Eathell’s Story: Style for Life

Eathell Lewis had been trying to get to this moment for a long time. She’d first attempted bariatric surgery in 2023, but a delay in paperwork forced her to start over. When she finally got her consultation scheduled at GBMC, fate intervened again. The surgeon she’d been assigned was leaving. 

Most people would have felt discouraged. Eathell went to the GBMC website instead. There, she watched an interview welcoming a new physician to the bariatric staff: Dr. Timothee Friesen. She saw someone warm, genuine, and deeply human, a husband, a father, a skilled surgeon who clearly cared about the people in front of him. 

“I knew right away that I wanted this guy to be my physician,” Eathell said. She requested Dr. Friesen specifically. From their very first consultation, she felt comfortable, heard, informed, and ready. He explained the procedure, laid out what to expect, and from there, as Eathell puts it, it was “full steam ahead.” Her surgery took place in July 2024 with no complications. 

The changes came fast, and they went deep. 

“Momma got a brand new bag,” Eathell said with unmistakable pride. She can cross her legs now, something so simple that most people never think about it, but for Eathell, it’s a symbol of everything that’s shifted. She’s changed the way she dresses, the way she styles herself, the way she shows up for any occasion. Where she once dressed to hide, she now dresses to be seen. 

“Now, when I buy clothes, I say ‘If it ain’t tight, it ain’t right,’” she laughed.

Her primary care physician, Dr. Kevin Ferentz, was the first person to speak to her honestly about her weight and the options available to her. That conversation planted a seed. GBMC’s COMP gave it room to grow. Eathell has also learned something harder: how to shut out the noise. Other people’s opinions, their comparisons, their unsolicited commentary about weight, she’s found the strength to let it go. 

“Although I have a small amount of weight left to lose, I am confident that I can reach my ultimate goal,” she said. 

Eathell’s story is about a woman who refused to let setbacks define her , and a team that made sure the door was always open when she was ready to walk through it.