Barnorama All Fun In The Barn
Brian would eat fast food every day and drink a fifth of vodka mixed with a liter of pop every night.
When Brian Fleming met Jackie Eastham, he was morbidly obese, depressed and an alcoholic. Brian would distract himself from his depression by over-eating and drinking away his sorrows. It would have led to his death… if it weren’t for Jackie.
He met her using an iPhone Pictionary-like app called Draw Something. He never realized that she could save him from such a depressing life. Then, in 2012, he weighed 625lbs.
He was 30, he dropped out of college and would play video games for hours at a time.
It wasn’t until he met Jackie over a game of Draw Something that everything changed.
He confided in her about his weight, depression and drinking problems.
Jackie, who suffers from myotonic muscular dystrophy and was 20 years his senior, knew that he was wasting his life away.
Soon, she inspired him to stop drinking. He lost 100lbs in the first month just from that.
Then, he began eating healthy and exercising.
Jackie was there to encourage him every step of the way.
Jackie lives an extremely health-conscious lifestyle because of her condition, so she had the experience and wisdom to coach Brian along. Almost a year after they met on Draw Something (and countless online chats and encouragement), Brian lost 400lbs. He had a new job, he was in therapy and he was training for his first marathon.
He even flew to Paris to meet Jackie, his champion, in person. They climbed to the top of the Eiffel Tower together.
“Jackie is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I feel that she saved my life, even though she would never take credit,” Brian Flemming wrote in a blog post.
It’s never too late and no one is ever too far gone to make a change. Share Brian and Jackie’s inspiring story with others; maybe it will give people motivation to change their lives.