WHEN Britain’s heaviest man was suffering from a suspected blood clot and feared for his life, doctors contemplated sending him to a ZOO.
Forty-seven stone Jason Holton was told the only machine capable of holding his massive frame while his heart and lungs were examined was normally used by vets on animals such as a zebra.
Ian WhittakerBed-bound Jason says he cries himself to sleep every night because he is so depressed about his weight[/caption]
Jason made headlines when he had to be winched from his mum’s two-bedroom flat by a crane and a team of 30 firefighters
Jason, 33, says his body swelled up “like the Nutty Professor” during his brush with death last January.
Medics suspected that he had a blood clot and his internal organs were about to fail.
In 1996 film The Nutty Professor, Eddie Murphy plays morbidly obese Sherman Klump, who develops an instant slimming potion which makes him balloon in size when it wears off.
In an exclusive interview, Jason said: “I was close to death and convinced I was going to die. I was swelling up like the Nutty Professor and it was scary.
“I started to think I was going to explode. There were big bulges all over me.
“When the ambulance crew came, I refused to go with them at first because I wanted to die.
“But then I thought about my family and how upset they would be, and I decided to try to get better.
“Doctors suspected that I had a blood clot, but they couldn’t figure out where, and they were concerned that my heart had been damaged and I would need a pacemaker.
“My mum was convinced I’d suffered a mini heart attack and my doctor looked shocked when he saw the state of me — he was amazed I was still alive.
“At one point they were talking about taking me to London Zoo to have my heart and lungs examined with equipment they normally use on large animals like zebras.
‘I can’t remember the last time I walked’
“They said that was the only way they could properly X-ray my heart.
“My doctor was convinced this was the best thing for me, but they decided against it in the end.
“I’m not sure why — I think it was because of the cost.”
Jason’s condition eventually stabilised following treatment at East Surrey Hospital in Redhill.
Bed-bound Jason says he cries himself to sleep every night because he is so depressed about his weight.
He has not left the bedroom of his specially adapted, £400,000 bungalow in a Hampshire village for six months because his legs are no longer strong enough to support him.
He has to take a huge amount of medication to keep his heart pumping and blood pressure stable, and to combat lymphoedema in his groin and legs, a chronic condition that causes water retention and swelling.
Jason was recently given an oxygen mask to help with breathing disorder sleep apnoea, which can cause the lungs to stop working during the middle of the night.
Doctors have warned he is unlikely to live past the age of 40.
He is now hoping his life will be saved by the revolutionary weight-loss injection Wegovy, the brand name for semaglutide, which has just been approved for use on the NHS.
The so-called miracle jab works by suppressing the appetite and has helped some patients lose as much as 30 per cent of their body weight.
The treatment is also said to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and death by 20 per cent and the health service says it should be available to 50,000 patients once it is rolled out.
However, Jason was recently given the crushing news that the NHS has none available as supplies have been diverted to private providers.
Ian WhittakerJason is asking the NHS for the new weight loss injections to battle against his obesity[/caption]
Stuck at home, his only company is his mum Leisa, 53, his main carer.
Jason was three years old when his father Sultan Nemer died in a car accident aged 21.
Fighting back tears, he said: “Jabs are the only option left for me so I have to give them a go. I can’t stay in this bed for ever.
“I can’t remember the last time I walked, it’s terrible.”
Jason keeps the blinds in his bedroom permanently drawn to protect his privacy.
The paintings on his wall, including Banksy’s Follow Your Dreams monkey sketch and scenes from TV and computer games, provide a little respite.
Jason said: “I’m lucky to have these paintings, because otherwise I would be staring at the walls all day.
“I use my computer to play games and I listen to music but I have been in this bed for so long it’s doing my head in.
“I’m a prisoner in my own home. I had a call with the bariatric (obesity) nurse the other day and was told that, at the moment, there are no weight-loss jabs available. We keep hearing different things. Before, we were told there is an issue with the distribution.
“Now we are told another country is paying more for them. Time is running out for me. I need to do something before it’s too late.”
Jason’s battle with obesity started during his late teens, when he became addicted to takeaways.
By his mid-20s, he was scoffing 10,000 calories a day and hit his peak weight of 50st.
In October 2020, he made headlines when his organs started failing and he had to be winched from his mum’s two-bedroom flat in Camberley, Surrey, by a crane and a team of 30 firefighters.
His collapse in January was his second serious health scare in six months after he suffered a series of mini heart attacks the previous June.
Jason had been smoking more than 30 cigarettes and drinking 2.5litres of fruit juice plus five cans of sugar-free fizzy drinks a day.
He spent two months at Frimley Park Hospital where he had to be transported via a specially adapted ambulance. It was decided by the NHS that he would be moved to a private nursing home in London.
When The Sun sat down to talk with Jason in September last year, he had been living in the residential care for a month.
The staff had restricted his liquid intake, limited smoking and put him on a strict diet that he complained was a breach of his human rights.
‘Cheated death a few times’
Despite losing 3st, he said: “I felt like an inmate in the care home. I had no freedom, I was their prisoner.
“If I wanted a cigarette I had to go outdoors, which was impossible. I would ask for water instead and they often refused to give me that.”
After spending two months under the care of doctors at East Surrey Hospital, Jason was well enough to return home in March.
But he refuses to go back to the care home.
He claims he has cut down on his food intake and his main meals now consist of Bran Flakes cereal and ham or egg-mayo sandwiches three times a day.
His snacks include two pots of Muller Rice and three packets of Mini Cheddars, all bought online from Sainsbury’s.
Once a week, he treats himself to a takeaway of two fish cakes and mushy peas from the local chippie.
But he admits he is still smoking a packet of cigarettes a day and drinking three litres of fruit juice, containing around 300g of sugar — ten times the NHS recommended intake.
He said: “I have tried to stop smoking a few times but it’s difficult. I have an addictive personality and I don’t have much else to do all day.”
Jason acknowledges he has “cheated death a few times”, but still dreams of being able to walk again.
He said: “The last time I tried to walk was a close call.
“It was the middle of the night last January when I was in hospital. I really wanted to walk so I tried to get off the bed, but it was the wrong call.
“I got my feet on the floor, but then I started slipping. My feet just won’t hold me any more. My body has had enough. I shouted, ‘Nurse!’ at the top of my lungs.
Jason aged five with mum Leisa
Ian WhittakerLeisa is Jason’s main caregiver and only company[/caption]
“A few of them rushed over to help get me on the bed.
“If I had landed on the floor, it would have taken forever to get me back up and anything could have happened.
“I know I’ve cheated death a few times. But I have decided I’m not going back to the care home — I’m either going to die in hospital or at home. I am better off with my mum.
“The stress of being in a care home wasn’t good for my health. Once I was back home, everything was better.
“Now I would do anything to get out of bed and start walking again.
“They say that if I can lose enough weight, there is a chance I can get my mobility back.
“I’m convinced the injections are my last chance to save my life.”
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