200-Pound Weight Loss Leads to Good Health, Love and a College Dream

For Dorsey Hernandez, folding the laundry is a pleasure. So is washing her car, vacuuming the floor, even cleaning the bathroom. The customer service rep couldn’t do any of those tasks without exhaustion for a decade. That was before she lost 200 pounds.

“Now I go to SeaWorld and Busch Gardens,” says Hernandez, 45. “I can sit in any chair at the doctor’s office. I can even go to the grocery store easily. I used to park near the entrance so I could make it inside and walk around without getting too tired. In the store I’d wonder who would look in my basket and judge. I’m good now. I don’t have a problem.”

Many Weight-Loss Failures

Weight struggles run in Hernandez’ family, but only she and her sister Heather became obese. She tried numerous diets without success.

I tried eating vegan. I tried Keto. I’d lose 10 to 15 pounds. Then the weight loss would stall and I’d lose momentum. At one point I just gave up on everything because I was so unhappy in life.- Dorsey Hernandez

“I tried eating vegan. I tried Keto. I’d lose 10 to 15 pounds. Then the weight loss would stall and I’d lose momentum,” she says. “At one point I just gave up on everything because I was so unhappy in life.”

Hernandez had been diagnosed as bipolar with depression and took meds for those issues. Her struggles were intertwined with a divorce and, ultimately, estrangement from her son.

Years ago, she looked into gastric bypass surgery, and the doctor convinced her to get a lap band instead. She dropped 60 pounds, which came back. Unmotivated, she ultimately reached a peak of 363 pounds, in part thanks to pints of ice cream and entire boxes of TGIF frozen twice-baked potatoes.

All that fatty food took its toll. At her annual physical in 2022, Hernandez received bad news. “I was going into liver failure,” she says. “Also, one of my heart valves wasn’t working fully. The doctor said, ‘Go to Orlando Health and see a bariatric surgeon.’”

Hernandez’ sister had great success with a procedure called the duodenal switch, so Hernandez started researching. She learned that it would help her in three ways: It would make her stomach smaller, so she’d only be able to eat small portions; it would curb her appetite due to hormonal changes; and it would route some of what she consumes through part of the small intestine, leading her to absorb fewer calories when she ate too much.

When she met with Dr. Andre Teixeira at the Orlando Health Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery Institute, he confirmed that she’d made a good choice.

“We try to find the best operation for each patient long-term, meaning 10, 15, 20 years from now,” he says. “For Dorsey, with her high BMI and other medical conditions, the switch was best because it would not only help her lose weight. It would also make a difference with her heart and liver issues.”

Of all bariatric surgeries, the duodenal switch allows for the highest amount of weight loss with the lowest failure rate, he adds.

Slow Road To Slimming Down

In February 2023, Hernandez had her procedure and sat around waiting for her weight to plummet. “Day after day, I’d think about how I only lost a pound a week and it should have been three pounds,” she recalls.

She was alone, living with her mother, working from home and eating pizza, albeit small portions, for dinner.

Then she realized the surgery was only the first step. To be successful she had to fully commit to her new lifestyle.

 “In March I decided to get off all the meds for depression,” she reports. “Meanwhile I focused on weight loss. I exercised regularly on an elliptical machine, which helps me mentally. I get that runner’s high. I was putting myself first and it felt great.”

Hernandez continued on her upswing when, in September 2023, her high school boyfriend, Rey, tracked her down. They’d lost touch after graduation and she went overseas as an Air Force postal worker. That’s where she married her first husband and became a stay-at-home mom.

By the time the reunited sweethearts began talking, she was down to 275 pounds from 345, her weight when she had surgery. A few months later, Rey moved back to town and stepped up to cook healthy dinners. By October, he was grilling chicken for her, fish for himself and prepping broccoli or green beans on the side. “He provided extra support,” Hernandez says. “Mentally, I wasn’t going it alone anymore.”

Gaining a New Family and Happier Life

Eating healthfully and in love, Hernandez started seeing her weight plummet. Whether working from home or, later, going into the office, she followed the recommended routine: protein shake for breakfast, egg white sandwich on low-calorie toast for lunch, a protein bar or second protein shake midday, and that lean protein with vegetables for dinner.

“The weight kept coming off,” she says. “I wasn’t bingeing on anything anymore. If I have ice cream, it’s never a whole pint. I had to change my mindset. I know I can only eat half a sandwich, so I start with a different expectation.”

Today, Hernandez is married to that high school boy and co-parenting his 15-year-old son. She weighs 146 pounds and lives the way she did in her younger years. “It’s like it never happened,” she says about her weight gain. “I’m able to do all the things I’ve wanted to do.” She’s also finishing up her bachelor’s degree in information technology cybersecurity by taking online courses at Seminole State College.

She’d love a new surgery to tighten her skin. It’s not in the budget for now, but Hernandez is not letting that stop her from enjoying the freedom her new body provides. “When I notice the extra skin, it reminds me how far I’ve come. That’s the next step but only icing on the cake.”