On a spring day in 2016, Sheri Calabrese was afraid to go down the tube slide with her granddaughter because she thought she might get stuck. That was the day she decided to look into weight-loss surgery.
After some research, Sheri scheduled a consultation with Dr. Craig Kolasch , a board-certified bariatric surgeon with Novant Health Bariatric Solutions in Charlotte. Her spouse, Blue Calabrese, went along for support and was so impressed with Kolasch that she scheduled her own consultation.
In December of 2016, Kolasch performed a vertical sleeve gastrectomy on both Sheri and Blue exactly two weeks apart. This advanced weight-loss surgery reduced the size of their stomachs by 85 percent, limiting the amount of food they could consume. Determined to keep their combined 230 pound weight loss off for good, they signed up for a running program and in September, 2017 Sheri and Blue crossed the finish line of their first 5K race.
Today, the once self-proclaimed couch potatoes have completed seven races and train up to six days a week. Blue is training for a half Iron Man competition and Sheri will run her first full marathon early next year.
Start your own weight loss journey with Novant Health today.
