I saved my husband’s life after losing seven stone and getting fit enough to donate my kidney

SHE had spent her adult life trying fad diets but never found the motivation to make her weight-loss efforts last.

Then Sam Cadwallader discovered she could save her husband Paul’s life by slimming herself down — and finally she had found the incentive to ditch the junk food for good.

He had been diagnosed with ­kidney failure and urgently needed a transplant — and Sam was relieved to discover she was a ­perfect match to be the donor.

But she weighed 18st 10lb, and doctors told her they couldn’t ­operate because she was obese.

So the mum of four lost almost 7st, dropping from a dress size 24 to a 12, and on March 28 last year at Guy’s Hospital in South London she donated her kidney to builder Paul — saving his life.

Sam, 35, from Minster, Kent, says: “I had always lacked the motivation to stick to diets and I went through adulthood continuously putting on weight.

“When we got the terrible news that Paul’s kidney was failing, my world fell apart.

“But while it was a terrifying time for the family, it gave me the kick-start I needed to really change — and now I’m slimmer, healthier and have my husband still here with me.”

Childminder Sam first met Paul when she was 17 and recalls: “We were childhood sweethearts and have been together ever since.

“I was a size 12 when we met but my weight then crept up over the years and I was always conscious of it.”

Sam was 18 when she had their first child Joshua, now 17, and she had their second son, James, four years later.

In 2009 the couple had another child, Grace, but a year later Paul was diagnosed with the kidney ­disease focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, or FSGS.

He lacked energy and often ­suffered aches and pains but was given medication to manage this.

The couple married in 2012 and Sam says: “I got pregnant again and we had Harvey the following year. At this point I was a size 24.”

Her weight did not change for four years, until 2017. She says: “Paul’s health had ­deteriorated. He had to quit his job and could barely walk up the stairs.

“He had a series of tests. His ­kidneys were failing and he urgently needed a transplant.

“Paul’s family were tested but were not suitable as donors. I got tested and was a perfect match.

“I cried with joy, but a doctor told me I couldn’t donate till I had lost at least 5st.

“Paul would have to be put on dialysis and join a long waiting list for a transplant, getting weaker by the day.

“I just smiled and said, ‘I can do it.’ There was no question. I signed up to my local ­Slimming World that same day. I weighed 18st 10lb.”

At her last weigh-in before the operation, she was 13st 8lb, which meant she was eligible for surgery — and the transplant went ahead.

Sam says: “It wasn’t an easy ride. I developed an infection afterwards, and it was painful for us both, but the main thing was that Paul recovered well.

“I lost another stone and a half and I’m still going. I’m now a size 12 and feel amazing.

“But best of all, my ­husband is well and strong again.”

Paul, 37, who now helps with Sam’s childminding business, says: “If she had not given me a kidney, who knows how much longer I would be around?

“I’ll be forever grateful to her, and I’m so proud.”