Fortunately for Chuck Gentry, his wife of 48 years believes in “tough love.” Not too long ago, Chuck was unable to walk to the mailbox without getting out of breath, so she placed a chair in a flower bed nearby. “‘You want the newspaper, go get it,’” he quotes his wife as saying.
These days, one year after seeking guidance from The Corvallis Clinic and its Weight Loss Center, Chuck takes the stairs instead of the elevator.
Chuck, a 68-year-old lifelong Linn County resident, said he was an obese child but lost weight when he started playing football in high school. He kept his weight in check when employed in a plywood factory and then as a logger. But when he quit logging in 1994 to work as a machinist, he began gaining weight, this after being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes a year earlier.
He continued to pack on the pounds to the point of morbid obesity, with all its related health ramifications. The diabetes eventually got out of control and caused eye problems. His legs and ankles swelled. He had shortness of breath. His knees hurt so much that he needed gel injections to ease the pain, and he had to use rail supports in his bathroom.
In 2008, things took an even more serious turn when he had acute heart failure that landed him in the hospital for four days. Unable to stand for long periods at his machinist job, Chuck took an early retirement at 62. In 2012, another episode of heart failure put him in the hospital for another four days. “This time I had to have oxygen at home,” he said, “and had to take the portable oxygen with me when I went to the doctor.”
The road to a new life
When Chuck’s physician retired in 2013, he referred him to The Clinic. At this point, the 5-foot-8 Chuck had reached his peak weight of 344 pounds. “I was fortunate enough to get Dr. Brian Curtis
as my primary care doctor,” Chuck said of the internal medicine physician who is the medical director of the Weight Loss Center. “He was very patient, and he let me know that the weight was the primary cause of my shortness of breath.” During one of his visits in 2014 he told Dr. Curtis that he wanted to do something about his weight. “I think he was as excited as my wife,” Chuck said.
Chuck’s weight-loss journey was then set in motion. “I think my wife’s favorite words are “portion control” and her favorite activity is buying smaller plates,” Chuck jokes about eating smaller portions at meals. “We eat more chicken, fish, veggies and fruit.” Dr. Curtis also prescribed Qsymia®, a weight-loss medication. “It has helped me stay in control during my weight loss,” Chuck said.
He has shed more than 100 pounds and now weighs in at 236. His next goal is to get down to 200. “We take it a step at a time,” he said. With the weight loss, his diabetes is under control, reducing the amount of insulin he needs. “Each time Chuck comes in now,” said Dr. Curtis, “we get to decide, ‘Which medication can we decrease or stop this time?’”
And the days of needing to rest when getting the mail? They are long gone. He now walks a mile a day. “It is amazing,” Chuck said. “I no longer need to use oxygen. I can walk to the back of our farm with our dogs. I now mow the yard and even planted some tomatoes this year. I can even help out in the barn with the horses and chickens. I am looking forward to going hunting this fall. I have really missed that.”
For Dr. Curtis, Chuck’s success is at the heart of his role as a doctor. “It is very rewarding to me to see a patient like Chuck making such great progress improving his health,” he said. “As an internist, I have to treat patients every day for all of the complications that come from obesity, such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, and many others. I love it when we have a patient who is able to improve these medical problems through weight loss.”
Chuck lauds Dr. Curtis and his certified medical assistant, Sandy Lovelady, for their support. “They have been fantastic. They are always encouraging me and celebrating the weight loss with me. All my doctors at The Clinic have been great. It has taken all of them to get me healthy.”
“My family has always been there for me”
Chuck and his wife have a son and a daughter and three grandchildren. “My children and grandchildren are always encouraging me. We now have sugar-free pies for the holidays.”
Cutting back on sweets has been a small price to pay for still having a father and a grandfather. “There was a time I was not sure how long I would live.” Chuck said. “I was in the hospital, on oxygen, with no quality of life. Now I go to my grandchildren’s games and concerts. We even went fishing on the river. It’s really nice to be able to enjoy my family again and for them not to worry about me so much.
“I can honestly say losing all that weight has changed my life. My grandfather was 45 when he passed on and my dad was 51. It is amazing that I am now 68 and feeling great!”
