Mr. Ricks,
I want to thank you for all you, your staff, scientists, and doctors have done for me.
I started at 405 lbs. at 5’1″. My Diabetes Mellitus was wildly out of control and I was on two insulins. I had Diastolic Heart Failure, MASLD, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, CKD Stage 3B, unable to get out of bed for a decade, using a walker to get 5 ft. to the bathroom.
I was put on Trulicity (a GLP-1) in 2022 for a year, not having one clue what a GLP-1 was because I never watched TV or was on social media. I lost right at 100 lbs. in a year. I learned about Mounjaro (a GIP/GLP-1)from my daughter and my endocrinologist put me on it and then I flew towards health at an incredible rate.
Today, I weigh 125 lbs. and all obesity-related co-morbidities are GONE! HbA1c has gone from 9.0 to 5.0 and holding steady for the last year, off all diabetic meds and insulin since Trulicity. CKD is now Stage 2 (my nephrologist is fascinated how my eGFR has gotten better!).
I started by walking to the bathroom without the walker, and, while it took another 2.5 years, today, my morning walks are often 7-8 miles, plus I go to the gym every other day. As a Disneyphile, I walked into EPCOT for the first time in two decades after all those previous 20 years being on scooters. My family joined me from around the country and I walked 7 miles that day.
And this is because of you and your amazing medications.
Because of your technology, I am alive. Alive in a way I never could have imagined having been super-obese since childhood. I used Fen-Phen in 1996, had an RNY Gastric Bypass in 2001, and nothing has worked like these two GLP-1s.
There is still so much to say, but I am working on my memoir so that I might be a light for others who have super-obesity; I’ll save it for the pages.
Again, thank you for all you do. There are not enough words to thank you for the gifts you are providing those of us who have struggled for decades.
Barb,
I am VERY thankful to Lilly for creating the medications that saved you, my beautiful friend. Not only did they help you improve your health, but they also made it possible for me to find you in the community of people like us who have changed their lives with GLP-1s.
If Dave Ricks and Lilly would like to give us one more gift, it would be amazing if these life-saving, life-changing medications were affordable for everyone who needs them. Lilly would truly be the hero in the war against obesity, diabetes, and all the associated comorbidities.
A girl can dream, right?
Having my morning coffee and reading your incredible journey. So inspiring, and yes… a not just a light, a “brilliant light” you shine for others💄💋❣️❣️