Yep, it's a big deal

Like Rick Rasmussen, the ad was hard to miss.

Published May 4, the ad juxtaposed a new car that lives in your driveway - price $19,999 - and a new body - $9,999 - that you live in. The ad was promoting bariatrics for people struggling with obesity.

We know the ad was effective because the following morning, 17 people called Surgical Bariatrics Northwest for information. Rick Rasmussen wasn't one of them.

Rasmussen - all 6-foot-6 and 420 pounds of him - had already scheduled a surgical procedure that he's convinced will change his life for the better.

You can read Rick's story in today's paper. In the months ahead you can follow his pursuit of a lighter-eating, healthier lifestyle. Rick has agreed to write columns for The Press documenting his progress, the smooth pavement and possible potholes, too.

We don't think anybody expects this to be easy. In essence, Rick is having the majority of his stomach surgically removed. He told us that where a 32-ounce steak used to do the trick, he now expects a slice of toast to leave him feeling full.

For the past two weeks, Rick's intake has been limited to four protein shakes a day. His daily "treat," he said, is 10 calories worth of Jell-O. He admits that the first three days, he endured hellish headaches. But the former high school valedictorian and star football and track athlete hasn't wavered. He described a post-game party recently when his daughter's softball team celebrated advancing to state. The adults were enjoying beer and pizza. Not Rick.

"I had a glass of water," he said. "I sat there, and I was OK with it."

Mother's Day is a big deal in Rasmussenland. There's food, food and more food - just like all holidays and the days in between them. But not for Rick.

"They had pie and ice cream," he said, "and I had my 10-calorie Jell-O."

Like his late father, the beloved behemoth known as Big Dad, Rick reveres three things: Family, friends, community.

"That's what he was all about," Rick said quietly. "I don't know if I'll ever get to his level, but those are my three things, too. That's why I'm doing this."

Rick wants to stick around a long time and be able to enjoy life even more than did his dad. Big Dad was so large that, even though he attended all of Rick's high school and college football games, he often wouldn't get out of the car because walking was too difficult. The car horn did his cheering for him.

Big Dad loved to eat. Two months before he died in July 2012, the nursing home where he was staying didn't do anything special for Cinco de Mayo. So Big Dad ordered Toro Viejo grub for the whole nursing home gang. And he followed that up with an enormous traditional Fourth of July barbecue mere days before he passed.

The kind of surgery Rick will undergo Thursday is not for everybody. Exercise, sensible eating and drinking, these are the best prescription for the vast majority of us. But for those who have tried and failed, we strongly recommend seeking professional help. Life is too precious to experience from the front seat of your car.