Invisible For a PDF version of this article, please click here. At 5’2” and 256 pounds, running a marathon was the last thing on Alison Show’s mind. All of her life Alison had been affected by the disease of obesity. Growing up in an Eastern European home, food was always a staple in the household. “My family always ate and the men in the family were blue-collar guys that got their exercise from working; however, the women did not exercise,” said Alison. By first grade, Alison realized she had some weight issues. She recalled an eye-opening moment one day during ballet class. “I remember my teacher brought in my costume and I tried to put it on and it wasn’t fitting. At the time I was 185 pounds in first grade,” said Show. You could hear in Alison’s voice that recalling this time in her life is still sobering to her. As Alison aged through her teens and early 20s, she tried all types of weight-loss programs and gimmicks. “You name it and I tried it. I tried all the commercial weight-loss plans, pills, diets and so on. Nothing worked. The weight always came back,” said Alison. With the failure of these programs, and the physical and emotional stress of obesity, Alison began to explore other treatment options. Having been affected by diabetes and high cholesterol, Alison wanted to take charge of her life and become healthier. In 2002, she began to research weight-loss surgery. She talked to friends, family members and her doctor for more information on the procedure. “I took time and thought about it. My insurance completely covered it, so basically it was a decision I had to make. I decided to go with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. I contemplated the band too, but at the time, there just wasn’t a lot of information on it out there,” said Alison. At a weight of 256 pounds, Alison had gastric bypass surgery. Today, Alison’s life is much different and well, you could say that it’s almost a different life. Before surgery, Alison was involved with the opera as a singer. “The differences in my life post-surgery are amazing. There is such a stigma that goes with obesity. In opera, it’s always expected that the women are larger and after I had the surgery, I simply did not fit into that role anymore. I began to notice that I was offered more theater parts,” laughed Alison. You can tell in Alison’s voice that the stigma issues associated with this disease were a big part of her life. She spoke on many issues such as the workplace, friends and family. She told me of a time when she began to lose weight and started to notice a difference in friends. “You know, it’s funny how people treat you different after surgery. Some of my friends said I took the ‘easy way out.’ They wanted the ‘fat’ friend to be with them. I had surgery because I wanted to be healthier and change my life,” said Show. In the workplace, Alison also noticed a difference. The job she currently works at only knows her post-surgery and she’s experienced a completely different atmosphere after losing the weight. “It’s amazing the difference I see without the weight. Guys hold the door for you, people compliment you and stuff. It honestly makes me wonder sometimes if it’s superficial. Before all this, I just felt invisible,” laughed Alison. Today, Alison has a new interest in her life and it’s something that she never thought she could do – marathons. In 2005, Alison entered a lottery for the New York City Marathon. With a New York City Marathon breathing down her neck, Alison knew she had to start training. She began training five months prior. Some days she’d run three miles, then five and then seven. Before she knew it, she was ready. Alison would train after work and also on the way to her side job as “Scooter the Cow.” More on that later.
For her first marathon, she finished with a time of five hours and 51 minutes. “I was so proud of myself. I remember thinking during the run, ‘I can’t believe I am doing this. This is amazing.’ Up next, Alison entered the 2006 New York City Marathon and finished with a time of five hours and 20 minutes – shaving more than 30 minutes off her time! “For my next one, I am training for the 2007 Chicago Marathon and my goal is to complete it in five hours 30 minutes,” said Alison. Oh yeah, and “Scooter the Cow,” well, you could say Scooter helps Alison with her training “I like being Scooter. It’s hot in the costume. I’d say it reaches 120 degrees sometimes, but I enjoy it,” happily said Alison. |
too. In her spare time, Alison trains by running from her home to the New York Yankees’ minor league ballpark where she dresses up as “Scooter the Cow” for the fans.