs and speak with those leading it.

While it is life changing, and can be overwhelming in the beginning, Carr said it becomes it becomes second hand.

“I wish I wouldn’t have waited so long, because I feel like I put my life on pause when I was overweight. I wasn’t doing all the things that I needed or wanted to do,” Carr said. “If I could go back and talk to younger Megan, I would say, ‘Just get the surgery, just get it. Don’t wait, because your life will just completely change.’”

<p><em><strong>She lives her life to the fullest because she was given a second chance.</strong></em><br></p>
<p><em>By IU Health Senior Journalist, TJ Banes, tfender1@iuhealth</em></p>
<p>It’s been 15 years since Kathleen “Kathy” Lewis received a kidney transplant at IU Health University Hospital. Every day since she has lived with the attitude: “Try new things you always wanted to do.”</p>
<p>She demonstrated that attitude when she learned to swim competitively. That was nine years ago and she was 60 years old. Since then, Lewis has competed in four World Transplant Games and plans to return to the next one in two years. The Transplant Games are one of many ways organ recipients honor the lasting legacy of their donors. The games are held every two years and highlight the need for organ, eye, and tissue donation, and to celebrate the success of transplantation. </p>
<p>According to Donate Life Indiana, more than 100,000 men, women and children nationally are waiting at any given moment for a lifesaving organ transplant. More than 1,000 of those waiting are Hoosiers. Last year 4.2 million Hoosiers signed up to be organ donors; 276 organ donors saved the lives of others needing lifesaving transplants, 949 lifesaving organs were transplanted to recipients. </p>
<p>Lewis was 54 when her kidneys failed. Her health issues were part of a long-line of kidney disease in her family. Her mother’s kidney failed when she was in her 70s; her sister also underwent a kidney transplant at IU Health.</p>
<p>“When you learn your kidneys are failing it’s one of the worst days of your life, but when you have your new kidney, it’s unbelievable,” said Lewis, a resident of Michigan City, Ind. “It was a nightmare at the time but nothing better could have happened to me. It has changed my direction in life. People say, ‘every day is a gift,’ and unfortunately transplant patients really know what that means.”</p>
<p>Lewis started her care at another hospital and transferred to IU Health in the care of <a href=”https://iuhealth.org/find-providers/provider/asif-a-sharfuddin-md-9224″>Dr. Asif Sharfuddin</a>. She was on dialysis for nine months and received her new kidney in the surgical care of <a href=”https://iuhealth.org/find-providers/provider/john-a-powelson-md-8786″>Dr. John Powelson</a>. She knows she could receive ongoing care closer to home, but she chooses to come back to IU Health Indianapolis. </p>
<p>“I’ve never looked back since coming to IU Health. It’s like you’re the only patient and the most important person there,” said Lewis, who now returns for lab work twice a year. “It goes beyond being a patient. They’re excited with all your accomplishments and the things you go through.”</p>
<p>She has also learned through transplant what a tight knit group the patients are. </p>
<p>“At the Transplant Games the whole country comes together – transplant patients and the donor families. It’s like one big family. We have a blast supporting each other and we also remember those who have’t made it,” said Lewis. At the last competition, team members wore initials on their shirts of transplant patients who had passed. </p>
<p>“What a gift it has been for me to have gotten back in the pool at age 60,” said Lewis. She won a silver in competition in Houston; and a bronze in San Diego in the back stroke. </p>
<p>In competition in Utah, she remembers a young man struggling to complete the race. Team members jumped into the water and swam the rest of the laps with him cheering him on. In Houston, when a donor family member placed the ribbon around a recipient’s neck, the recipient took off the medal and handed it to the donor’s mother. </p>
<p>“We never know how much time we have but we know how much more time we’ve been given thanks to our donors. That’s all time worth living,” said Lewis. </p>
<p>In addition to participating in the Transplant Games, she continues to work full-time, recently completing 22 years of service in accounts receivable and HR with Decker Vacuum Technologies. Lewis is also active with the Indiana Donor Network. In her spare time she enjoys gardening and volunteering at various organizations. </p>