One Step at a Time: How Bonnie Found Strength Through Surgery

Bonnie Marshall, 45, was nervous to walk through the door of the bariatric surgeon's office at Saint Luke's Surgical Specialists. After nearly 20 years of unsuccessful diets, the Blue Springs, Missouri, wife and mom of two teenage sons had asked her primary care provider for a referral to a weight-loss specialist.

Bonnie needed help managing her high blood pressure, cholesterol, and long-standing thyroid issues. But now that she was here, at the office of Geoffrey Slayden, MD, a board-certified and fellowship-trained bariatric surgeon, she was anxious.

"It was hard to walk through the door, but I did it," Bonnie says. "This was my last resort. It was either this or stay in a deep, dark depression.”

Barely able to walk upstairs in her home, Bonnie explored weight-loss options to improve her health. In 2003, she tried weight-loss and diet methods, losing 100 pounds, but ultimately regained the weight. “I tried several diets until 2022,” Bonnie says.

For Bonnie, the chance to be there for her kids and husband in the long run made every step of the process worthwhile.

“The other thing that got me through the door was my dad who passed away from obesity-related conditions in 1999 when I was 19 years old,” Bonnie says. “Doctors told my dad that he needed a pacemaker, and he denied it. Bariatric surgery was extremely new in the mid-90s, and my dad did not trust it. We did not have the internet back then to research things like we do now. We had to have a casket made to fit him. Those were my motivations. Even though I couldn’t look in the mirror, I wanted to be here for my kids and husband.”

In 2022, Bonnie completed a comprehensive program to prepare for gastric sleeve surgery, which included education on her surgical options, diet counseling, an exercise plan, and psychological consultations both before the procedure.

“It’s a very individualized decision,” Dr. Slayden says. “A lot of it depends on the patient’s goals, the amount of weight they want or need to lose, and other health issues they may have.”

During a gastric sleeve, the surgeon removes a large portion of the stomach. Gastric sleeve patients lose about three to four pounds per week, losing up to 70% of their excess weight.

Once Bonnie understood what a gastric sleeve entailed, a nurse helped her sort through the details and gave her the information she needed leading up to her surgery.

“I worked with Mindy Levine, RN, at Saint Luke's Surgical Specialists. She communicated with me via the mySaintLuke’s app, where I could send questions and get reminders,” she says. “I would get emails about support classes and be in a group setting on a virtual meeting.”

Bonnie underwent gastric sleeve surgery at Saint Luke’s South Hospital in November 2022. At her one-year checkup, she had lost 81 pounds and was able to stop taking her blood pressure and cholesterol medicine. On Dec. 26, 2023, Bonnie underwent a revision to gastric bypass surgery to assist her with excessive Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). Results were 100% effective. She then lost 50 lbs. from the revision. 

Dr. Slayden recommended Bonnie to Thuan Nguyen, MD, at Saint Luke's Plastic Surgery Specialists. In March, she had surgery with Dr. Nguyen, which alleviated rash symptoms and removed her excess skin.

“I'm able to look in the mirror again, and shopping's fun again because everything fits. I feel like a teenager again,” she says.

“When I had five pounds of skin removed from my stomach area, I was like ‘Oh wow, none of my pants fit this summer in 2025.’ I am now a size six and I don't even know if I was a six in high school.”

In January 2026, Bonnie reached a new milestone: She’s lost 177 pounds, and now wears a size two. Her routine consists of tracking her protein intake, initially by following bariatric care guidelines on mySaintLuke’s app, but it is now her lifestyle.

“In this Saint Luke’s program, they teach you how to make it forever. There’s no ‘done’ in it—this is your new daily routine,” she says. “This is a truly life-changing thing, and that’s what makes it different from a commercial diet that’s 90 days or 30 days of meals.”

If you're considering surgical weight-loss options, take the first step by watching this educational seminar to learn more about our program.