A mother-of-three has had a 17lb flap of saggy skin removed from her stomach after she shed half her body weight six months before her wedding.
Olga Hernandez, 41, of Tucson, Arizona, shared revealing footage of her sagging skin being lifted off of her stomach to give an insight into her weight loss journey, which has seen her shrink to a slim 192lbs.
The palliative nurse tipped the scales at 405lbs at her heaviest point and had gastric sleeve surgery to reduce the size of her stomach.
Struggle: Olga Hernandez, 41, of Tucson, Arizona, was left with unsightly excess skin after going from 405lbs (left) to 192lbs (right)
Transformation: Olga, who is pictured before surgery, had nearly 20lbs of excess skin removed from her stomach
Combined with healthy eating and exercise, the procedure helped 5-foot-8-inch Olga drop from a 6XL on the top to a size large before a series of skin removal surgeries.
She is now recovering from the most recent operation skin removal operation, which took place exactly six months before she’s due to marry fiancé Daryl Auclair, 34, on April 28, 2018 in the dress of her dreams.
‘I felt like I had been hit by a bus after the surgery but it was worth it,’ she said of the procedure. ‘I would do it over and over and over again.
‘I hated the thought of having wedding pictures of me looking chunky and puffy. I had to buy clothes two sizes bigger so my arms would fit in,’ she explained.
Shocking: The mother-of-three shared a video of surgeons lifting the 17lb flap of skin off of her stomach following her surgery
‘My skin had become insanity. I had to tuck and roll and hide, and I wore compression garments to smooth it out.
‘I had a terrible top area of skin above the vagina area and I had to wear long shirts to try and cover it up,’ she added.
‘I became insecure and was constantly critiquing my body. I thought it was disgusting. I didn’t want that for my wedding day.’
‘When I first saw the pictures it made me cry. I knew the flap was big but I couldn’t believe it was me,’ she said. ‘It has been completely life-changing. I’m excited for life now.’
Packing on the pounds: Olga started to gain weight after she became pregnant as a teen
Coping mechanism: She continued to eat for comfort to cope with depression and traumatic memories of childhood sexual abuse
Olga piled on the pounds in her late teens after becoming pregnant at 17. She later ate for comfort to cope with depression and traumatic memories of childhood sexual abuse.
In a typical day she would eat a breakfast burrito first thing before gorging on huge KFC meals with sides for lunch and hearty home-cooked dinners like chicken and potatoes.
She also munched through six sharing packs of Doritos a week and hoarded food, hiding it in the bedroom closet to hide it from her kids.
Doctors warned she was at risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol and advised her to lose weight.
Start of it all: Olga began to lose weight through dieting and exercise before having gastric sleeve surgery, but she was left with heavy excess skin all over her body
Difficult to handle: ‘I had a terrible top area of skin above the vagina area and I had to wear long shirts to try and cover it up,’ Olga said of the excess skin
Weighing her down: Olga also had skin hanging from both of her arms
In 2013 she began to lose weight through dieting and exercise before having gastric sleeve surgery, which restricted her stomach capacity to 8oz.
On the day of surgery, in December 2013, she weighed 378lbs, and within six months she had dropped 90lbs.
‘I felt like I had eaten a buffet after three or four bites of food in the beginning and the weight dropped off quickly,’ she said.
‘I ate a high protein diet and worked 12 hour shifts running around the hospital. My scrubs became loose and everyone around me noticed.’
Changes: Olga is pictured in the hospital before undergoing surgery to remove the excess skin on her arms
What a difference: Olga shared before and after photos following the surgery
In April of this year Olga had her first surgery to remove excess skin – liposuction and a vertical arm lift which removed ‘side-boobage’ fat and 10lbs from her arms.
She also had 1.5lbs of loose skin removed from each arm and 10lbs removed from her upper body in October during a string of surgeries, which set her back $24,000 in total.
Then on October 28 she had an eight-hour operation, conducted by surgeon Alejandro Galvez in Tijuana, Mexico, to take away the excess skin from her stomach.
‘I was very nervous going into surgery,’ she said. ‘They wheeled me in and the next memory I have is waking up in hospital at 10pm thinking, “Where am I?”
New woman: The mom proudly flexed for the camera to show off the results of her surgery
Amazing: After her gastric bypass surgery, Olga went from wearing a 6XL on the top to a size large
‘It has been a crazy few days. I’m shocked at how tiny I am. I put on a sweater, a size medium, and that was loose on me.
‘It is the weirdest feeling in the world. I never ever in the world thought I would be a size medium. I’m in total shock. The surgery has been completely life changing.’
Olga, who has three children – Helana, 23, Eryka, 21 and Khristopher, 20 – now faces up to six months of recovery head of her spring wedding.
Once the swelling goes down she plans to buy a tight-fitted, A-line sweetheart wedding gown – something she never would have been able to wear before.
On going recovery: Olga also had 10lbs removed from her upper body in October during a string of surgeries, which set her back $24,000 in total
Dream: Olga plans on buying a tight-fitted, A-line sweetheart gown for her April 2018 wedding after the swelling from her skin removal surgery goes down
Look of love: ‘She looks amazing and I feel like this opens up a new chapter in her life both physically and mentallym,’ said Olga’s fiancé Daryl Auclair
‘When my fiancé first saw me he said, “Wow.” He constantly tells me he looks amazing,’ she explained.
‘I never would have been able to reach this point if it wasn’t for the surgery,’ she continued. ”The thought of walking down the aisle in my dream dress makes me cry tears of joy.’
Daryl, Olga’s partner of five years, added: ‘The excess skin around her tummy has been a major problem for Olga, but it is finally gone.
‘She looks amazing and I feel like this opens up a new chapter in her life both physically and mentally.
‘I am so blessed to have her in my life and can’t wait to finally call her my wife.’