A Belfast man who was left on life support after being hit by a car seven years ago has spoken of his incredible weight loss journey following the near-death experience.
Ben Rashbrook was left in a coma for four weeks after suffering serious injuries including bleeding on the brain after he was knocked off his bicycle in Dunmurry back in 2012.
He had a shattered right arm, broken ribs, collapsed and punctured lungs, a torn liver and lost the use of one of his kidneys, Belfast Live reports.
At one stage Ben says the doctors told his wife Joanne that they were considering switching off his life support as there was nothing more they could do for him.
"I ended up in a coma for a month after the incident, and I was in hospital for three months," Ben said.
"I don't remember anything about getting run over. I ended up in hospital with bleeds on the brain, a shattered right arm, shattered ribs, collapsed and punctured lungs, and a torn liver.
"I lost the use of both kidneys at the time but they were able to get one working again. I was on dialysis for six weeks but that kidney is now deteriorating and I am in stage three chronic kidney disease.
"I had been in a coma for two weeks when they told my wife that were going to start turning off the life support machines.
"She pleaded with them to give me three weeks, because it usually took me that long to shake off a cold.
"Thankfully, in the third week I started to respond.
"I came out of the coma, then they induced me into another one and brought me out again, to aid the recovery process.
"Eventually I got taken off life support."
Ben signed himself out of hospital after three months and started regular physiotherapy sessions to help get his strength up again.
He also attended regular reviews at Thompson House for the brain injury he sustained.
"I still go to Thompson House once a year for a review," Ben added. "It is just part of my long-term rehabilitation."
Ben's remarkable weight loss journey started three years after his accident.
The 41-year-old's weight ballooned from 11st to 17st from 2012 to 2015, prompting his kidney specialist to issue a health warning.
"It was November 2015 when my specialist said my weight was putting a lot of pressure on my kidney," Ben said.
"My specialist said my kidney was struggling and I had to do something about it. So that's when I decided to get in shape."
And that's when Ben's journey started.
He teamed up with personal trainer TJ McAteer who he initially trained with five days a week.
"I trained with TJ five days a week, mainly doing weights and building up my strength. I did some cardio as well," Ben said.
"I also trained the other two days on my own, chipping away at the weight and getting fitter. I also cleaned up my diet, eating whole foods.
"I eat things like turkey burgers, beef burgers, mince, rice and vegetables.
"I got down to 11st with TJ, and now I have built myself up to about 12-and-a-half stone.
"It's my way of life now."
Ben admits he is fortunate to be alive, but is determined to live his life to the fullest after almost dying seven years ago.
He has also recently opened his own supplement store R Supplements Ltd on the Glen Road in West Belfast.
"It gives me a purpose in life during the day, and then I have my training as well. And my family," the dad-of-three added.
"I am just so grateful for still being here, so I want to make the best of my life. I am very fortunate to be alive. I don't take my life for granted anymore, that's for sure.
"After what happened to me, it changes your mindset completely. I feel okay now. I am coping the best I can.
"I can't complain too much. I am still alive."
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Personal trainer TJ McAteer of TJ Fit, who works in the physiotherapy department at the Ulster Hospital, said: "Ben's journey is remarkable when you consider what he and his family have been through.
"Losing six stone is an incredible achievement, especially for Ben who has come through so much over the past seven years.
"He has kept at the training and is a credit to himself and his family."
