When Leandra, a dedicated teacher and mother of five, sat down with me to share her story, it was a conversation filled with honesty, courage, and inspiration. As a busy mom balancing work and family, Leandra faced the all-too-familiar struggle of feeling tired, overwhelmed, and limited by her weight. But her decision to undergo Mini Gastric Bypass (MGB) surgery changed her life in ways she never expected.
“I just wanted to have the energy to play with my kids,” Leandra shared. “I was exhausted all the time. My 10-year-old wanted me to throw the ball around with him, but after work, I was too tired to even go outside.”
At 363 pounds, Leandra had reached a point where daily activities became a challenge—going up stairs, playing on the trampoline, or even sleeping comfortably. She had seen her sister go through a full gastric bypass and worried about the pain and complications that came with it. That’s when she discovered the MGB and started exploring her options.
After attending one of my educational sessions, Leandra took the time to weigh her options carefully. It wasn’t an overnight decision—she saved up, did her research, and ultimately chose the MGB for its shorter recovery time, fewer incisions, and high success rate.
When she finally had surgery in December 2020, she was amazed by the results. “I walked out of surgery in less pain than I walked in,” Leandra said. Her chronic knee pain, which once required a brace and had her facing an imminent knee replacement, disappeared. Five years later, she still hasn’t needed the surgery.
But the benefits went far beyond pain relief. Leandra lost nearly half her body weight, dropping over 140 pounds. She’s now able to run, jump, play with her kids, and stay active in the classroom as a speech and debate coach. Her students noticed too—checking in on her progress and celebrating her transformation.
Leandra also shared a candid perspective on the emotional challenges that come with such a dramatic weight loss. “It took time for my brain to catch up. I still sometimes see myself as the ‘big Leandra’ in the mirror,” she admitted. But with time, support, and following the program, she found her balance.
Along the way, Leandra became an advocate for others considering the surgery. “Follow Dr. Hargroder’s advice to a T,” she emphasized. “The vitamins, the protein, the post-op care—they make a difference. And the fact that I could call him directly after surgery when I had questions—that kind of support is rare.”
Leandra’s story is a powerful reminder that the Mini Gastric Bypass is not just a weight-loss tool; it’s a chance to reclaim your life, your energy, and your future.
If you’re exploring weight loss surgery, I invite you to learn more about the MGB, hear from real patients like Leandra, and discover if this life-changing procedure might be the right fit for you.
Contact us today for more information.
Watch this interview with Leandra
Video Transcript:
"This conference will now be recorded.
Well, hello and welcome again. I'm Dr. David Hargroder and I'm, here with my special guest, Leandra. And Leandra, why don't you tell the audience just a little bit about yourself. I am a teacher and I've been teaching for about 12 years and a mom of five children.
Currently I'm a foster parent as well. And I love music and reading and I'm just your typical single mom, I guess. I'm not single anymore, but. So you had your MGV surgery back about five years ago, right?
Yes, October 20th of 2020. Did you have any, like, medical issues or anything? What was it that sort of motivated you to look into weight loss surgery? I've been looking into it for a long time.
I was tired of feeling tired. And my current 7 year old at the time was a toddler. And I want to be able to get down and play with her. I wanted to be able to like, be a parent and be able to like, go outside with her and not be tired.
I also have two other kiddos that, I've adopted from foster care. And one of them, like at the time he was 10 and he wanted me to go outside and throw the ball around with him. Well, I'd get tired by the time I got home from work and I didn't have the energy to go outside and play with him. I didn't have the energy to do anything.
And so I looked into weight loss surgery. I looked into all the different ones my sister had had, the actual full bypass. And I knew what it was like with her when she went through it. And so I started looking into your surgery to see what the mini gastric bypass would look like compared.
And I really like the fact it had a faster heel time and that, I'd be able to be, First of all, that I would have less incisions and it was less dangerous and that the, bounce back rate, like the, the people that would continually have success with the surgery was higher than with the actual gastric bypass.
And so all the positives in it is what made it where I wanted to have this surgery. I actually had came to one of your sessions, in Pittsburgh, Kansas, and for a year I like debated and saved up and knew this is what I wanted to do. And then Covid hit and so then I had to wait a couple years and by the time like, I was able to actually have the surgery towards the end of COVID in 2020, I had really known that this is the decision I wanted to make.
