Sisters Rhea Hickman, left, and Tara Hickman navigated bariatric surgery and weight-loss success together.
Photo by Kimberly Pham
Two years ago, Tara Hickman, 36, decided to try a new strategy in her years-long battle with weight.
She met with surgeon Dr. Shaun Daly at the UCI Health Chao Digestive Health Institute and scheduled bariatric surgery.
Soon after, her sister, Rhea Hickman, 42, who was also discouraged by her weight, decided to join Tara. They both underwent gastric sleeve surgery, which removes a portion of the stomach.
The sisters, who are best friends and share a home together in Irvine, drew inspiration from each other as they navigated surgery, recovery and rapid weight loss.
Today Tara has lost 120 pounds, while Rhea, who underwent breast cancer treatment earlier this year, has lost 106 pounds.
The Hickman sisters agree on most things including this: The decision to undergo weight-loss surgery was one of their very best.
Rhea and Tara Hickman describe their journey:
"We were very active growing up. As we got older and weren’t playing sports anymore, we became sedentary and started gaining weight through college.
"We tried every diet you can think of. We would lose weight, then gain it back and then some. It got to a point where we knew we needed help.
"There is a six-month process to prepare for this surgery. We went to a dietitian, a nutritionist and a social worker and did all our required presurgery steps.
"We tracked everything we were eating and scheduled our surgeries one day apart.
"The hospital care was great. There is an amazing team at UCI Health, and everyone took the time to make sure we were doing well each step of the way.
'Life is easier'
"The procedure has affected our lives positively in every way possible.
"Life is easier now — moving around, traveling, clothes shopping. One of the simple pleasures now is putting on the airplane seat belt without struggling.
"We still love to cook and eat out, but a bite or two of something is all it takes now to be satisfied.
"We both stopped losing weight when we reached about 200 pounds. Rhea’s cancer diagnosis stalled her weight loss for about six months.
"Now she is cancer-free, and we are both taking semaglutide treatment to facilitate more weight loss. It has helped us both push past our plateaus.
Sisterly encouragement
"We’re back to being active and finally enjoy working out again. If we’re sitting around for too long, one of us will say, ‘Let’s take a walk.’
"We’ve had blood tests to check our cholesterol, blood sugar, etc., and all are normal. We’ve never experienced that before.
"We’ve always been very positive, social, happy people. Having this surgery has only elevated that for us. Doing this together and having each other’s support was everything.
"Dr. Daly said not to compare one another’s journeys and milestones because, although we are experiencing this together, we are different people.
"We had a few different side effects after surgery, but it was nice having someone who knows exactly what you are going through. That was the best part."
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