“I was a big, beautiful woman. But I wasn’t healthy.”

In her job at a local orthopaedic clinic, Priscilla regularly saw overweight patients with serious knee, foot, and joint problems. But although she was overweight herself, she never saw it as an issue -- until she began struggling with sleep apnea.

“A doctor told me I might die in my sleep,” Priscilla says. “That was a wake-up call.”

Determined to get her health back, she researched her options and decided to undergo weight loss surgery. She lost 140 pounds and all her health issues -- including diabetes, high blood pressure, and sleep apnea.

She now mentors others on their journeys through weight loss surgery and has made nine referrals to the Duke Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery.

“I keep teasing the staff that they should give me a commission, but they’ve already given me the greatest gift: a healthy life.”