And to be honest with you, it was the best decision of my life because. And I kind of wish I'd done earlier, but, it changed my life. Like I have been able to jump on a trampoline with my kids and ride a bike with my kids, be able to go outside and throw the ball around.
I've been able to play with my, my 7 year old and not get tired or winded just from going up a set of steps. Like the, the possibilities. I can ride rides at so Dollar City and I can ride rides at water parks. I'm not always like feeling like I have to like at the end when I was overweight, I would have to, sleep on the couch because I couldn't even breathe at night to sleep.
And when I had the surgery, like I can actually sleep in a bed flat and not have to have myself elevated because I was so overweight that it was causing me breathing problems. I also had severe like knee problems, back problems. I have, I didn't have blood pressure, but I was borderline diabetic.
And when I had the surgery, I left. And you say the statement and to me it was like, whatever, I'm not going to leave with no meds. When I leave, like my knee pain is still going to be there, my back pain is going to be there. But when I left I was off my pain meds. Like I was actually didn't have to take them anymore.
I mean the damage is still there from the knee. I'm still going to eventually have to have a knee replacement because I was, you know, 30 something when I had the surgery. But I prolonged the surgery for another five years. I haven't had it yet. And they said I was going to have to have it the next year or two when I was overweight. And so, having the surgery helped my body as well as like my self esteem.
And it helped me be a better mom to my kids and a better teacher to my students. Like I could jump around the classroom and have more energy. And I wasn't just the teacher that sat at my desk. Like I was able to actually move around. So that's been nice. Did, did your students know that you were going for surgery or was this like what has happened to our teacher?
Yeah, so they, I had the surgery in October or not October. I'm sorry, December. I keep saying October, but It was December. December 20th. I had the surgery, December. And, they knew I left early for the break. And then when I came back and they found out, it was really funny because I wasn't hungry, obviously.
And I had some students. I'm a speech and debate coach when I was having the surgery. And so on the weekends I'd go with my students and they got really close to me. They're my own kids. And of them would come in at lunchtime and check on me and be like, Ms. Le. Ms. Michelle, how much did you eat? Let me see what you ate today. Did you eat enough food?
And they're like, checking on me because they know I was losing so much weight so fast. They were worried I was starving myself and they were worried that something was wrong. And then to look back now, like, I've had some students I've came across because I've been teaching 12 years. And so to see some of the students I first taught or students that I taught even 10 years ago, when they see me now, they're like, it's just.
You're a whole different person. Like, literally, I don't recognize you. And to look back at pictures of me before and they talk about it, they're like, it's. It's just a shock to me that you look so different and that, like, my energy levels are different and I'm already a pretty peppy, high energy person. But then to add, having the surgery, it just kind of amplified my energy and what I was able to do.
Kind of got to peel you off the wall off the ceiling now, You're, kind of riding high. Yes. And, where. Where I currently teach, I teach at Lakeland. And, I have to do holds on kids when they are out of control.
I could never have done that when I was overweight. I wouldn't be able to have the job I have now. And I love. What do you mean? Just like, you wrapped? Yeah. Like, if you get, like. Yeah. If a kid gets out of control, to be able to, like, safely hold them. Well, I was so big, I wouldn't have been able to, like, to grab their arms and hold them or do the safe holds.
Like, I wouldn't have been able to get this job because. And. And to be able to help the kids I've been able to help at my job. I met. Because I had the surgery. Well, if you don't mind saying. How much total weight did you lose? I started off, I think it was like 363 by the time I went and weighed on surgery day.
And I have gotten down to. I fluctuate. Right now, I fluctuate between 220 to 223. And I've been here about three years at the same area. Like, I've gained 10. 10 pounds here and then lost it. Doing the techniques you talked about, like, making sure that you drink lots of fluids.
If you notice you're gaining some, go back to the soup diet for a little bit. I mean, it only took, like, a week or two of drinking those fluids to see it come back off. And so, like, that did help a lot. But, yeah, I've fluctuated, but I've stayed where I've lost a whole.
Like, literally, I cut my weight in almost half. That's pretty awesome. And it sounds like. I mean, just. Gosh, just your energy level sounds like it's. It's really through the roof, and that's wonderful, especially with the kind of job that you have and looking after the kids and stuff.
What was probably the biggest surprise you had about the surgery things, maybe benefits that you weren't expecting or didn't realize were gonna.
