Real Talk Current: Mother drops from 16st to 9st so she's healthy enough to give her child, 9, part of her liver

'I lost 7st to save my son's life': Mother drops from 16st to 9st so she's healthy enough to give her child, 9, part of her liver

Charlene Howard, 33, lost 7st when she was told that her son, Elliot, now nine, had liver disease and might eventually need to be given part of her liver. She dropped from 16st 7lbs (left) to 9st 5lbs (right)

Charlene Howard, 33, dropped from a size 18 to a size eight when she was told Elliot had liver disease and might eventually need a transplant

She lost the weight by revolutionising her diet and starting to exercise

She is now healthy enough to save her son whenever he needs it

Elliot has cystic fibrosis and also received treatment for a brain tumour when he was a toddler - it's not known if the liver disease is related

She would not have been well enough to give her son part of her liver while she was classified as morbidly obese.

Ms Howard, from Wolverhampton, told MailOnline: ‘Elliot is a reason to keep the weight off – every time I take him to hospital it gives me a little reminder.
‘I would do anything for him – I just want him to be happy. It’s hard because I am a single mum but I just try to do my best for him.’

Ms Howard, a finance underwriter, started to pile on the pounds when Elliot was one.
Before his birth she weighed about 12st, but she gained weight rapidly when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour at just 18 months old.
Elliot, now nine, spent a year in Birmingham Children’s Hospital while he had surgery and chemotherapy.