World's fattest man begs NHS to save his life with £100k weight loss surgery
www.mirror.co.uk
The world’s former fattest man is begging the NHS to save his life after being admitted to hospital four times in the past five months.
Paul Mason, 59, who once weighed in at 70 stone, returned to the UK in May after living in the US for five years.
But he admits he is in “the last chance saloon” after being in and out of hospital.
He says he needs multiple surgeries, which could cost the NHS well over £100,000, including two new knees, a hip and multiple hernia operations.
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Paul Mason spoke to Holly Willoughby and Philip Scofield on This Morning back in 2013
Paul Mason pictured at his temporary accommodation in Plymouth, Devon (Image: Rowan Griffiths)
Speaking from a secret location, a desperate Paul told the Mirror: “The NHS have saved my life time and again. I could be dead without them.
“I’m determined to get my health back so I don’t let them down – I just need them to help me one last time.”
Once a darling of US chat shows, where his ex-fiancee proposed to him live on air, the ex-postman from Ipswich, Suffolk, claims he is now a broken man financially, physically and mentally.
Alone and living in taxpayer-funded sheltered housing, where he has access to round-the-clock care, he opened up about his despair and his deep heartache that he has been shunned by his own family because of his selfish actions.
He said: “I destroyed people’s lives through my eating, I tore our family apart.
Paul is now back in the UK, but finding life tough (Image: Rowan Griffiths)
“I know I am in the last chance saloon, you can only push your body so far before it starts kicking back at you, I have definitely got to do something.
“I have thought about taking my own life but I cannot let it come to that.”
Paul first hit the headlines over a decade ago when it was revealed he was the world’s fattest man, before an incredible weight loss regime saw him plummet to 19 stone thanks to an NHS gastric bypass operation.
He then moved to the US to have more surgery to remove his saggy skin and it was there he found love with 46-year-old American Rebecca Mountain.
But despite keeping the weight off for a short time, his life went off the rails again after his relationship failed.
He moved out of the house he shared with Rebecca and piled on the pounds, ballooning back to 40 stone while getting involved in a life of petty crime, which led to him being hauled before the courts for shoplifting.
Paul Mason and Rebecca Mountain on 'This Morning' back in 2013(Image: Steve Meddle/REX/Shutterstock)
Desperate, he said he moved in with a friend who offered to let him live rent free but he said he soon realised it was a trap.
He explained: “I met someone out there and we became friendly, she said she had a spare bedroom and offered me a place rent free so I said, yeah OK.
"She started demanding things like money for cigarettes, and she took opioids and demanded my prescription from me. I was trapped.
“This is what led to me stealing, she would give me a whole A4 list of stuff and would get me to go in the supermarket and steal it – I did not have any choice – it was like an entrapment situation.
“I did not like doing it at all. That was one of the lowest moments of my life.
“I got arrested and taken to court but I paid the fine, there is no outstanding warrant or anything like that, I just want to put it behind me.”
Out of money and options, Paul returned to the UK in May, living off takeaways in a Travelodge for a month before being taken into sheltered housing by social services.
Paul shows off the excess skin he carries since his weight loss - on ITV's Daybreak show in 2011 (Image: WENN.com)
He lives on £71 a week on Universal Credit and ekes out a lonely existence as he tries to get on the housing list and qualify for disability benefits, which he is not immediately eligible for having been out of the country for so long.
But despite his failing health he revealed his biggest hardship, and only regret, is losing contact with his remaining family, sisters Judith and Lorraine.
Although he admits it was his fault after he remortgaged the family home without them knowing in order to fund his relentless addiction to food.
Holding back the tears he said: “When my mum passed away my sister decided I was not going to be part of the family any more because I re-mortgaged her house and took away their inheritance.
“I did it for my food addiction. I needed to feed the addiction.
“We used a bit of it to put new windows in but I knew the rest of it was just there to feed my addiction.
"I don’t speak to them, I haven’t done for years, maybe about 2011 was the last contact.
“It makes me feel sad but I can see their point of view.
Paul Mason and Rebecca Mountain in Times Square, New York, in 2014 (Image: PAUL NIXON)
“I should have approached it differently, but it was Mum’s house and I lived there and cared for her and she agreed to re-mortgage and she said don’t tell the girls.
“I have regrets, of course I do, but the only one that really gets to me is that.
"I could not do much about anything else because I am an addict, you don’t care about what else is happening in your life, you just focus on number one.”
Paul, who now weighs 36 stone, says he is focusing on getting better in order to prove to the NHS that he is worthy of the surgery he says he so desperately needs.
He claims he has given up various fatty foods for life – such as chocolate, sweeteners and bread – but admits he still has a weakness for crisps. But he is adamant he is no scrounger, despite racking up an estimated £1million in medical bills over the course of his life.
He said: “I am not a sponger, but I respect everybody’s point of view, they don’t know my personal situation.
“I came back for health reasons, because I need help. I had only basic insurance in the US so this was my only option.
