The Valdosta Daily Times — VALDOSTA — Around age 25 or 26, Shanda White was told that she would not live past 30 years old. She had reached 515 pounds and the cartilage in her knees had begun to weaken.

Today at age 35, Shanda is more than 300 pounds lighter and feels healthier and happier than she ever has. Here is her story.

Formerly Shanda Smith, she was born to Diane Jackson of Morven and William Smith of Atlanta. She was raised in Morven on Jackson Road by her grandfather, the late Simmie Jackson.

Shanda was educated in Brooks County Schools and graduated from Brooks County High School in 1992. She married Kendrick White a few years later and the couple now share one daughter, 16-year-old Effanie.

At an early age, Shanda battled with her weight.

“I’ve been overweight most of my life,” Shanda said. “I found out very quickly that the world is cruel to big people.”

Although Shanda was always a big woman, she did not “pack on the pounds” until she graduated and had Effanie.

“I just got bigger and bigger,” she said.

Shanda began considering her weight a health issue in the late 1990s.

“When my daughter had school events that allowed the parents to come eat lunch with the students, I would have to sit in the lobby while my husband went to eat with Effanie,” Shanda said. “I couldn’t walk to the cafeteria because I would get too tired.”

Shanda said that she could not keep a job for the same reason.

“My aunts had me on every known diet and bought me every diet pill available. However, nothing worked to help me lose weight. I ultimately sunk deeper and deeper into depression.”

In 2003, Shanda’s older sister, Kimberly, requested that their younger sister, Taffaney, bring Shanda to see her in Atlanta.

“When I got to Atlanta, Kimberly took me to Pastor Wiley Jackson and he prayed over me. Kimberly then encouraged me to seek medical attention for my weight.”

Shanda took her sisters’ advice and saw a physician.

“The doctor told me that at the rate I was at, I would not live to see 30. I was told that if I did not die, I would be confined to a wheelchair.”

After receiving this report from the physician, Shanda talked to Kimberly about the possibility of gastric-bypass surgery.

“I knew that my cousin had gotten the surgery a few months before and she came through fine,” Shanda said. “However, I was bigger than she was and had a higher risk of complications.”

Kimberly coached Shanda and urged her to get the surgery. Dr. Rachel Velez was also quite instrumental in convincing Shanda to have the operation.

“After I made up my mind about it, I had to consider the cost of the surgery, which was $70,000. I contacted my husband’s medical insurance agency and was told that I would only have to pay $348 out of pocket for a nutritionist fee.”

Shanda had to have a psychiatric evaluation and sleep assessment before she could undergo surgery. In November 2003, she was ready for the operation. Her next step was to get her daughter ready.

“My daughter was 11 at the time, and she was so scared that she didn’t want to go with me to the hospital. Marguerite Paige, who worked at my daughter’s school, had to calm her down and talk to her. She told her that I was getting this operation so that I could be healthier and live longer.”

On the day of the surgery, Effanie finally decided to accompany Shanda on her trip to Capital Regional Medical Center in Tallahassee, Fla., where the operation was performed.

“I had my gastric-bypass operation done by Dr. James Baliro. During the surgery, my stomach was cut to the size of a quarter. After the surgery I was placed on a ventilator in intensive care for four days.”

During the weeks that followed, Shanda followed a strict diet and began to feel herself “melting away.” She even lost 24 pounds in the first week after surgery.

“I was placed on a liquid diet for the first two weeks after the surgery. Then I advanced to pureed foods the following two weeks.”

Shanda continued to order her clothes from special catalogs, as she did before the surgery.

“As the weight continued to fall off, I decided to go into Lane Bryant to see if I could fit into their clothes. To my surprise, I could. The weight was coming off every week.”

Shanda underwent three additional surgeries after her gastric-bypass operation. In 2005, she had a hernia repaired, and at the beginning of this year, she had another hernia repair and a tummy tuck.

After her last surgery in February of this year, Shanda had to stay in the hospital for three days. When she got home, Effanie was at the door of their house waiting for her with open arms.

“My daughter knows that I’ve done all of this for her,” Shanda said. “I made a vow to do all that I could to live to see her complete high school and go off to college.”

Dr. Baliro removed 26 pounds of excess skin during Shanda’s tummy tuck.

“When I recuperated from that surgery, I went into New York and Company in the mall. I decided to try on some size 18 pants to see if I could wear them. When I got into some size 18 pants and realized that I could wear them, I acted a fool in that store! The woman who was assisting me then brought out a size 14. I got into those size 14 pants and I began to scream and cry in the store. The woman was so touched that she started crying too.”

Shanda’s total weight loss in the last six years is 307 pounds. She said that her life has changed drastically and she feels great.

“This weight loss has given me a reason to live. Obesity is deadly and it will take you out quickly. I went through gastric-bypass surgery just in the nick of time. I don’t think I’d be here now if I hadn’t.”

Shanda is proud to say that she has been working steadily for three years. She is currently a tutor at Quitman Elementary School.

“It does me justice to walk in to work everyday,” Shanda said. “I used to get tired so quickly. But now, I feel 307 pounds better.”

Shanda plans to have at least one more surgery in the next two years to get excess skin from her arms and legs removed. In the meantime, she is enjoying life and trying to make a difference in the world.

“I want to encourage all obese people to take the proper steps to become healthier. In the next five years, I see myself even healthier and in a size 12. I plan to exercise and take the necessary vitamins to make sure I get there.”

Shanda mentioned the following people in her life for always being there for her and helping her through her difficult struggle: the late Simmie Jackson Sr., the late Arnold Rhym, Onna Mae Jackson, Ora Rhym, Simmie and Gina Jackson, Mary White Blue, Gail W. Brown, John and Jackie Murphy, Leon and Amelia Johnson, Tasha Davis, Nicole Jackson, Sandra Smith, Tara Moss, Linda Edwards, Daphane Reynolds, Natashia Alexander Shannon and the late Ellis Wilfork.