A man who used to weigh fifty stone and later shed two-thirds of his body weight has returned to work after 15 years - at the hospital which saved his life.
Before his dramatic weight loss, Paul Stevenson couldn't walk ten steps and barely left his home for four years after his weight ballooned.
But he has now started working as a porter at the hospital where he underwent the gastric surgery that put him on the road to a 33-stone weight loss.
Paul says he is grateful to be able to work again after starting at the Royal Derby Hospital.
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The 38-year-old was sent on a steep decline after his mother died and was splashing out on three or four takeaways everyday - which left his weight unreadable on the scales.
In 2016, he had a sleeve gastrectomy at the Royal Derby, where part of the stomach is removed, and introduced a new diet and exercise regime - which reduced his weight dramatically.
He then went to Holland for an operation to remove his excess skin and now weighs 18 stone.
Since then, he married his girlfriend of two years and has now started work as a porter at Royal Derby Hospital, where he began his weight loss surgery four years ago.
He said: "This is the first job I've had for about 15 years. Because of how big and ill I had become, work became impossible.
"I have always said that if there was ever anything I could do to give back to this hospital then I would do it, especially if it involved helping patients."
Paul works across the hospital - from theatres to day cases to A&E to scanning - and clocks up to 35,000 steps per shift.
He continued: "For someone who couldn't take more than 10 steps without feeling like I was going to collapse to doing 37,000 steps on my first 12-hour shift is crazy.
"I thought that I would be aching for days on end but surprisingly, I've been okay. I'm definitely ready for my bed when I get home though."
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The porter admitted that he often sees the staff who cared for him during his operation.
He said: "These are some of the people who saw me at my worst so I think it's good for them to see where all of their hard work has gone. This hospital and the NHS have saved my life."
Mandy Linnington, Senior Sister on Ward 313, explained how she and her team felt humbled to have been a part of Paul's recovery.
She said: "I always feel quite choked when I see him because I can't believe how different he is now compared to when I met him.
"It's quite humbling for me as I went to meet Paul in his house when he was housebound before he came to the hospital.
"So to see him now when he's going on holiday, is out and about, he has a job and is getting married is really fantastic."
Featured Image Credit: University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust/Triangle NewsTopics: UK Community, Community, UK