“First I need therapy, then I need my hernias sorting and my gastric bypass sorting, then I need new joints. Therapy is pricey though, but I would appeal to anyone out there who can help me pro bono to come forward.
“I am determined to get things going in the right direction and, once I have, I am determined to give back by helping others out there who are suffering from the same addiction as me.”
www.mirror.co.uk
The world’s former fattest man is begging the NHS to save his life after being admitted to hospital four times in the past five months.
Paul Mason, 59, who once weighed in at 70 stone, returned to the UK in May after living in the US for five years.
But he admits he is in “the last chance saloon” after being in and out of hospital.
He says he needs multiple surgeries, which could cost the NHS well over £100,000, including two new knees, a hip and multiple hernia operations.
Paul Mason spoke to Holly Willoughby and Philip Scofield on This Morning back in 2013
Speaking from a secret location, a desperate Paul told the Mirror: “The NHS have saved my life time and again. I could be dead without them.
“I’m determined to get my health back so I don’t let them down – I just need them to help me one last time.”
Once a darling of US chat shows, where his ex-fiancee proposed to him live on air, the ex-postman from Ipswich, Suffolk, claims he is now a broken man financially, physically and mentally.
Alone and living in taxpayer-funded sheltered housing, where he has access to round-the-clock care, he opened up about his despair and his deep heartache that he has been shunned by his own family because of his selfish actions.
He said: “I destroyed people’s lives through my eating, I tore our family apart.
“I know I am in the last chance saloon, you can only push your body so far before it starts kicking back at you, I have definitely got to do something.
“I have thought about taking my own life but I cannot let it come to that.”
Paul first hit the headlines over a decade ago when it was revealed he was the world’s fattest man, before an incredible weight loss regime saw him plummet to 19 stone thanks to an NHS gastric bypass operation.
He then moved to the US to have more surgery to remove his saggy skin and it was there he found love with 46-year-old American Rebecca Mountain.
But despite keeping the weight off for a short time, his life went off the rails again after his relationship failed.
He moved out of the house he shared with Rebecca and piled on the pounds, ballooning back to 40 stone while getting involved in a life of petty crime, which led to him being hauled before the courts for shoplifting.
Desperate, he said he moved in with a friend who offered to let him live rent free but he said he soon realised it was a trap.
He explained: “I met someone out there and we became friendly, she said she had a spare bedroom and offered me a place rent free so I said, yeah OK.
"She started demanding things like money for cigarettes, and she took opioids and demanded my prescription from me. I was trapped.
“This is what led to me stealing, she would give me a whole A4 list of stuff and would get me to go in the supermarket and steal it – I did not have any choice – it was like an entrapment situation.
“I did not like doing it at all. That was one of the lowest moments of my life.
“I got arrested and taken to court but I paid the fine, there is no outstanding warrant or anything like that, I just want to put it behind me.”
Out of money and options, Paul returned to the UK in May, living off takeaways in a Travelodge for a month before being taken into sheltered housing by social services.
He lives on £71 a week on Universal Credit and ekes out a lonely existence as he tries to get on the housing list and qualify for disability benefits, which he is not immediately eligible for having been out of the country for so long.
But despite his failing health he revealed his biggest hardship, and only regret, is losing contact with his remaining family, sisters Judith and Lorraine.
Although he admits it was his fault after he remortgaged the family home without them knowing in order to fund his relentless addiction to food.
Holding back the tears he said: “When my mum passed away my sister decided I was not going to be part of the family any more because I re-mortgaged her house and took away their inheritance.
“I did it for my food addiction. I needed to feed the addiction.
“We used a bit of it to put new windows in but I knew the rest of it was just there to feed my addiction.
"I don’t speak to them, I haven’t done for years, maybe about 2011 was the last contact.
“It makes me feel sad but I can see their point of view.
“I should have approached it differently, but it was Mum’s house and I lived there and cared for her and she agreed to re-mortgage and she said don’t tell the girls.
“I have regrets, of course I do, but the only one that really gets to me is that.
"I could not do much about anything else because I am an addict, you don’t care about what else is happening in your life, you just focus on number one.”
Paul, who now weighs 36 stone, says he is focusing on getting better in order to prove to the NHS that he is worthy of the surgery he says he so desperately needs.
He claims he has given up various fatty foods for life – such as chocolate, sweeteners and bread – but admits he still has a weakness for crisps. But he is adamant he is no scrounger, despite racking up an estimated £1million in medical bills over the course of his life.
He said: “I am not a sponger, but I respect everybody’s point of view, they don’t know my personal situation.
“I came back for health reasons, because I need help. I had only basic insurance in the US so this was my only option.
“First I need therapy, then I need my hernias sorting and my gastric bypass sorting, then I need new joints. Therapy is pricey though, but I would appeal to anyone out there who can help me pro bono to come forward.
“I am determined to get things going in the right direction and, once I have, I am determined to give back by helping others out there who are suffering from the same addiction as me.”
