When Jean Davis fractured her back in an accident, she spent months recuperating from her ordeal. But, as she tells Zita Collinson , rest and recovery came with an unwelcome side effect – weight gain

JEAN Davis will be forever thankful for her kind-hearted family and friends. But, as she discovered, sometimes even kindness can have its downside.

It was March 2008 and 67-year-old Jean, pictured, and her husband Brian were excited about their holiday to Spain.

"Brian was waiting to go and watch Stoke City because it was a late kick-off," says Jean, of Lightwood Road, Lightwood. "I suggested that while he was waiting to go to the match, we could go into the loft to get our suitcases. Brian went up first and I stood on the ladder beneath him. He passed me one of the suitcases and I missed my footing."

The grandmother-of-six fell and broke her back. Needless to say, their Spanish holiday was put on hold.

Jean spent several weeks in the University Hospital of North Staffordshire and a further three-and-a-half months in a cast at home.

The specially-made brace, which she was only able to remove at night, encased her upper body and severely limited her movement.

"The doctors allowed me to come home as long as I didn't move," she says. "Later in the year I did make it to Spain in my cast, but because it was so uncomfortable and I couldn't take it off except when I was in bed, it was pretty miserable.

"I couldn't do anything. My husband had to do absolutely everything for me. He was brilliant though and I couldn't have done without him."

The couple's three daughters and group of friends rallied to their aid.

"I've got a wonderful circle of friends who were all so kind and brought me lots of nice things to eat," says Jean, who has been married to Brian for 48 years.

"It's times like those that you're really grateful for everyone around you. But that's how the pounds started to pile on, because I was so inactive and people were cooking meals and making cakes for me. Of course I appreciated it, but it was doing nothing for my waistline."

And following her earlier diagnosis with breast cancer in 2007, it wasn't surprising that Jean's self-confidence was severely affected. But after a lumpectomy and a course of radiotherapy, she quickly found herself on the road to recovery.

She has recently been told that her consultant doesn't need to see her for another 12 months and takes a daily dose of Tamoxifen.

"When you get older you become less active," says Jean. "When I had my cancer diagnosis, it took a lot out of me. It came completely out of the blue. In fact, the day I got my results for cancer we were due to go on holiday to Florida. We came home early though because I couldn't stand it any longer. Within a week I was in hospital and had the operation to remove the lump."

So it was a combination of Jean's inactivity and the goodwill of others that saw Jean's weight rise from a healthy 10 stones to almost 12 stones. That was when she decided to take action.

She signed up for the LighterLife Lite programme, which is tailored to people who need to lose a stone, last April.

Two daily meals are replaced by a range of LighterLife bars, soups and shakes, but dieters are given freedom to choose their evening meal, as long as carbohydrates are avoided. Jean also attended weekly sessions with LighterLife counsellor, Cindy Foden, in Hanley.

"Up until the previous three years I'd had a normal diet," says Jean. "I'd always hovered around the 10 stones mark and I wanted to get back to that.

"I was quite strict with myself. I set myself a goal of getting back into my swimming costume which I finally managed to do when we went on holiday last year."

Within two months Jean had reached her target and was back into her size 12 clothes. Husband Brian is understandably proud of his wife.

"She's done very well indeed," he says. "But everyone, including the doctors and nurses at the hospital, our friends and family, were brilliant with us."

Jean adds: "Having cancer and the fall both affected my confidence but I'm fine now and back to being to my normal, bubbly self."

For further information on Lighter Life's weight loss programmes, contact the Hanley branch on 01782 273073 or the Newcastle office on 01782 712323.