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Our Patient Stories

Stuart's Story

Stuart's Story

"I was dying. Now I have my life again"

These are the words of highways worker and former Territorial Army soldier Stuart when he was at his lowest ebb. Following a back injury that he suffered at work in his twenties, he was forced to leave the TA.

‘Injuring my back was a massive turning point in my life. Up until then I was always very fit.  I used to do a lot of fishing and digging for bait. I’d go for long walks with my wife and three children through the forests at weekends and then I had the back injury at work. After that I just couldn’t do what I used to do – I lost my place in the TA, I couldn’t run any more, and the weight began piling on very fast.’

Stuart was 5ft 10in tall and weighed 16 stone before his injury, but afterwards his weight began to climb out of control until it peaked at a massive 31 stone. During the period of his weight gain he became tired and run-down which prompted his wife, a care worker, to bring home a urine test kit for diabetes.

‘I did the urine test and it went straight to the top of the scale.  I also did a blood glucose check and my blood count was 36 points. I was really frightened and I felt I was dying. I’d heard of people getting gangrene and dying from diabetes.’

He went to the doctor who told him what he already knew – that he was overweight and that it wasn’t helping his diabetes. ‘I’d always eaten healthily because I was brought up that way. I always ate meat and vegetables – you know, the sort of thing they call “a balanced diet”. First of all I tried dieting and I took diabetes tablets which kept the condition under control for a few years. Then it got out of hand again – not drastically, but bad enough for me to be put on insulin – and then I started to increase in weight.’

It was not long before the physical problems of being overweight began to affect Stuart. ‘The back pain became chronic and I was unable to walk more than 30 yards without being in dreadful agony. In fact I almost became housebound.’

Even at his lowest ebb, the old soldier inside Stuart pushed him onwards and he became a site foreman, but it still meant he had to go out on site. ‘I felt as though I was in a box and everyone was looking at me as though I was over-eating all the time. I tried everything to get the weight off. When I continued to put on weight despite the help of a hospital dietician I became so frustrated that I started researching obesity for myself.’

Then one day when Stuart was dumping rubble at the tip he found a discarded book called The Atkins Diet. ‘It was orange, which is why I spotted it. I picked it up and started reading it. I came across an article on diabetes that talked about insulin resistance. I did further research on the Internet and started to understand more about foods and about complex carbohydrates. I discovered that when I took myself off carbs my blood sugar levels dropped off to normal, and when I ate carbs they went back up again. So I started reducing the carbs.’

But each time Stuart went back to the doctor he’d re-enter the vicious circle where the hospital would increase his insulin and his weight would start to get out of control again. This spurred him on to read-up about insulin resistance and then he began to understand what was actually going on inside his body.

‘I did more research. Then I made up my mind to refuse the insulin and I was told that not taking it would kill me. So I said, “Ok, I’ll choose which way I die.” The doctor was marvellous, though. He asked if I would consider weight-loss surgery. The thought terrified me, but it was a way of breaking out of the vicious circle.’

Stuart had a series of pre-op tests to see if he was eligible for surgery and was told he would receive NHS funding. ‘I had a consultation with weight-loss surgeon David Kerrigan from Gravitas, the UK’s premier weight-loss surgery team.  He’s a marvellous man who put me so much at ease, I couldn’t believe it – he was like a best friend you’d known for years. I lost nearly a stone on the pre-op liver shrinking diet.’

Stuart underwent the Gastric Sleeve procedure at the Spire Murrayfield Hospital where he spent three nights. ‘It all went very smoothly – it was almost like going to Dallas, the place was like a hotel! The Gravitas staff were fabulous – now that’s what I call a team effort.  I work with teams of men in my day job, but that was a real team effort.’

Since his operation, Stuart has lost 11½ stone. He now chooses his food more carefully and eats smaller portion sizes. ‘I’m down to 19½ stone and still losing a couple of pounds every fortnight. I don’t have a target weight, but if I get down to 16 or 17 stone I’d be dead happy. I walk a mile during the day when I’m working as a foreman on the roads. I cycle to and from work – it’s a 17-mile round trip – where I’m doing normal duties like lifting heavy equipment, in fact everything a normal person would do. I’ve been born again, so to speak!’

Before Stuart had his procedure he hid himself away. ‘I never went anywhere because there was nothing I could do. My disabilities became my family’s disabilities, too – that was what hurt the most. I’d given up any sense of a future and I was just waiting for the day when I’d kick my clogs and free the family. I was becoming a burden to them.’

Six months on and Patricia, his wife, and their three grown-up children can’t believe the transformation. ‘I’m going to pinch my son’s designer clothes now!’ laughs Stuart. ‘My old clothes look like a clown’s wardrobe, big trousers with hoops on! Only my socks still fit me!’ After the procedure Stuart’s diabetes went into remission. ‘I’m now off all medication, ‘ he says.

Stuart has no regrets about having had weight-loss surgery. ‘If I could afford to pay for everyone with weight problems to have it done, I’d do it,’ he says. ‘Before my operation it was like being dead. My family suffered as much as I did, and I didn’t want to be a burden to them. The best thing of all is having a life again.

‘I would like to take this opportunity to thank my wife and children for all the support they have given me for all those years,’ he adds.  ‘If it wasn’t for them I truly don’t think I would be here today. 

‘I’d also like to thank the medical profession for all their support, and for giving me another chance to live a normal life. And the icing on the cake is that I have just been informed that my wife and I are to become grandparents in a few more months. Once again, thank you to everyone.’