Fareham man loses seven stone through Weight Watchers to have a lung transplant

Michael Nash, 57, has had a turbulent few years after it was discovered in 2019 that he had pulmonary hypertension, which resulted in his lungs only being able to work at 22 per cent.

The 57-year-old had been to the doctors back in 2014 where he received tests looking into his breathlessness, but he was assured that it was down to his lifestyle and being overweight.

Michael, who is a forklift truck driver, is no stranger to hard work and heavy lifting, but in 2019 he blacked out at work one day which resulted in him breaking his femur.

While in hospital for his leg, he was referred to have an echocardiogram where a doctor spotted something that was not quite right.

He was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension but was then told that in order to have the necessary lung transplant, he had to significantly alter his lifestyle and lose weight.

Michael said: ‘I tried to do the first year on my own and I was stupid to think I could lose the weight I needed to, but I didn’t want to go out for walks because I was on oxygen at home and outside, but I didn’t want to black out again.

‘It was only a year later that I asked for some help and my GP signed me up to Weight Watchers and it was only then that I got inspiration from others and I started walking around my drive to begin with, with my oxygen and I got more and more and more confident.’

Michael spent 20 years in the Royal Navy and he was injured during his service, which resulted in an extensive amount of operations on his leg. He now has to use a mobility scooter when he is out for too long as it causes him problems.

He said: ‘I think I have been lucky in the respect that the navy helped me without even realising because the person I became in the navy made me more determined.’

He managed to lose seven stone and was able to go onto the wait list for a lung transplant and after 12 failed attempts, he struck gold on the 13th try. He had the operation at Royal Papworth Hospital.

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He added: ‘It was scary going down to theatre for my operation but the first thing I remember after waking up was my girlfriend on one side and a nurse on the other holding my hands. My first thought was the experience of being able to breathe so well without the need for additional oxygen, and how my quality of life would improve.’

Michael has been told that a lung transplant usually lasts a person four years, but he is hoping that, by staying healthy and active, he can make his new lungs last him longer.

He said: ‘The lungs don’t last as long as other organs so it is estimated four years from now but now I am healthier and fit, I am hoping to get this to last longer.

‘It is great that everywhere I go the people are great so I have got so many people to thank and to be here now is just amazing and to feel so healthy is brilliant.’