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Story Of Success
Since moving into her new home last June, Leona Purtill has lost an amazing five stone. For Leona, this achievement is even more special as she has Prader-willi syndrome.
“I was born three months premature and almost died,” explains Leona. “When I was one, I was diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome which means I have chromosome damage.” Leona has a very slow metabolism and the condition affects her height, weight and muscle tone. “I have a big appetite and always feel hungry, that’s why losing this weight has been such a big thing for me,” she adds.
Leona moved into her new bungalow in June 2007 and since that date has been supported by Paragon to gain skills towards independence. “I was living in shared accommodation before but it didn’t work out,” explains Leona. “I looked into different options with my social worker and that’s when I met Paragon.”
With Paragon’s support, Leona began to look for a new house. “I fell in love with this bungalow straight away, it is all on one level and there is so much space and it’s modern.”
“When I began living here I was 16 stone eight pounds and I’ve now lost just over five stone,” says a proud Leona. Her amazing feat has not been an easy ride and Leona has worked very hard to make it a success.
“Just after I moved in I was admitted to hospital with breathing problems. I found out I had heart failure and it was due to the weight I was carrying. I also began to suffer from diabetes and they discovered I had been on the wrong medication for this. This was affecting my weight even more; my legs had swelled up like balloons, my lungs had filled with fluid and I could hardly walk.”
“The doctor told me it was vital for my heath that I lose weight and said if didn’t I would probably be dead by the time I am 30. I was completely shocked”, says Leona. Once Leona was back home she set a plan in motion, with the support of Paragon, that saw a complete transformation of her eating habits.
“The main thing was to reduce my portion sizes. Paragon staff worked with me to make my meals and help me with all the right groups of food. One of my support workers, Hazel Pinches, has been brilliant. She used to work in a special Prader-willi centre and has been a huge support to me.”
Leona has found the whole experience a huge challenge but the benefits of her new diet are immense. “After just a few weeks the weight started dropping off me. This meant I could start doing some exercise. I took it slowly at first and it would just be say a five minute walk, but soon I was going swimming and going on much longer walks. It felt good to be out and about again,” she adds.
Leona’s success came to head when just a few weeks ago she found out she had lost enough weight to be able to ride her pony. She hasn’t been horse riding for over two years. “I was over the moon when I found out I was the right weight to ride Suzie. That was such a good feeling. I was so excited and it was brilliant to get on her after all that time.”
So what is the best thing about losing all this weight? “I am not as tired anymore and I’m more active. I am much more healthy and most importantly I have increased my life span.” She adds.
Leona goes to college three days a week and is completing a course in Life Skills. A new venture she is getting involved in is a group called ‘Perceptions’. “The group meet at college on a Friday and we are building a drama group,” Leona explains. ”I am really enjoying it and am meeting lots of new people.”
Leona receives 2:1 support from Paragon but one of her next goals is to work towards reducing this. “What I would like is for this to drop to 1:1 support. I am working towards this with the staff at Paragon and it’s something I would really like to achieve.”
Marie Lloyd, Paragon Service Manager explains: “This next step is a huge one for Leona but with her bags of determination we know it’s one she will achieve. Leona’s family, the staff and manager (Linda Sumner) should all take credit for their ongoing commitment towards helping Leona achieve her goals.”
“Leona’s story demonstrates how Paragon, Wigan Social Services and Leona have worked closely together to enable her to move forward in her life. We are all very proud of her.” Marie adds.