Donita Smith – Feeling Like Cinderella

By Lois Crow

Cinderella is getting married in May in a size 4 wedding dress. Well actually, Donita Smith is the one getting married in May in a size 4 wedding dress, but she feels like Cinderella because in August 2005 she was wearing a size 5X, weighed 330 pounds, and there was no Prince Charming on the horizon. In fact, she hadn't dated in over ten years.

It has been a long and winding road for Smith who was born in Mena on September 8, 1968. When she was 9 months old, her parents, Charles and Sheila (Akers) Lance, moved to San Diego , California , where she lived until she was 19 years old.

She moved back to Mena and although she has been back and forth several times, including a year spent in Las Vegas working with her mom, Smith says, “This is always going to be home and I'll never leave again.”

Smiths' problems with weight began when she was about 12 years old and increased steadily through her early adult years. She worked for a time as a licensed practical nurse, but left that career behind because of the weight problems. She has worked in apartment management, worked at one time for Mena Title Company and she received a degree in computer maintenance from Rich Mountain Community College . It was during her stint in apartment management that she had a serious injury on the job that crushed her ankle and left her bedridden for over a year. During her recovery period, she gained an additional 100 pounds and her mobility was severely restricted. She developed sleep apnea and required a breathing machine at night. Her daughters, ages nine and ten at the time, now had to deal with the cooking, laundry and cleaning, as well as their schoolwork.

Smith's health was rapidly declining. She knew that she would not live much longer if she didn't change her habits, so she started, one step at time, to improve her health. First on the list was to eliminate caffeine.

She says, “That was a huge step for me - HUGE”.

The following year she quit a 22 year smoking habit. With the caffeine and nicotine habits under control, she was ready to tackle the weight problem.

Smith decided on gastric bypass surgery because of the amount of weight she needed to lose and the rapid decline of her health. After careful research, she chose Dr. John Baker of Little Rock as her bariatric surgeon. Her surgery was performed on August 3, 2005 without complication. She credits the surgery with saving her life.

On August 7, the day she was released from the hospital, her ex-husband passed away. Smith, still weak from surgery, had to notify his family, help make the necessary funeral arrangements, and deal with the grief her daughters were experiencing. She says because of that stress, her first thought was of food and what she could eat. She says that was her “moment of awakening.”

“I knew then that I had to get it right in my head if it was going to work at all,” says Smith.

While Smith got it right in her head, she also got it right in her kitchen. No more junk food, no more high carborhydrate snacks, no candy, cake and pie. Smith knew that if she didn't buy it, she wouldn't eat it. Her two daughters, Danielle (16) and Ashley (15) now snack on apples or oranges.

In May 2007, with her weight stabilized, Smith had reduction surgery to remove the excess skin from her arms, legs and abdomen. What was supposed to be a relatively simple procedure became life threatening when she developed multiple pulmonary embolisms. Blood clots formed in both lungs, one filled completely and Smith and came close to dying on two occasions.

Today, life is sweet for the 5'4”, 130 lb Smith.

Her eyes sparkle as she says, “For the first time in my life, I feel pretty, for the first time I can smile and feel good about myself. For the first time in my life I eat to live, not live to eat.”

Smith keeps a picture of herself on the refrigerator. In it she is wearing a size 5X red t-shirt that reads “I survived anorexia”. It is a bittersweet reminder of how far she has come.

In May, Smith will walk down the aisle and marry her fiancé, Mike Sanello. Her daughters and her mother will be there to share her joy. She will truly feel like Cinderella. Who knows, she may even be wearing glass slippers under her size 4 wedding gown.