KIDDER—The Lord has made a difference in Larry Griffey’s life that can be measured – in pounds, inches and shirt sizes.
Griffey, a member of Kidder Baptist Church, has gone from a size 60 pants to a size 38, losing nearly 250 pounds in the past year and a half.
It has been a time of transformation not only for his body, but also for his spirit.
“I look at everything different now,” he said. “Things are so much clearer.”
About two years ago, Griffey’s weight was at a peak of 480 pounds – and it was taking a toll.
“Between the sickness, infections, and the spurts of depression, it was a huge low,” he said.
His blood pressure was out of control, reaching as high as 200 over 150. When an artery in his leg burst, an ambulance crew responded to his house.
“It took six of them to carry me out of the house. It was horrible,” Griffey said. “I spent the next year fighting infection. I was taking all kinds of medication.”
When another artery burst in the middle of the night, Griffey was so discouraged, he didn’t even go to the hospital and expected to die. However, the Lord showed him that He still had plans for him. Griffey calls that his “moment” when he trusted Jesus Christ and his life changed.
Doctors gave him a diagnosis that within 90 days he would either be in a wheelchair or dead.
“That was a big wake-up call,” he said.
He decided to pursue lap-band surgery and doctors ordered him to lose
70 pounds before they would do the surgery. He amazed them by dropping at the rate of eight to 13 pounds per week, so that in six months, he lost 130 pounds through diet, exercise and “a lot of praying.”
With outpatient surgery on Dec. 30, 2010, his stomach went from the size of a football to the size of a walnut. Some people have asked if his faith was so strong, why he needed surgery. The only answer Griffey has is that after much prayer and meditation, doors opened for the surgery that had been closed for years.
“Everybody thinks it’s a quick fix. It’s not. If I sat here and said it’s painless, I’d be a liar,” he said.
Griffey joined the YMCA in Chillicothe and at times exercised for several hours a day.
“When I started, I couldn’t even walk a quarter mile. Now I do three miles pretty religiously and on heavy days six or seven miles,” he said. “I weighed everything I ate and I still do that. Now I’m at the point where I can live a normal life.”
At the Y, Griffey enjoys spurring on others in their weight loss. When they ask how he did it, he starts with his testimony and has been pleased how many are willing to listen. For those facing serious weight issues, Griffey encourages them to find support. His own weight loss was a group project, Griffey said, dependent on support from his wife, family and church.
“He’s made a tremendous turnaround. He’s worked hard,” Heather Griffey said.
He now weighs about 236 pounds and would like to lose a few more pounds. He’s also off all medication, except a daily vitamin. Walking into a regular store to buy clothes was a thrill.
Griffey was baptized a few weeks ago and laughs at the irony that he’s in charge of a new food pantry ministry at Kidder Baptist.
This fall, he went deer hunting with his pastor. They chased a deer for nearly two miles and as he stood at the top of a ravine watching the animal, Griffey felt better than he had in years and realized he was in the best shape he’d ever been in his whole life.
“People can’t give up. Just turn it over to God and pray on it,” he said. “Sometimes He’s the only person you can talk to who knows what’s going on.”
SUSAN MIRES/contributing writer