I didn't. What did I not expect? I did a lot of research. So, and so I think that, that, that helped. But I think that, one of the things I didn't expect, or when you said it, I was like, whatever. Doesn't make sense. I think that you had told us that it's going to take a while for your brain to catch up with the weight loss.
And I really did have body dysmorphia in the beginning. And I'm still at a point where I walk around some days and I still see, fat, Leandra. Or the Leandra that was overweight. And I look in the mirror and I'm like, oh, that's me.
That's not what I'm seeing in my head. I've seen some studies say that it can take, like, up to three years for some people to really get to where their brain catches up with their actual physical being. Right. And that.
That was a big shock for me. That was something that was really hard for me to wrap my mind around. Because I would still—I was so big that I would run into things all the time and, like, stab myself with, like, edges of desks and, like, fall. And, it stopped happening.
And I was like, man, I'm not a klutz anymore. Well, I'm still a klutz. It's not that. It's just my—even my surface area that I would think that I was supposed to be was not the same. And to hold my clothes, to be able to dress in clothes that I never thought I'd ever be able to wear, to shop in sections.
Like, I've never been able to shop in Hollister or like American Eagle or like name brand clothes. And to be able to go in there and not just shop there, but not shop at the biggest size they carry. Being able to wear a size medium shirt because at one point I lost so much weight.
I got down to a medium, and then I kind of fluctuated back up like you said we would, like we would lose a lot and then fluctuate to where we're gonna be. And that did happen. But like, I got so small at one point that I was like, wow, like I've been wearing 3–4x shirts and I'm in a medium.
Like, what? Sure. Yeah. Nice. Nice. Nothing wrong with that. You know, it's not only cheaper, but just kind of fun too. Yeah, the clothes are a lot cheaper. I didn't realize how much cheaper clothes were because it's like half the amount of material they need.
Yeah, yeah. You know, you were talking about how the pain went away almost immediately and you're not on pain medicine. And there was a time when I didn't even really mention that as one of the benefits. Like, 15 years ago, I wouldn't even mention the pain improvement because while I knew a number of patients had reported that, it still seemed like I wasn't even convinced myself as the one doing the surgery, that this was a consistent enough of a result to really promote that as one of the benefits.
But, it is very real. And it is not just the fact that you lose a lot of weight and therefore you don't have as much pressure on your knees or your hips, etc. It's like from the moment you've had the surgery, right?
Yeah. Like, I had a patient come in post-op for his one-week post-op, and he was telling me—as it sounds like it was the same case with you—that he didn't need his knee brace anymore that he had been wearing for months because his knee just didn't hurt anymore.
Yeah, I had pain medicine. And you were able to get off of those after the surgery. I didn't take them. I think you told me I had to stop taking them so many days before surgery or right before surgery. And I never took them again. And didn't have to have any of them filled.
And I walked out of there in less pain than I walked in, even with the sutures and the spots where I had the surgery because my knee was no longer in pain. Like, it wasn't grinding. Like, my knee was grinding and popping. Like, they said that there was no cartilage left under my knee, and you could hear it and feel it pop.
And, like, I still didn't have that pain when I walked out. And it actually stopped grinding and popping. And I'm guessing because there wasn't as much weight pushing down on it to make that sound. I mean, like, I've been to a point now where it is still, like, I still need a knee replacement. I'm starting to feel it again. But that's five years that I prolonged having to have a knee replacement or having that pain as bad.
And I might add, it's going to be a much safer surgery with a much higher likelihood of success if and when you do ultimately have it. And you're young enough that I'm sure you will eventually need it.
But, like, say you bought yourself an extra five years. Right. And one of the things I do want to point out for anybody that's debating on the surgery—I watched my sister, and this was what was really hard for me to want to have the surgery and why it took so long. I sat with my sister and watched how much pain she was in after she had the full gastric bypass.
It was bad. It was really, really bad, to the point that I never wanted to be in that much pain. And I watched as she struggled, and they had her drink out of something, and they had about, like, a straw. So then she got air pockets in it, and it was just really a bad experience. She was screaming in pain a lot.
And, even to this day, like, I did not have pain after surgery, like, at all. And so, like, I mean, I had, like, the minor, like, oh, I obviously had a suture here, so I have some stitches. And you came and looked at them, but it was not anywhere near, like, screaming, crying, needing them to give me extra pain medicine for this and extra pain medicine for that after surgery.
