A 113kg mother lost more than half her body weight after being told she was too fat to travel in an emergency helicopter when her daughter was rushed to hospital.
Danielle Hutchinson said she had been overweight her entire adult life, weighing 55 pounds and measuring a size 26 in her dress size.
The 32-year-old said her weight had led to her being refused entry to rollercoasters and had also forced her to request seatbelt extenders on planes due to her morbid obesity.
However, it was a dramatic family emergency that led Mrs Hutchinson to make a drastic change in her lifestyle to lose weight.
Their four-year-old daughter, Nevaeh, was left unable to breathe during a severe asthma attack in December 2022.
Danielle Hutchinson previously weighed a colossal 114kg but lost more than half her body weight after being told she was too fat to ride in an emergency helicopter when her daughter was rushed to hospital.
Mrs Hutchinson said her weight had previously caused her problems, including being refused entry onto rollercoasters and having to request seatbelt extenders on planes because of her morbid obesity. She is pictured with her husband Ryan and their two children Harrison and Nevaeh.
But it was little Nevaeh’s dramatic air ambulance rescue – and being told she was too fat to accompany her on the trip – that prompted Ms Hutchinson to take control of her weight.
Nevaeh’s condition was so serious that doctors decided to send an air ambulance to transfer her to a specialized hospital as quickly as possible.
But when the crew asked Ms Hutchinson her weight, she was “heartbroken” to be told she would not be able to travel with her daughter because her weight would make the flight too dangerous.
Instead, the mother of two had to drive herself to the hospital separately.
Ms Hutchinson, who lives in Norwich, Connecticut, said this moment was her turning point in losing a few kilos and she began making extreme changes to her diet over the following weeks.
The child therapist used weight-loss injections for the first six months before relying solely on diet and exercise for the next year until she lost an incredible 200 pounds.
Now weighing just 20 pounds and wearing size four clothes, Mrs. Hutchinson said she doesn’t recognize the person she used to be.
“I’ve been overweight for most of my adult life. I never put myself first, I always put my kids first,” she said.
“But when I couldn’t be with my daughter during her hour of need in the helicopter, while driving I realized that if I don’t start putting myself first, I can’t make my kids a priority.”
Recalling the incident, he said: ‘They wanted me to get to the hospital as quickly as possible, but they didn’t have the machines they needed at our nearest regular hospital, so they needed me to fly to this specific hospital.
‘Before I arrived, I was told there was a weight restriction on the helicopter, so I was made to stand on the scales and told that the combination of my weight, the pilot’s weight and the medical staff’s weight was too much and too dangerous.
“It was a real shock. My husband had to stay with my son and my daughter had to go alone in the helicopter. It was a real turning point. It was heartbreaking for me to see her flying alone.”
Ms Hutchinson said that once Nevaeh had recovered sufficiently, altering her diet and lifestyle became her sole focus for the next few months.
“I stayed with her in the hospital for a week and when we got home, I took everything out of the refrigerator and started researching healthier eating habits,” she said.
‘I noticed results pretty quickly. I started making small changes. Every morning on the way to work, I used to eat breakfast, but now I made a healthier breakfast at home.
The child therapist used weight-loss injections for the first six months before relying solely on diet and exercise for the next year until she lost an incredible 200 pounds.
She described one of her proudest moments in her weight loss journey as “when one of my kids gave me a hug and their hands were able to touch each other behind my back.”
“I cut out soda from my diet, reduced portion sizes and increased the number of steps I took. I tried to do one thing at a time. I set small, achievable goals so I could see progress.”
In addition to losing hundreds of pounds over the next year, Ms. Hutchinson also began to see victories in her life that weren’t related to the scale.
“One of the most memorable was when one of my sons gave me a hug and their hands were able to touch behind my back,” she said.
‘I used to wake up and think about food. It was very liberating to stop being so obsessed with food.
However, her incredible weight loss has left her with around 10 pounds of loose skin around her stomach, which will cost her $9,000 (£7,100) to remove through surgery.
“I couldn’t ride roller coasters at amusement parks, I needed a seatbelt extender on airplanes, I could never cross my legs and now I can. I still notice things like this every day.
‘It’s hard to believe how far I’ve come. I still get surprised when I walk past a shop mirror.’
Ms Hutchinson also began sharing her weight loss journey on TikTok, amassing a large audience of 130,000 followers where she documents meal prep and at-home workout ideas to motivate others.
However, her incredible weight loss has left her with around 10lb of loose skin around her stomach, which will cost her $9,000 (£7,100) to remove surgically.
‘I’m looking to have the loose skin on my abdomen removed. My insurance has denied me three times.
‘I was prescribed medication for the rashes I have because of this. It’s very uncomfortable and gets in the way when I exercise. And its appearance is not attractive.
“I hope I can scrape together what I can to help pay for the surgery.”
Mrs. Hutchinson has organized a fundraiser to enable her to have this surgery. here.
The NHS recommends that people who want to lose weight first measure their BMI to find out if they need to do so.
If you need to lose a few kilos, the health service says the best way to do this is a combination of exercise and eating healthy meals packed with fruit and vegetables.
People who lose weight should aim to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week through increased activity and healthy changes. says the NHS.
However, the health service urges people to avoid strict diets and skipping meals, as these can be harmful to health in the long term.