Walk from Obesity an accomplishment for Westlake woman

JOAN'S JOYOUS JAUNT–– Joining in the Walk from Obesity are team members, from left: Larry and Arleen Adamsky, Angela Zaichik, Joan Getz, Joan Berl-Brooks, Rick Brooks, and Yvonne, Kyra and Julian Anzalone. Some team members are not pictured. A Westlake Village woman who could barely stand a year ago recently completed the three-mile Walk from Obesity in Ventura and, with her team of family and friends, raised more than $1,000 to help others who struggle with their weight.

Joan Berl-Brooks participated in the annual national fundraiser at Ventura Harbor last month. Money raised through the event supports the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Foundation.

Completing the walk was a huge accomplishment for BerlBrooks, who nearly died in 2007 after what was supposed to be routine gastric bypass surgery. She’d made a pledge to have the surgery by her 50th birthday if she was still grossly overweight.

Berl-Brooks says she was always overweight, but after quitting smoking at age 35 she began to gain significantly. She enrolled in weight-loss programs, but none worked for her.

“I tried everything, you name it. I would lose weight then would gain it and more besides,” said Berl-Brooks, who eventually weighed more than 400 pounds.

In February 2007, Berl-Brooks entered Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles for the surgery. While there she contracted MRSA, a staph infection that is resistant to antibiotics and potentially fatal. She spent two months in a medically induced coma, underwent five surgeries to fight the infection, had multiple organ failures and nearly died.

“Whenever you have abdominal surgery, you have a high risk of infection,” Berl-Brooks said.

Her husband, Rick, stayed by her side at the hospital, going home at night to be with their daughter, Josie, now 12. A nanny was hired to care for Josie during the day.

“My husband never gave up. This was tough on him,” BerlBrooks said. “It was very devastating to deal with such a huge, unexpected illness.”

She credits her doctor, Philippe Quilisi, as well as Cedars, with saving her life.

After three months, BerlBrooks returned home in an ambulance, unable to walk. It took a year of rehabilitation and daily physical therapy for her to recover. She lost nearly 200 pounds that year. On liquid protein for months due to post-surgery problems, Berl-Brooks believes she probably lost more weight than if she’d had a normal recovery.

“Our house became a hospital. We didn’t know how well I was going to get,” Berl-Brooks said. “I was very lucky, and I worked very hard to get back.”

Due to her obesity Berl-Brooks could only obtain major risk insurance. Her policy through Blue Cross of California was underwritten by the state of California. The policy fully covered the gastric bypass surgery, but Berl-Brooks didn’t realize it was capped at $75,000 annually and therefore didn’t cover the cost of care she required due to the infection.

“We left Cedars with a $6-million bill,” Berl-Brooks said.

With her insurance covering only a fraction of the hospital bill, the family was left near bankruptcy. Until the surgery BerlBrooks worked as a part-time psychotherapist. Her husband runs a home-based business selling sports and antique collectibles. During Berl-Brooks’ recovery, the family lived off its savings, sold stock and jewelry and had help from family, friends and the community, whom Berl-Brooks calls a “magnificent support system.”

Berl-Brooks and the hospital eventually agreed on a reduced bill. She was completely healed by February 2008 but has since battled depression, a common post-surgery emotion, she said, and gained back 40 pounds that she is trying to lose.

“When you’re very heavy, young kids point and say, ‘Look at that very fat lady.’ People think we’re overweight because we’re out of control, but that’s not it,” Berl-Brooks said.

“We have a predisposition to gaining weight. I’m not the only obese one in my family.”

Online support groups are important for the obese, who often have difficulty being in public, Berl-Brooks said.

Such support can be found at www.obesityhelp.com or www .bsciresourcecenter.com.

Berl-Brooks now runs local gastric bypass support groups. For information, call (805) 490-1213.