The hardest thing I had after surgery to be 100% with you was to be able to drink a full Gatorade. And it was a little Gatorade. Yeah. And one of the worst side effects I have from the surgery is I cannot stand to drink Gatorade now.
Drink so much of it when you get done with surgery. That was a side effect. I know a lot of people lose hair with it. I didn't have the hair loss. I stayed on top of what you said we had to do. Like, I took the pills. The pills that you recommended that you sold me.
Yes. The vitamins. And then I stayed on top of making sure that I used biotin shampoo and stuff like that. I made sure I had tons of protein and all the protein you said. I never lost any hair. I never had that side effect a lot of people do with the full gastric bypass. So what I would say to anybody is absolutely listen to what Dr. Hargraver says. Because it does—what you say does work. If we follow it to a T, 100% it does. And so I know it sounds like, oh, now I gotta pay for these pills, or, now I gotta pay for this, or now I have to do this. But it does make a difference if you don't want to lose your hair. Just saying.
Well, and I appreciate you saying that. You know, we have a lot of advice to give people, and it's nice when they actually avail themselves to that information because it's frustrating when you see someone struggling or you hear about somebody struggling, and it's like, why didn’t they call me?
Right here through the grapevine, someone is struggling, and it's like, well, why don’t they call me? And, well, and I will say this. I don’t know if you remember, but because it was five years ago and you’ve done hundreds of surgeries, I’m sure, since then, but I was supposed to call in with you every day, at noon to double check.
And I found that that’s something I’ve—when I’ve told people they should come get the surgery from you, and I’ve advertised for it. I said, like, he gave me his personal cell phone number to call him if there was an emergency. Like, every day I’m supposed to call at noon to check in, but if I ever need to call him, call him anytime. And I said, I woke up one day—
And this is going to sound graphic, but—I woke up and I had blood everywhere. And I was like, what is happening? So I call you and I’m freaking out, like, sitting on the toilet fully clothed, just, like, blood dripping everywhere. And you’re like, this is good. Get in the shower. And I was like, what? And so you told me I had to push it up because I had a blood clot. And you said, it’s gonna look like a murder scene, but push it out because that’s what you have to do—you want this so it doesn’t get infected. And I was like… okay. And I did. And it was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, because it did look like a murder scene. But to be able—like, because I wouldn’t have known what to do—I would have rushed to the emergency room.
I would have freaked out. But to be able to have access to my surgeon right after surgery and to be able to check in with you and have that support was huge. And that’s one thing that I’ve told a lot of people when they asked me where I got it done. What did I do? Oh, did you go to Mexico? This one thing about doing. And I was like, no, you need to go with him.
Like, he’s super supportive. And I was able to call him, like, for a week solid or however long it was, and he would check in with me. Like, he actually cares to make sure his patients are doing well after the surgery. And I told them about, like, my incident and that you were there to help me through it and to make sure I was okay and to walk me through what to do instead of me having to go spend more money at an emergency room and then try to figure out what’s going on.
When it was something as simple as, like, it was a blood clot I had to push out, and it healed itself. And, yeah, it was…
Let’s let—I want to clarify this for anyone that might be watching this. It wasn’t the kind of blood clot that’s like a bad blood clot you get in your veins, you know. This was a hematoma.
At one of your incision sites.
Yes.
And so it’s like clotted blood right up under the incision.
Right.
And so you squeeze—kind of like squeezing a pimple—and a whole bunch of that clotted blood came out.
Yes.
Yeah, that’s a totally, you know, kind of a not-dangerous dilemma.
And, like you said, saved yourself an ER visit. So I was glad we were able…
But having that support from you afterwards was very helpful, and it was very nice. I can see where, for someone who’s not used to being around, you know, blood and guts, that to all of a sudden see blood on you can be a little bit…
A little bit disconcerting.
Well, like, you're laying… Like, I had to—oh, and hugging a pillow. You told me to make sure I hugged a pillow.
Absolutely.
If you’re having the surgery, you need a pillow. That is your belly pillow. I know that sounds weird, but this—and, like, through all of it, all my kids were like, where’s mom’s belly pillow?
Because hugging a pillow, like, really does help when you go to sit up after surgery and that kind of stuff. But I was laying in bed with my pillow—that’s why I was right about to say that—and I felt all the warmth, and I was like, that’s not normal. And so that’s how I found out. But no, the pillow.
