St Vincent’s bariatric nurse has triplets after her own weight loss surgery miracle

A northside bariatric nurse who underwent surgery herself after health problems caused her weight to balloon opens up about how it gave her healthy triplets. Her story comes ahead of a free weight loss expo this Sunday where top experts will be on hand.

A northside bariatric nurse who underwent surgery herself after health problems caused her weight to balloon has opened up about how it led to her having healthy triplets.

McDowall’s Evie Ludeman went from a theatre nurse helping others with weight surgery, to a patient at St Vincent’s Private Hospital Northside with no children, to the mother of triplets — all in a whirlwind 20 months.

Ms Ludeman’s journey began in 2019 when she and her partner Jesse, of McDowall, decided to start a family.

But it was to prove a challenging dream because endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome had affected her fertility and quality of life.

“I’m someone who has always made their health and fitness a priority,’’ she said.

“I took it to a new level when I started boxing in a gym in my mid-20s, as well as running.

“But as my health issues persisted, plus the added complication of a hormone imbalance, I found I was gaining significant amounts of weight in my early 30s.

Evie Ludeman and Jesse Matthews with their triplets.

“By the time Covid had sent us into lockdown and closed gyms – with the added stress of

being cut off from my family interstate – it meant that my daily food choices became less

than ideal.

“I found my weight had ballooned out to just under 100kg and I showed it because I’m only just over 150cm.

“I was told that I was too obese to get pregnant and that given my weight, it could make the

pregnancy more difficult.’’

Ms Ludeman said a critical factor in her weight loss and the birth in 2022 of three daughters, at 31 weeks, was undergoing a gastric sleeve procedure.

Evie Ludeman, before bariatric surgery, with her partner Jesse.

At the time she worked as a theatre nurse with Dr David Mitchell, who recommended she see bariatric (weight loss) surgeon Dr Rob Finch from Total Upper GI Surgery.

The two are practice colleagues at St Vincent’s.

“I’m normally working alongside Dr Mitchell, assisting as his theatre nurse in procedures such as gastric sleeve at St Vincent’s, so it was quite a role reversal when I opted to be the bariatric patient in May, 2020,’’ she said.

“The surgery was over in less than an hour. I was back home recovering after two days with no real complications.

“As a result, my weight eventually stabilised around 60kg after having been 98kg.”

For health reasons, Dr Finch recommended she wait for a year after surgery before trying to get pregnant.

But then success was fast — and surprising. Scans and tests at six weeks left her in “complete shock” when three heart beats were detected.

St Vincent’s bariatric surgeon Rob Finch.

She said surgery had changed her life in many ways and might even have helped save it.

“I’m so much fitter and happier and I’m not lethargic,’’ she said.

“I have my three gorgeous girls who are now two, although life is busy and I’ll admit I do get tired sometimes.

“In the world of social media, body image issues are a big thing.

“You can’t help but get bombarded with so much information about diets, food fads and different views on what initially appear to be easy fixes for weight loss.’’

Ms Ludeman’s amazing tale came ahead of a unique public weight loss expo this Sunday, March 3, coinciding with World Obesity Day.

GP Paige Lanyon-Roberts, who last year founded obesity practice MedSurg Weight Loss, her

dietitian colleague Dr Somayyeh Firouzi, as well as St Vincent’s and Total Upper GI Surgery, were co-hosting the event at Stafford.

Drs Finch and Mitchell and another colleague, Dr Kevin Chan, would also be present.

Dr Finch said obesity was a complex chronic illness, driven by genes, hormones and

psychological factors and emotions, as well as environment factors.

Dr Paige Lanyon Roberts.

He said there was a good deal of confusion in the community around what was a normal and healthy weight, the amount of exercise that people should do, as well as a flood of conflicting dietary and food advice and the vast array of surgical options and weight loss medications.

He also said there were also several bariatric surgery options, including gastric bypass and mini-bypass surgery.

Dr Lanyon-Roberts, an expert in metabolic health and managing obesity, said the Expo would focus on education and awareness.

“There is a lot of misinformation out there regarding the different treatment options available

for obesity and there’s a lot of barriers that prevent people from being able to access treatment,’’ she said.

The MedSurg HealthFit Expo is on from 10am-12.30pm at 7 Harvton St, Stafford.

The public can speak to bariatric surgeons, bariatric GPs, psychologists and dietitians, learn more about weight loss medications and options such as weight loss balloons, injection devices and meal replacement.

Originally published as St Vincent’s bariatric nurse has triplets after her own weight loss surgery miracle