23-stone woman halved her body weight after 'heartbreaking realisation' led her to make drastic change
In December 2022 Danielle Hutchinson had a family emergency which led to her deciding to make some drastic changes in her life.
Her four-year-old daughter Nevaeh had suffered an asthma attack and became unable to breathe, leading to an air ambulance being sent out for the girl.
The crew asked Danielle how much she weighed, and after learning she was 23 stone (146kg) they told her she couldn't go with her ailing daughter on the helicopter.
Instead of being able to be by her daughter's side she had to make her own way to the hospital while her daughter was in distress.
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That moment led to Danielle deciding that she was going to make a drastic change to her lifestyle.
Since then the 32-year-old has shed over half of her body weight after being left 'heartbroken' by being told she couldn't go with her daughter in the air ambulance.
The Connecticut woman spent the first six months on weight loss injections before switching to a change in diet and exercise.
In that time she shed over 14 stone (88kg) in weight and went from wearing size 26 dresses to a size four.
She said: "I've been overweight pretty much all my adult life. I never really put myself as a priority, I always put my kids as a priority.
"But when I couldn't be with my daughter during her hour of need in the helicopter, I kind of had the realisation when I was driving that if I don't start putting myself first, I can't make my kids a priority either.
"My daughter has asthma and she had an incident. We really don't know what caused it, she was just having real trouble breathing.
"They wanted her to get to hospital as fast as she could but didn't have the machines they needed at our nearest, regular hospital so they needed her to fly to this specific hospital.
"Before they arrived, they told me there was a weight restriction in the helicopter so they had me go on the scales and they told me the combination of my weight, the pilot and the medical personnel was too much and too dangerous.
"It was really a shock. My husband had to stay with my son and my daughter had to go by herself in the helicopter. It was a real turning point. It was heartbreaking for me to watch her fly away on her own."
Danielle stayed with her daughter at the hospital for a week and when she got back cleared out the family fridge.
At first there were little changes like making a healthy breakfast at home instead of buying it on the way to work, and reducing portion sizes in her meals.
She also stopped drinking soda and started walking more, saying she set herself 'small, achievable goals so I could actually see progress'.
It's worked pretty well for the mum, who also said that she started becoming less fixated on food, a feeling she described as 'freeing'.
Danielle also remembered the moment one of her kids gave her a hug and their hands could touch behind her back.
Danielle also began sharing her weight loss journey on TikTok, amassing a huge audience of 130,000 followers where she documents meal prep ideas and home workouts to motivate others.
However, her weight loss has left her with a considerable amount of loose skin around her stomach which will cost $9,000 (£7,100) to remove during surgery.
Danielle said: "I'm looking to get the loose skin removed on my abdomen. I've been denied three times by my insurance.
"I've been prescribed medication for the rashes I'm getting because of it. It's very uncomfortable and in the way when I exercise. And the way it looks isn't appealing.
"I'm hoping I can raise what I can to help pay for the surgery."
With that goal in mind she's set up a GoFundMe to try and get some help with the costs of the surgery, which can be donated to here.
Topics: Health, US News, Food And Drink
Joe Harker