AN ALCOHOLIC who tipped the scales at 283kgs has incredibly
shed more than half his weight — but now needs help with the final stage of his
journey.
Two years ago,
Brian Flemming ate up to 5000 calories a day, suffered from depression and
could barely walk up a flight of stairs.
But after a
chance meeting with a British woman, the 32-year-old turned his life around.
The Michigan resident
has lost a staggering 166kgs, but is desperate to shed about 13kgs in excess
skin.
Mr Flemming has
turned to crowdsourcing website GoFundMe, seeking
$22,000 ($28,000) in donations to pay for his surgery.
“It’s a constant
reminder of my past and it gets in my way every single day,” Mr Flemming told Mail Online.
Mr
Flemming’s incredible transformation began in 2012, according to his GoFundMe
profile.
Depressed and
lonely, the then 30-year-old ate was eating double cheeseburger meals with
nuggets, washed down with a litre of vodka and soft drink every night.
He also spent
most of his time playing video games and watching TV.
But in August of
that year, the uni dropout began playing an online game called Draw Something
where he met Jackie Eastham, from London.
The two became
good friends and Ms Eastham, who suffers from muscular dystrophy, pushed Mr
Flemming to change his life.
Brian Flemming's incredible weight loss
“Jackie
and I had grown to be very good friends. I was expecting sympathy from her, but
what I got surprised me. She was angry with me,” Mr Flemming said, according to
GoFundMe.
“She told me
that I was wasting my life and that I should be ashamed that I was throwing it
away when there are so many people out there who are fighting to stay alive.
“Jackie has
myotonic muscular dystrophy and has to stay very healthy in order to keep her
symptoms in check. She seemed to be losing patience with me and I was afraid I
was going to lose her. Soon after that, I decided to quit drinking. I quit
cold-turkey.”
After
getting sober, Mr Flemming began exercising.
He went from
walking on the spot in his own home to hitting the pavement outside.
In July 2013, Mr
Flemming walked his first half-marathon.
“I was in a good
deal of pain, but it didn’t matter to me. It was a milestone, and I was
determined to hit it,” he said.
Not long after
that, he dusted off his dad’s old mountain bike and used it to travel to work.
When he got down
to 136kgs, he started running.
“This has been
the best year of my life. For once, things are looking up. I used to tell
Jackie about how all of this feels like a dream and that it never actually
happened. She just says that this is me living my life now and that I need to
get used to it,” he said.
“I sometimes
look in the mirror and don’t recognise the guy I see. It has all been a bit
overwhelming, in a good way.
“Life is good,
and I look forward to living it for much longer now.”
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