I spent £15k on surgery to get my New Year dream body but it almost killed me – I feared I’d never see my kids again
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BLINKING quickly, Joanne Strong tried to focus on the bright lights of her private hospital room as she came round from having a tummy tuck. After losing five stone in weight, the £15,000 surgery, which also included breast augmentation and a hernia repair, was a 40th birthday treat to herself.
![[The operation was a birthday treat for Joanne after losing weight, and she had hoped it would help her achieve her dream body]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/6c5b570f-0307-4d13-b72f-9bd8ea53bb65.jpg?strip=all&w=565)
It was January 2024, and like many women who start the new year in pursuit of a better body, she hoped this would be the year she’d get the figure she wanted. “I’d worked hard to lose the flab and the tuck was the icing on the cake - a dream new body for a new decade.
![[Mum-of-two Joanne managed to lose an incredible five stone through exercise and diet and she thought surgery would be the icing on the cake]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/da8dbfab-c6e0-4ef5-9208-bc9ee89c6881_494d62.jpg?strip=all&w=375)
"I used my savings to pay half and borrowed the rest from my family,” says Joanne, 42, who lives in Carlisle, Cumbria. But the dream very quickly became a year long nightmare as she nearly died from post operative complications. “There were several dark moments I feared I would die and leave my two youngsters motherless,” she reflects.
![[Joanne was left in agonising pain, and was forced to undergo three additional operations]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/9f5aec45-969e-4fba-b2e7-82385107edbb.jpg?strip=all&w=596)
“Other bleak times lead me to seriously consider killing myself. "I got so low, I was that desperate but I could not do this to my children, though I know I will be mentally and physically scarred for life by this ordeal.”. At her heaviest, Joanne, who is 5ft 7ins, was a size 20 and weighed 17 stone.
![[The mum was terrified she wouldn't see her daughter Eva, seven, and son, Toby, five, ever again]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2c1a2c6f-d376-4145-9d0e-9d1a5af739e5.jpg?strip=all&w=514)
Over two years, she lost five stone through diet and exercise, dropping from a size 20 to a size 12, but was left with a roll of loose skin which she hoped the tuck would remove. Turning 40 in December 2020, Joanne wanted to get rid of the flab around her waist for good and felt surgery was the answer.
![[Joanne was left feeling suicidal after the op, and has suffered both physically and mentally]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/fdfdc38f-27dd-45dd-9a27-c4dbaa896d4a.jpg?strip=all&w=622)
