Woman battles weight to save dying husband

THE deadline is looming for a woman to lose a stone in weight to save her dying husband.

Samantha Lamb, 36, needs to shed the weight so she can donate a kidney to her husband Andy, 40, who has renal failure.

Mr Lamb has to have weekly dialysis sessions at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth to keep him alive.

He could be saved with a kidney transplant from his wife, who has the same blood type, but the couple, from Ivybridge, Devon, were told in March that doctors will only operate if she loses the weight.

Ms Lamb has been dieting and exercising in a bid to slim down from 18st 7lb to 15st, and to get her BMI (Body Mass Index) from 42.8 to 35.

She was given a three-month target to slim down and so far she has managed to lose two-and-a-half stone.

She has been training for two hours a day, five days a week, after a local gym gave her free membership.

Mr Lamb had a transplant 11 years ago after suffering kidney problems all his life.

The couple, who met four years ago when they both worked as ambulance technicians in Essex, married in 2007 and have a three-year-old daughter, Beatrice.

Mr Lamb also has a 16-year-old daughter, Stephanie, and a 17-year-old son, Ashley, from a previous marriage.

Ms Lamb told the Plymouth Herald: “If he doesn’t have a kidney donor soon he only stands a very low chance of seeing next Christmas.

“When you meet someone who understands you in every single way and loves you for who you are, you’re going to do everything you can to save that person – I get the chance to save my husband.”