Patient's Wake-Up Call Prompts Walking Routine, Weight Loss
SURY MATURI: My name is Sury Maturi.
And I work for Texas Instruments as a division automation
manager.
After numerous attempts in about 16 years
to control my diabetes with all the medications
and different combinations and then none of them
worked with any positive results, then
my doctor suggested that I should try to lose some weight
and see if that helps.
And then that's when I started HMR program in July 2010.
And that was one of the best turning point in my life.
And that's one of the best decisions I ever made.
I lost about 37 pounds.
I started with the medically supervised program.
My blood sugar numbers have come down dramatically.
I went down for a diabetic to a pre-diabetic, to now,
I'm almost at the edge of being non-diabetic.
And I also enjoy life very well because I
don't have any hypoglycemic episodes that
used to hamper and take away the quality of life for me.
I don't live under the dark clouds of the debilitating
effects of that disease.
As I started doing this exercise, my wife joined me.
And she thought initially that she
was giving me moral support.
And then soon she realized that in addition to that,
she is also benefiting from the physical activities.
SPEAKER 1: Once he started and I noticed
how determined he was with the food and diet and exercise,
it kind of inspired me to do it too.
And I could not just sit on the couch
when he started walking so I just put on my track pants
and started walking with him.
And then I noticed the quantities and what kind
of food he's eating.
And that changed my eating habits too.
SURY MATURI: My kids now have a lot more awareness
of what they eat, even though they're typical teenagers.
They think twice about ordering the kind of fried food
they order at the restaurants.
And in fact, my daughter, one of the best things she ever
told me, this was one of the days when
I was kind of feeling a little bit down and kind of wondering
why me, why I have to do all those things.
And I was reaching one of the gap foods,
like French fries or something.
She kind of slapped on my wrist.
And she looks at me, she says, thanks, dad,
for doing everything, all your hard work.
Because of that, I can enjoy you for much longer
because you'll be healthier.
So that moment I thought there's nothing
that's going to deter me-- neither rain nor snow
nor anything else.
And I'm going to stick to the program no matter what.
That was the biggest motivation for me
and the inspiration for me as well.
HMR is one of the best things that happened to me.
And all the staff and the doctors and the nurses
and everybody is really knowledgeable
and they're very, very committed to the cause.
They are passionate about what they're doing.
If anything, I would say that HMR
has done me a big favor in giving me a second chance.
I mean, that particular feeling of living
again is such a liberating and exhilarating feeling
that I wish I have enough words to describe it.
Not only that, we not only feel good,
we also feel good that we are contributing to the economy
because we completely refurbished our wardrobes.
When Sury Maturi committed to PAMF's HMR Weight Management Program, he expected to lose pounds and improve his health. But one of the most surprising benefits was a strengthened relationship with his wife.
As he embarked on the program in July 2010, Maturi began a regular daily exercise regime and walked his hilly Almaden Valley neighborhood for up to an hour and a half every day for 544 consecutive days.
"My wife Jaya joined me on many of my walks," says Maturi, a busy Silicon Valley engineer who works for Texas Instruments and moved here from Hyderabad, India, more than 30 years ago. "It's given us some really nice quality time to talk and just be together. It's fantastic how much this has enhanced our relationship."
Maturi was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 16 years ago but had managed to keep his diabetes more or less under control with medication. He'd tried losing weight during this time to improve his health and lessen his reliance on diabetes medications but had never been successful.
"In June 2010 I got my wakeup call," says Maturi. "My endocrinologist told me I had no more medication options. I would need to start injecting insulin to control my diabetes. I really, really did not want to do this as a personal choice."
As an alternative, Maturi's doctor suggested the HMR Program, and Maturi jumped at the chance to avoid insulin-dependency.
"I knew this was my last chance, so I was really motivated to succeed and carefully followed all the recommendations of my care team – the prescribed diet, regular exercise and precise medication dosages," says Maturi. "I kept a detailed chart of my sugar levels, weight loss and medication dosages. Very soon I saw a big improvement in my sugar levels and started losing weight. It was very exciting and a great motivator to keep going."
Although Maturi's main goal for embarking on the program was to control his diabetes, he also lost 37 pounds along the way.
"I'm now only taking a third of the medication, and my diabetes is well-managed," says Maturi. "I feel great, am sleeping better and have much more energy. It's a liberating feeling. I cannot thank PAMF's HMR staff enough for their vast knowledge, constant encouragement and being ever ready to help me improve my life."
Maturi's 18-year-old son, Abhiram, and 16-year-old daughter, Kinnera, also are delighted about their father's new-found health.
"At a recent family dinner out, Kinnera suddenly had a very serious look on her face, and I knew she had something important to say," says Maturi.
"She looked straight at me and said: ‘Thank you so much for doing the program and taking care of your health. It means you'll be around for us longer.' I really choked up when I heard that. I hadn't realized how much my ill health had affected my family. I need no further incentive to keep going and doing what's best for my health."
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