Big Deano’s battle of the bulge

Dean Carron needs to lose 35 pounds in 90 days before surgeons can fix the condition which has left him with a huge unsightly scar and bulge on his abdomen .

Two years ago Dean (38) went in for a routine appendix operation at King’s Mill Hospital which was expected to last one and a half hours.

But the procedure turned into a seven hour battle to save his life after complications set in leaving him with a large incisional hernia.

Said Dean: “I had to have a vacuum on my stomach and I ended up with the hernia.

“I don’t blame the hospital - it could have happened to anyone having that operation.

“If I hadn’t had the appendix operation I could have died anyway.”

The former body guard was left unable to work and his weight shot up from 19 stones to 27 in the months after the operation.

He said: “I had a massive hole in my side, which took six months to heal up.

“I felt terrible about my appearance. I was scared to go out on the street and did my shopping at 2am to avoid people.

“It’s horrible, walking around with it, as people say nasty things as you are walking past.”

Dean, of Gordon Avenue, who was looked after by his partner Emma Matthews, said: “I am a lucky man to have such a wonderful woman.

“Emma was there for me from day one and has supported me through it all, even helping to clean my wound.”

Last October Dean said he had a ‘light bulb moment’ after consultants told him he had to lose weight dramatically to be able to have a corrective operation.

He enrolled on an American weight loss and fitness programme, the Body by Vi challenge, which he is now promoting and has since lost seven stones.

Consultants at Nottingham City Hospital have told him he must lose another 35 pounds before a hernia repair can be performed.

Dean has adopted the target into his own personal challenge which he is undertaking along with his friend Andrew Price (36), who has a similar hernia condition.

Both men are combining the Body by Vi programme with exercising at the gym.

As part of the Body by Vi programme, the company will donate 30 free healthy meals to children with obesity for every 10 pounds Dean loses.

He said: “It will be amazing and will change my life - I’ll be the perfect man again.”

“I want to change the world. That’s my goal - to help people like me. If I can do it so can they.”