GLP-1 Medication Helps Sisters Get Their Health Back on Track

For as long as they can remember, sisters Karon Richardson and Nikki James have shared many things, including a lifelong struggle with their weight. After years of trying just about every diet under the sun and watching the pounds return, both women turned to bariatric surgery. The procedures helped them lose weight and regain confidence, but their journeys were far from over.

Richardson and James each backtracked for different reasons. For the past few years, they have been fortunate to get help at BMI Surgery, and independent weight-loss practice offering both bariatric surgery and weight-loss medications at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox.

A large part of that success is offering continued help to patients through BMI Surgery’s Weight Loss Clinic, said Wendy Dyer, an Advanced Practical Nurse on the medical staff of Silver Cross Hospital, who works with patients – and anyone else with a referral from their provider – who want to lose weight.

Dyer helps patients on an individual basis find ways to continue where the surgery left off, or – as for Richardson and James – get them back on track.

“BMI Surgery is a Bariatric Center with a comprehensive weight loss center,” Dyer said. “We not only perform all of our surgeries at Silver Cross, but we also focus on personalized weight loss and identifying underlying comorbidities related to obesity, improving healthy outcomes for each patient.

“I met Karon and Nikki in the beginning of 2024, both struggling with weight gain after previous bariatric surgery,” she said. “After discussing their medical history and weight loss expectations, a weight loss plan with medications to help with appetite suppression, diagnostic testing, diet and exercise was developed. Supporting each other, both followed the plan strictly and had amazing results. Karon is down 93 pounds and Nikki 104 pounds. They have been amazing to work with. Watching their transformation is the best part of my job.”

James, now 52, of Chicago, had her bariatric surgery in 2014, when her weight reached 280 on her 5-foot, 1-inch frame. She lost 75 pounds following the surgery but gained more than half back during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Richardson, now 59, of Matteson, had a bariatric sleeve surgery in 2016. At that point, she weighed 210 on a 5-foot, 1-inch frame.

She dropped weight following the procedure, but much of the fight went out of her when their mother died in 2023. The resulting weight gain added to her stress.

“Our Dad died at age 58,” she said, “and our grandfather also died in his 50s. I have heart issues, and I didn’t want that to happen to me.”

Richardson signed up for the Weight Loss Clinic at Silver Cross shortly after her mother’s passing. James saw her success and followed suit in 2024.

“We go to the clinic every other month, but not together,” James said. “Wendy has been so wonderful. She is ‘Miss Optimistic,’ so encouraging.”

The sisters have benefited not only from weight loss control strategies and follow-ups, but from prescribed Wegovy medication, which helps patients feel full more quickly.

James now is down to 138 pounds and again enjoys walking without the strain of all the extra weight. She’ll treat herself to a taco or two on the weekend but keeps on track during the week.

Now just under 120 pounds, Richardson says she enjoys working out (“All the time!” James interjects), may go for a cheeseburger and fries on the weekends, but Sunday is leftover day, picking from all the meals she didn’t finish during the week.

“And my blood work looks great now,” Richardson said. “I hope more people know about the help they can get at the Weight Loss Clinic.”

James says she usually is a very private person, but she wanted to share her story for the same reason.

“If I can help one person with their weight loss, that’s worth giving up my privacy. Wendy and Silver Cross have been great.”

To learn more about weight loss options at Silver Cross Hospital, visit silvercross.org