THE NATION PEERS INTO WAYNE’S WORLD
OPERATION TRANSFORMATION LEADER HAS HAD A TOUGH TIME OF IT
TRULY, Wayne’s World was unleashed on the nation when Mallow’s Operation Transformation contestant showed how he loved to put ketchup on almost everything – even curry.
But the nation fell in love with the honesty of Wayne O’Donnell (29) who has been through the mill after he landed on his left elbow during a soccer match back in April 2016. Wayne has always played sport but when this very serious injury hit him, it took four surgeries to repair and it also kept him at home with his parents, Ann and Liam. It also meant that he was out of work for over one year.
Wayne told The Corkman that at one stage there was a “real fear” that he would lose his hand. During this time, he readily admits that his weight ballooned and he simply felt very much out of sorts and not his usual bubbly self. He underwent four surgeries in 15 months and the nerves in his arm were very badly damaged.
After his first surgery, he got a bad infection and was in hospital for 12 days. He said at various times, it seemed that there seemed to be no end in sight to his ongoing elbow problems. He even ended up getting a bone graft from his hip.
Now, with a smile he proudly boasts 16 pins but during all of this ordeal he saw his weight balloon from around 15-16 stone to 19.
He wasn’t at work and he couldn’t play any of his beloved sports. All of this – along with the huge support of his girlfriend Jackie who was worried about his weight and health – was the catalyst for him in applying for Operation Transformation. She encouraged him to apply to be a leader and he said he was certainly glad that he did and even more so when he was chosen.
He said: “Family is really important to me,” and with a smile said it was his nanny Kathleen who gave him a sweet tooth. Wayne said that fizzy drinks was his downfall along with quick and convenience foods – and of course, ketchup.
After his first appearance last week on Operation Transformation, he said he recorded the show and when he went to watch it he saw he had 140 notifications on WhatsApp along with Facebook and a number of missed calls from family and friends who were all giving him words of encouragement.
“I got messages from old college friends and from friends overseas which was really great,” he said. For the first week, he said the hardest thing was weighing his food and to make sure that everything was the correct portion size. He said with only one week down, he is already really enjoying the experience. With a smile, he said that he is surprised by how much he is allowed to eat.
“I am surprised by the amount of food which I am allowed to eat such as 100g of chicken but dinners are less in the evening. All in all, this is a really great experience,” he said.
On Saturday morning, Wayne was joined by a truly large crowd at Doneraile Park who turned out to support him and thankfully the rain held off for the 5km walk where there was great banter had along the way.