I do want to make sure you tell people, like, that pillow helped. It was my best friend.
Yeah. Good for coughing and that sort of thing. It probably splints the belly fresh after surgery.
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. All right, well, you’ve given a whole lot of wonderful advice already to people that might be thinking about this surgery.
Anything you—I mean, of course, it sounds like you’ve researched it so well—I don’t know if this question’s even going to apply to you, but is there anything you wish you had known ahead of time?
Going into it, you can never give blood again.
Yeah, we recommend not giving blood because you’re at risk for anemia and iron deficiency. You can give plasma, but not blood. Like, I know that that wouldn’t have been a deciding factor for me, but, like, the first time I went to give blood—because I did like giving blood—when they found out I had gastric bypass, they were like, nope, you can’t.
And I was like, what? No one told me. And I was so disappointed. But that was something I wish I’d known. I didn’t know about that.
And this is gonna sound pretty graphic.
Yeah. Make that part of my pre-op education, you know?
And then I didn’t—I’m sure you told us at some point—but you’re getting so much information. Your stools, when you go to the bathroom afterwards. And even now, like, five years out, I have it happen if I eat too much greasy food, but in the beginning, it’s really bad because you’re flushing all that fat out.
And so your stools are very soft, but there’s, like, this greasy, like…
Like fat form. We call it Agent Orange.
Yes, Agent Orange. And it’ll stain the toilet.
It’ll stain your hand. It’ll stain anything it touches. The only spray I found that will get rid of the smell in the bathrooms is like a citrus spray. Like Poo-Pourri doesn’t work. None of that stuff works.
So invest in, like, a citrus toilet spray that helps with the bathrooms and for your loved ones.
But Agent Orange, let me point out a couple of things. A lot of that is based on what you eat.
So food choices.
Yes.
Will—for example—you might have that greasy discharge you're talking about, the Agent Orange, if you eat something fatty or greasy. And if you're not taking a probiotic—
Yes, you want to make sure you take a probiotic because that can also make you real gassy and bloaty and make the gas real foul-smelling. But a lot of it has to do with what you eat. And then you just have to make that decision: Is the food I'm eating right here good enough that it's worth it?
Yes, because then enjoy. If not, well, then that’s—you know—make some other choices. I did learn, like—you talked about how it’ll make you sick if you had too much sweets—I’m almost—it’s like I’m lactose intolerant, but I’m not.
It’s only to certain ice creams. I wish I’d known that. Like, if it has too much sugar in the ice cream—it’s more an ice cream, not an ice milk—then it can make me really sick. And I’ll get, like, stomach cramps—like, sick—even to this day. Like, I can’t go to Andy’s or Freddy’s.
I have to go to, like, actual Brahms. Or if I’m craving that ice cream, it has to be, like, a low-sugar ice cream or some other alternative. Or, like, yogurt—frozen yogurt from Brahms will work to get that sweet tooth that you’re wanting. But if you try to go to—even if you try to get the mini and eat half of one of them—it will make—
It makes me personally sicker than a dog.
Yeah. Well, I mean, I hate to say it, but that’s just the surgery doing its job.
Yes, it is.
That’s not a complication of the surgery.
Oh, no, no. I think it’s just something that—like, just know that that’s normal and that it’s telling you: don’t eat at these kind of places because they’re not good for you. And that’s what helps you keep it off. And so I’ve learned to avoid certain things because it’s a tool. Like you say in the surgery—it’s not a fix-all. It’s a tool to help you learn to eat right and to be healthier.
I now eat more protein than I did before. I don’t cut out all carbs, but I can’t eat rice. It swells in my stomach. But I eat more protein. And my kids—when they have rice—they eat it, and I’ll just eat more protein. So it’s a tool that really did help.
Awesome.
Well, this was a great interview. I really appreciate you taking the time to visit with me. We got some wonderful information here, and I just want to thank you so much and remind you to stay in touch.
Of course. You know?
Of course. Don’t fall off the face of the earth with us. We want to hear from you.
Of course.
Even when you’re doing well—let us know at least once a year you’re doing well.
Yep. I check in every year.
I know you do. Thank you, Anne.
Thank you. You too.
Have a good day.
You too.
Bye.
Bye."