Teenager’s weight loss after battle with brain condition

SUPER SLIMMER SHEDS OVER FIVE STONES

A TEENAGER who piled on the pounds after developing a serious brain disease has been praised after he lost over five stones in a year.

Lewis Patton was diagnosed with neurosarcoidosis when he was 13 – a disease of the central nervous system, which includes the brain, spinal cord and optic nerve, and involves inflammation of one or more of those areas.

After a series of tests, he was put on steroids to control the condition and this resulted in him gaining weight.

Over three years, he went from around six stones to just under 20 stones.

He says he always felt hungry and ate four or five meals a day, as well as snacks in between. His diet included a lot of fried food, chocolates, crisps and fizzy drinks.

However, last year he joined a Slimming World group and started attending weekly sessions at the Teams Community Centre in Gateshead. He was supported by his mum Annette, who had been a member and went to the classes with him.

Now Lewis, 17, has shed around 5st 5lbs thanks to a healthier diet and exercise. And he has won his Slim-

ming World group’s young slimmer of the year award, and also reached the finals of the national competition.

Lewis, of Teams, who is training to be a chef, says he is feeling good about his weight loss and enjoys taking part in sports, which is in stark contrast to his previous lifestyle.

“I was just always hungry and I was eating things like fried food,” he said. “I was also not doing any exercise. I used to sit in my room playing video games with the curtains closed. I would just come down for a meal and go back up again.

“Then one day I found myself eating a full bag of chicken nuggets and I thought I needed to do something to stop this.

“I spoke to my mum and we decided to go to Slimming World together. I then started changing my life by eating healthily and lost weight.

“I like cooking and my meals now have more fruit and vegetables. I also play football and basketball and go swimming.”

The youngster, who is studying professional cooking at Gateshead College and has recently started working as a chef at The Highwayman in Gateshead, admits he still has “the odd takeaway” now and then, but always goes back to the Slimming World plan and is looking to lose even more weight.

Annette said she is proud of her son and recalled how he suddenly became ill four years ago.

The 47-year-old, who has lost six stones herself, said: “One day he just went to the toilet and, when he came out, he could not speak. He lost his speech.

“I took him to the doctor’s and we were sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He then started getting seizures and was transferred to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.”

A series of tests were carried out, including MRI scans, lumbar punctures and biopsies before he was diag- Lewis before he lost the weight nosed with neurosarcoidosis and put on daily steroids to control it.

While Lewis’s speech returned and he was able to live a normal life, he started to put on weight because of the medication.

Annette said: “What Lewis has done is amazing.

“He has become more healthy and it has boosted his confidence a lot.

“It’s not easy for a young lad to go into a Slimming World group but he did. And the people in the group have been brilliant.”

And Anne Goldie, who runs the Slimming World sessions in Teams, added: “I’m just blown away by what Lewis has done. I feel so proud of him.

“He is such a good example to young people today when there are so many problems with obesity and fast food is flying at them at every angle.”