Doctors gave me six months to live... so I overhauled my lifestyle
When doctors told Deborah Watson she had non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, she was baffled.
“I’d never heard of it,” says the 39-year-old from Sunderland.
“Yet I was told that if I did not completely change my lifestyle, I could be dead from liver failure within six months.
“As soon as I mentioned it to people they assumed I had a drink problem. But apart from the occasional social tipple, I don’t consume much alcohol at all.”
Deborah, who is married to Alan, 46, had led an active lifestyle, enjoying walks and going to the gym, until her weight started to creep up in her mid-30s.
Standing 5ft 1in, her weight climbed to 15st 7lb.
Putting on weight was a vicious circle – she stopped exercising and became depressed about her looks.
“Alan and I got married in 2017 and on the honeymoon a stranger asked if I was pregnant,” says Deborah. “That really hit a nerve.”
A few weeks later, Alan insisted on taking her to a walk-in NHS clinic when he noticed the whites of her eyes had gone yellow.
“Within an hour I was on a ward undergoing all sorts of tests,” says Deborah.
“Next day the consultant confirmed I had liver disease and if I didn’t do something drastic, I might not be alive for long.
“It hit me really hard.” But it gave Deborah the incentive she needed. She started to eat more healthily and started walking, then running, on a regular basis.
In the last two years she has run a half-marathon, numerous 10k events and has joined a local jogging group called the The Silky Striders, who meet every Wednesday in Silksworth, Sunderland.
“The effect was incredible – I lost 6st in a year,” says Deborah. “I have regular liver tests that show it is back to normal and I no longer have NAFLD.
“I want everyone else to know they can do something about it if they also get a diagnosis of fatty liver disease. “It was scary and I genuinely don’t think I would be here now if it wasn’t for Alan, the love of my life, insisting I get medical help.”