Success Stories: Spotlighting PBA members who have changed their lives
Make that change
West Orange Local 25 President Chris Jacksic transforms after committing to gastric surgery
n BY AMBER RAMUNDO
Just as a farmer may never know life in
a big city, or a millennial can’t remember
a time without computers, Chris Jacksic
didn’t realize how carrying extra weight
for most of adulthood was holding him
back. They say you can’t miss what
you’ve never had, and so for a long time,
being overweight was just a part of who
Jacksic was. It never stopped him from
doing what he loved, like serving as West
Orange Local 25 president for more than
10 years, or spending his time off the job
officiating high school football and base-
ball games.
But weighing 344 pounds at the age
of 51, Jacksic couldn’t help but notice
the way his body ached after a long day
of traffic control on his motorcycle or
an active weekend refereeing numerous
football games. He also couldn’t ignore
the health conditions brought on by obe-
sity, requiring him to take medications
for high blood pressure and high choles-
terol, as well as hooking up to a machine
to control his sleep apnea each night.
There’s no one major event that caused
Jacksic to commit to a serious lifestyle
change. He was simply tired of carrying
the weight and all of the burdens that
came with it.
“I wasn’t embarrassed where I start-
ed,” Jacksic explains. “But, I sure wasn’t
happy.”
Like many law enforcement officers
who feel determined to overcome chal-
lenges on their own, Jacksic was against
solving his weight issues with a surgical
procedure for a long time.
“Just get it together and do it the right
way,” Jacksic reasoned for years, trying
every diet out there, only to gain back
double the weight he had lost after fall-
ing off of the wagon each time.
It wasn’t until Jacksic crossed paths
with another Essex County Conference
officer at the NJ State PBA Mini Con-
vention in 2017 that his perspective on
obesity treatment began to shift. Jacksic
had known this officer for 15 years but
couldn’t believe his weight transforma-
tion after going through gastric sleeve
surgery. Suddenly, Jacksic started to ask
questions and do his research. It didn’t
Sick of struggling with his weight and trying new diets, West Orange Local 25 President Chris Jacksic
decided to undergo gastric sleeve surgery by Dr. Michael Nusbaum and has since watched his body
transform. Before the surgery, Jacksic topped out at 334 pounds. Seven months post-surgery, Jacksic
has reached his goal weight of 200 pounds.
take long for him to find out just how
many people he knew, both on and off
the job, who had gone through gastric
surgery and seen great results.
Jacksic was put in contact with Obesi-
ty Treatment Specialist Dr. Michael Nus-
baum, after speaking to a good friend
who raved about his success under Nus-
baum’s care. After hearing similar re-
views from many people that Nusbaum
had treated, Jacksic decided that it was
time for him to turn around his life, too.
He committed to the extensive consul-
tation process with psychiatrists, nutri-
tionists and other medical professionals
before finally setting the date for surgery.
“All of the doctors were saying the
same thing: ‘You’re obviously ready and
prepared for this,’” Jacksic details. “I did
my homework. I spoke with other people
and mentally started saying, ‘OK, I’ve got
this. I’m moving forward. I’m going to
make myself better.’”
July 27, 2017 is the date Jacksic will
always remember as the turning point
in his life when he finally went through
with the surgery that will allow him to
live the rest of his days the way he’d al-
ways wanted. It was the day Nusbaum
performed the gastric sleeve procedure,
double sealing the fold in Jacksic’s stom-
ach to assure its precision and making
individualized adjustments to best ac-
commodate his recovery while allowing
him to comfortably return to work as
soon as possible.
“We have a lot of patrol officers come
in here, and I understand their struggle,”
Nusbaum notes. “We are sure to make
the incisions a little bit higher than nor-
mal so that their duty belt doesn’t rub on
it, and we use extra stitches so they can
get back to work quicker without having
to worry.”
Jacksic was up and walking the same
night of the surgery, and he was able to
go home from the hospital the very next
day. Within days, the results started to
show on the scale. He stayed in touch
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