ST. JOHNS, Fla. – Katie Anderson recently did cartwheels with her children.
That would not have been possible 18 months ago.
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Anderson credits a transformational, life-changing surgery with changing her experience of motherhood for the better and giving her a new respect for Mother’s Day.
“I can do things that I have not been able to do in quite some time and do a lot of stuff for my kids,” she said.
Anderson underwent full gastric bypass surgery in October 2024 after several attempts to lose weight.
She dropped 116 pounds.
“It really wasn’t about the external,” Anderson said. “That is always a bonus. But it was really the physical medical issues that I was facing that I needed to get control of.”
Anderson said she battled extreme high blood pressure and PCOS, which is a hormonal imbalance that affects the ovaries. It contributed to her going through early menopause at 41 years old.
Anderson also dealt with severe sleep apnea, along with being diagnosed with depression and anxiety.
“There was a lot of shame and guilt that I carried a lot from the inability to lose weight,” Anderson said.
She told News4JAX she wanted to change her lifestyle to be there for her children, who have special needs.
Her 9-year-old son, Nate, has Down syndrome, autism, is G-tube fed and is nonverbal. Her 11-year-old daughter, Mackenzie, has Level 1 autism.
And her eldest daughter, Keanna, had muscular dystrophy and died at age 11 in 2014.
“I am thankful for the children that God has blessed me with,” Anderson said. “Since my health is well, someday I will be here long enough to watch my own daughter have a child. Even though my oldest has passed away, I am still connected with some of her best friends that just became mothers this year.”
Dr. Miro Uchal, a bariatric surgeon at Ascension St. Vincent’s Hospital, performed Anderson’s surgery, which was one of about 10,000 he’s done in his long career.
“People become themselves,” Uchal said about the transformation that happens as a result of the surgery. “The bariatric surgery is not about how you look, how pretty you are. But it is about the health and true you.”
Anderson believes the change is her new lease on life.
She loves doing things like biking, hiking, paddleboarding and just spending time outside with her husband and kids.
“It is freeing,” Anderson said. “It feels like chains just dropping off of you. All of my tattoos I did not have my tattoos before. It has just become my testimony on my sleeve that I cannot try to hide it anymore.”
Anderson plans to spend quality time with her “blessings” this Mother’s Day.