Long-time Robeson school system employee sees health improve after surgery

PARKTON 一 Glenn Sutton, a long-time employee in the Robeson County school system, recently underwent a surgery that he says has changed his life for the better.

Sutton has worked in the Robeson County School system for the past 40 years, spending the previous five as the In-School Suspension (ISS coordinator) at Parkton Elementary School.

“Last year, I had a wonderful year,” Sutton said. “However, I had some major challenges. One of the challenges was my health.”

Sutton struggled with keeping his diabetes in check; his cholesterol levels were unstable, and his blood pressure was extremely high: 160/120, compared to the average healthy blood pressure of 120/80.

“Like I said, I was good last year,” said Sutton, “ but I knew I could be better.”

Sutton had been taking a plethora of medications before choosing to pursue surgery. He was prescribed Ozempic to control his diabetes, pills for his blood pressure and pills for his cholesterol before he came across a YouTube popup showing a before and after of the gastric bypass procedure.

The ad sparked his interest, and before long, Sutton researched the procedure and watched videos from those who had undergone the surgery. “I saw his testimony, and then another testimony, and another,” Sutton said, “and I said, ‘if it worked for them, why can’t it work for me?”

Initially, his wife, Djuna Sutton, was apprehensive. She worried Sutton could face damaging impacts from the procedure.

According to Stanford Healthcare, some of the issues that can result from gastric bypasses include stomach leaks, malnutrition, and dumping syndrome, which occurs when food passes through the stomach into the intestine without being digested.

Sutton’s doctor recommended the surgery regardless of the potential complications.

Sutton said that the doctor gave him an example of his health issues and the potential benefit of the procedure that clicked with both him and his spouse.

“This is what’s going on inside your body. Your organs are working too hard; all these years, they’ve been working-work-working. What’s going to happen at the rate that you’re going is that eventually, it’s going to stop because you’re too heavy, and your body is working too hard.”

Sutton said he thought of his family in that moment. “…My kids and my future grand kids I may never see,” he said, “and I want to do more plays and show more movies, and I knew I couldn’t do it with the weight I was carrying.”

Before the surgery, Sutton had to attend a 13-session course with a nutritionist and social worker to ensure he could change his nutrition and exercise habits and maintain them after surgery. “They want you successful,” Sutton said.

The recommendations set out by Sutton’s doctors include avoiding fast food, fried food, night-snacking and portion control.

“I used to order a big mac, cheeseburger, a 20-piece, a large coke and ice cream,” Sutton said. “I used to eat all that, fall asleep, wake up around 11 o’clock, and go to the refrigerator to find something. If you keep doing that over time, you gain a lot of weight. That’s what happened to me.”

He says he has also started exercising a lot more, going to the gym when he wakes up each morning.

Sutton said he weighed approximately 283 pounds before his surgery on June 18. He said that after just the first few days, he started to feel better, and as he kept up with his new routines, his mental health also started seeing improvements.

After a month, Sutton lost 40 pounds.

Sutton believes that he will be better this upcoming school year than the last, able to move much quicker and feel sharper. He hopes that the students at Parkton Elementary see how he’s changed and find hope if they’re struggling with obesity.

“It was the best decision that I’ve made,” he said. “I wish I hadn’t waited so long.”