Roosevelt Coach got Life Back after Weight Loss Surgery

James DeLeone is a shadow of his former self.

At 54, the assistant football coach at breathes easier, is full of energy and doesn't rely on countless daily medications to maintain his health.

And it's due largely to a weight-loss surgery he underwent in the fall of 2010.

Today DeLeone is down to 230 pounds from a suppressive high of 375 pounds. With the lost weight went his six daily insulin injections to manage his diabetes — and his appetite.

"I was taking pills. I was taking insulin," DeLeone said. "I was on a whole bunch of things. I still take pills now, but they're vitamins."

The Kent native underwent a weight loss surgery procedure called laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy at Summa Health System in August 2010. He had been close to 400 pounds for nearly 10 years at that time, and the excess weight meant he was taking the half-dozen insulin shots daily along with a handful of pills for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, hypertension and sleep apnea.

Before the surgery, the former Ohio State University defensive center and 1977 Roosevelt grad had been a power lifter. The extra weight helped him bulk up and boost his bench press max above 600 pounds.

To maintain his size and strength, DeLeone was drinking protein shakes and eating huge meals. His typical breakfast consisted of six eggs, a stack of pancakes and four pieces of toast.

But the added weight started to take its toll. Soon he struggled to maintain enough energy to run his two construction businesses, and DeLeone Construction. He'd gone from working in the field to sitting in a chair only managing the work.

"It was tough," he said. "You were always tired."

In 2005 DeLeone realized he needed to change. He started the process to undergo the surgery and made it all the way to scheduling an operation date when his insurance denied coverage for the procedure. Then in 2007 he started the process again, but this time he changed his mind prior to surgery and decided to try and lose the weight on his own.

DeLeone said he managed to lose about 60 pounds, but it quickly came back.

"It was time to swallow my pride," he said.

That's when Dr. John Zografakis, director of the Summa Health System Bariatric Care Center, performed DeLeone's minimally invasive sleeve gastrectomy.

"It was a relatively new procedure at the time," Zografakis said. "And the process is stapling off the stomach from the size of a football … to about the size of a hot dog."

It's a process Zografakis described as "tubularizing" the stomach. By decreasing its size, the surgery essentially limits the amount of food the stomach can take in at one time.

The sleeve gastrectomy differs from a gastric bypass, which reroutes a portion of the body's intestines along with reducing the size of the stomach.

Following the sleeve gastrectomy, DeLeone lost 144 pounds — about 67 percent of his excess body weight. He now eats much smaller, more frequent meals. His huge breakfasts were cut to two eggs and an English muffin.

"And I usually take half the English muffin home," DeLeone said.

More importantly, Zografakis said the massive weight loss curbed DeLeone's diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea.

"He had across the board a trifecta of complications cured by this," he said. "It will without question extend his life."

At Summa, doctors have performed more than 1,200 weight loss surgeries since starting the procedures in 2004. Only about 150 have been the sleeve gastrectomy, which started to increase in commonality in 2007. The rest were gastric bypasses.

Zografakis said there is some concern that people will view the procedures as an easy excuse to avoid healthy diets and exercise because now there's a quick surgical fix.

"From a bariatric surgery standpoint I think that’s where our program shines," he said. "We work closely with our patients. They understand this is not a magic trick. There is a lot of hard work that goes into this. The patients are expected to do it."

Prior to an operation, consultants at Summa help patients plan out dietary and behavior modifications for after the surgery. That includes alternatives for excercise for people who may not know their way around a gym.

The bariatric center provides support and consultation for patients following surgery, and for patients like DeLeone that work includes follow-up visits and regular exercise.

On weekends, you can find him at lifting weights in Kent. During the week he hits Fitness 19 just over the border in Stow.

"That combination of restriction as well as the exercise and activity that he does have given us the great outcomes," Zografakis said.

DeLeone said he attributes his success to the his own knowledge of exercise and the consultation provided by staff at Summa. Now, he enjoys an abundance of energy that helps him on and off the football field.

"I can demonstrate a lot better now," DeLeone said of teaching high school linemen at Roosevelt. "I was a long snapper and I teach that to the kids. Before, I couldn't get down to see between my legs.

"It did save my life," he said.