“You’re never too old to get a new lease on life.”

In 2008, Barbara read that obese older people were more apt to die of problems related to obesity than they were to die of weight loss surgery. Overweight herself, this was the push she needed to find out more.

A retired nurse, she’d researched several clinics that perform weight loss surgery but was ultimately impressed by Duke’s Center of Excellence status. “You really have to be getting good results to earn that distinction,” she says.

Before her surgery she was taking four blood pressure medicines and a cholesterol medicine, and had also been diagnosed with diabetes. She had knee problems, heel problems, and was often short of breath.

After the surgery, Barbara is 105 pound lighter, medicine free, feeling good, and again a force to be reckoned with on the tennis court. “I feel like I’ve been granted a new life.”