Corelle Chester: Weight Loss Surgery Saved My Life

Corelle Chester says he felt fine—until he suffered a massive heart attack at age 39. “My heart doctor told me, ‘If you don’t get this weight off, you won’t live to see 50.’”

As his 50^th birthday approached, Chester met bariatric surgeon Brad Snyder, MD, associate professor at McGovern Medical School, during a NewStart™ meeting taking place at Memorial Hermann Cypress Hospital. At the time, Chester suffered from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, borderline type 2 diabetes, stomach ulcers and acid reflux. He used a CPAP for chronic sleep apnea.

In June 2021, Dr. Snyder performed gastric bypass surgery on Chester at Memorial Hermann Cypress. Since then, Chester has gone from a size 3XL to a regular L, but more importantly, he is free from the myriad health problems that threatened to shorten his life as well as the medications he was taking to manage them.

While he says Dr. Snyder saved his life, he acknowledges that he fully embraced all of the lifestyle changes his NewStart support team, including his physician and his dietitian, recommended. He cooks “a lot”—grilling chicken and fish, and eating a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. And he rides his bicycle every day.

“I can do things I have never done before. My kids tell me I look 10 years younger. I am a better version of me,” says Chester.