Rock Hill Man Loses More Than 100 Lbs. With Surgery And Is Still Shrinking

ROCK HILL, S.C. — A Rock Hill man is rejoicing now that he now has the upper hand in his struggle with obesity. He once weighed more than 500 lbs., but thanks to a simple procedure, that number’s shrinking every day.

A life overweight can take a heavy toll. Roscoe Hawkins says he used to weigh 505 lbs. He was also taking 13 pills a day to control cholesterol, blood pressure, and diabetes. At that size, everyday tasks felt impossible.

“I couldn’t do that before, just from putting my socks on, sitting in a chair to, um, bending over to tie my shoes,” Hawkins said.

He fought hard to shed fat, only for it to come right back. Hawkins got tired of watching his family have fun while he sat on the sidelines to keep his breath. He recently found hope through a doctor and bariatric surgery.

“I’m at 422 now,” Hawkins said about his weight after receiving bariatric surgery. “You carry around that much weight for so long, losing that much is, it’s a big deal.”

Dr. Christian Brown says Hawkins was his first bariatric surgery completed at Piedmont Medical Center. He detailed the three hour procedure and says six small robotic cuts are made to the stomach and lead to weight loss for months to come.

“I get to watch them lose weight for 18 to 24 months until they become weight stable,” Dr. Brown said.

Even better; this procedure makes the heart stronger.

“You not only reduce their risk of having heart attacks and strokes in the future, but you also reduce their risk of death,” Dr. Brown said.

Dr. Brown estimates he completes around 400 surgeries every year. His goal is to make more of those bariatric surgeries, and he wants to be completing around three of these weight loss procedures every single week in the future.

Hawkins still has work to do. He’s down to only taking five pills a day, and expects that number shrink along side his weight.
Hawkins is aiming to reach 320 lbs., and he has found discipline by sticking to his workouts and diet.