Radio newscaster Teena Gates 'didn't start trying to lose weight until her life was at risk'
The 98FM newsreader, whose perky delivery of the headlines gave listeners no clue as to the turmoil she had been suffering, was in hospital, having been poisoned by a rotting gall-bladder.
Doctors wanted to operate but they couldnt: at 23 stone (146kg), Teena was simply too fat.
Before the diet: Teena Gates with President Mary McAleese and Martin McAleese shortly before she began to lose weightShe had known for some time that she had to lose weight, not least because chairs she sat on broke, her ankles overflowed her feet in stilettos and she couldnt fit into aeroplane seats. But only when her life was at stake was she given the incentive to face her problem.
The doctors told me they couldnt cut through the fat to get to my gall-bladder, so I had to go on a diet, she said. That was the kickstart I needed. I just made a decision to lose weight. I starved myself into submission.
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I didnt pay attention to my weight and it got totally out of control, said Teena. I became so sick after 10 years of being overweight that I nearly died.
Putting a brave face: Teenahad back pains after a horseriding accidentI cant believe Ive ! come thi s far but its been so worth it. I spent 10 years of my life not being able to walk properly and now Ive energy to burn. Im the happiest Ive ever been.
The weight gain began 10 years ago, when Teena, who had always been a size 12, developed horrific back pain as a result of a horseriding accident.
With little or no ability to exercise, she began piling on the pounds: within three years she was wearing size 32 clothes.
I never realised I was so big, it all happened so fast, she said. I was eating T-bone steaks everyday, with rich gravy and potatoes, red wine and loads of dressing but I did no exercise.
Even though I went as far as clothes sizes could go, I still kept up with fashion by ordering online. I thought I was gorgeous! I dont know if it was denial but I continued to increase in size.
My size four feet stopped working for me when they became bloated and poured over the edges of my shoes but I persisted in wearing stilettos.
As Teena got heavier, her back pain worsened.
I used to wake up in grinding pain which continued all day. It was like someone took a chain saw to my back and was gnawing at it all day.
I dont think my work suffered but my lifestyle suffered. Going to the toilet was a problem, making tea was a problem, I was the most clamped person in Dublin because I couldnt drag myself down the stairs at work to put money in the meter. I was furious every time I got clamped but just laughed it off in the newsroom.
Brave new world: Teena shows off her dazzling new figureTeena admits that no matter how many times someone mentioned her weight she ignored them until one day she realised how big she was.
It was Christmas and I looked myself in the mirror and thought, God youre fat. I was eating too much and badly.
I hadnt eaten properly in years. I used to wake at 4am to be in the newsroom for 5am. I was mad busy in work and would just forget to eat. By! evening though I had no intention of cooking and would get a take-out.
People have this perception that fat people wake up every morning covered in Maltesers and spend their day eating chocolate, just for the record I hate chocolate. I just ate a lot of very rich dinners.
One of Teenas lowest points was when she broke two chairs on two separate nights out with friends because of her weight.
It was hugely embarrassing, though thankfully I didnt fall on the floor. I used to just laugh it off. I couldnt fit into an aeroplane seat and I always felt sorry for the person sitting next to me because the table wouldnt fold down over me.
In a desperate bid to get to the root of her problem, she visited several doctors and hospitals.
They put me on steroids and painkillers, none of which worked. It was awful, all they could see was the fat person and blamed my pain on that.
I found myself in the loneliest darkest and most miserable place in the world. No one would listen to me, so I began doubting my own sanity and in the end I gave up the steroids and painkillers and decided to just put up with the pain.
Eventually, in 2009, Teena feel seriously ill and was forced to take time off work.
I just kept vomiting and I was so weak. I couldnt get off the sofa. I didnt know what to say to anyone any more and I didnt know what to do. I was very scared, she said. Then, out of the blue, an old friend from work rang and asked what my diagnosis was.
I realised I didnt have a diagnosis and he got me into the Beacon Hospital for an assessment three days later.
There, Teena was shocked to discover she had been badly poisoned by a rotting gall-bladder and had suffered back pain for years as a result.
The gall-bladder is a small organ that is part of the digestive system and is located in the upper right side of the abdomen. If untreated, inflammation and infection can cause horrendous pain.
Moun tain to climb: A much fitter Teena hauling her way up Mount EverestI believed I could die. I knew I was in big trouble. My parents felt the same.
It was then that doctors said she would have to lose four stone before they could operate and she did.
I spent a month in hospital and lost more weight. I wanted to carry on, so I went on Facebook to find others in my situation. I joined Weight Watchers and began to learn about food and reading labels on packets.
The doctors operated on Teena after she lost the correct amount of weight.
I woke up after the operation and I believed I was heavily sedated and that the pain would return but it never did.
Ive a new lease of life and words cant express how happy I am.
Following her operation, Teena was approached by the Hope Foundation, which works with street children in Calcutta, and asked if she would like to join its sponsored hike to Everest.
I just threw myself into exercise and began training for the expedition. I got myself a personal trainer and worked out five to six times a week. I was overjoyed at the thoughts of going.
I learned how to run properly, I swam, I ate properly and I gave my heart and soul into my training.
But in the middle of Teenas battle to get her weight under control her mother, Tessy, 83, died in March last year.
Mum and Dad have lived with me for a decade, she said. Mum told me she was worried about the mountain and all the work I was doing.Gradually, she got into it and became my biggest supporter.
The night before she died, I did a mini-fashion show for her in the house. I was due to go to a ball that Friday and she and I were so excited because all my clothes were now too big for me.
Only two nights before, she and I had been Irish dancing around the kitchen and we talked about getting lessons because we couldnt remember the steps for the jig.
We were giggling madly when I tried on a gorgeous red-beaded dress. It was perfect on me. As I got ready for bed she came into my room and said, Is th! e fashio n show over? I said, Yes, and she replied, Well it has to be the red dress. Then she said, Night night God bless.
The next morning Teena headed off for work but a few hours later her father, Teddy, 85, called to say her mother had passed away in the middle of the night.
I never got to wear the red dress or go to the ball. But I kept going with my training just the way she would have wanted me to. I could hear her voice in my mind saying, Come on girl you have to do this.
In November, Teena joined a host of celebrities including renowned adventurer Pat Falvey and Jenny Kavanagh who plays Cleo in Fair City, on their trip. They climbed to Everest Base Camp.
I felt like I had touched the sky. It was a phenomenal journey and Im so blessed to have been there, she said. I had unfinished business with Mum and when I got to Everest I made a little shrine for her on the mountain and it was there, when I was so close to the sky, that I finally accepted she had passed.
Teenas continued with her charity work and in June she sailed across the Irish Sea in a 19ft sailing boat to raise funds for Chernobyl Children International.
In September, she will travel with a team of climbers to Mount Blanc on the Alps to mark the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster and when she returns, she hopes to have her book published.
I wrote the book so that I never forget what I have been so lucky to achieve, she said. It would be a dream to get it published. I just want people who are in a similar situation to me to be kind to themselves and to know that anything is possible. I refuse to feel bitter over my past.
Two years ago I couldnt walk, and now Im climbing mountains, running, dancing and sailing. Im not a saint, Im just like anyone else who wanted to fix a huge problem in my life.
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