Once offloaded from a British Airways flight, Frenchman Kevin Chenais on how he lost 160 kg and why he wants to make Mumbai his home
Kevin Chenais before treatment in 2017. (Right) Chenais now after treatment
Kevin Chenais, the 28-year-old Frenchman who came to India for weight loss treatment, flew back home to Geneva, much lighter and happier at 136 kg on Wednesday. He had made international headlines in 2013 when he was offloaded by an airline owing to his weight. Now, Chenais wants to become an Indian citizen and live in Mumbai.
Thanks to city-based bariatric surgeon Dr Muffazal Lakdawala, Chenais shed 160 kg in the past two years. He is excited and can't wait to show his new avatar to his family and friends. But the journey from fat to fitter hasn't been a piece of cake for Chenais, who likes to call himself 'Krishna Kapoor.' When he landed in Mumbai in August 2017, he weighed 296 kg. After undergoing bariatric surgery, the Shah Rukh fan had to follow a strict diet and underwent training to shed the extra weight. He stayed in the city under the supervision of Dr Lakdawala for almost two years with his father.
ADVERTISEMENT
Talking to mid-day, Chenais said, "I was often bullied since childhood due to obesity. But today, after shedding 160kg, I have regained my confidence. I am really excited and anxious to meet my old friends and relatives. But my journey is not over until I take my weight down to two digits!"
Also Read: Frenchman who is in Mumbai for weight loss meets his 'dream girl' Alia Bhatt
Kevin Chenais will need surgery to straighten his right leg followed by hip surgery
Mother Mumbai
"I am going back to my mother who is everything to me, leaving another mother [Mumbai]," he added. Indeed, he feels he owes so much to Mumbai and India, that not only does he call himself by an Indian name, he has also decided to apply for overseas citizenship. "I will get overseas citizenship of India and settle down in beautiful Mumbai. Mumbai meri jaan hai! I hope to live a beautiful life with my family in this city," he added.
Earlier treatment
In 2013, when Chenais was 22 years old, he got stranded in the United States because he was deemed too heavy to fly. As mid-day had reported earlier, he started gaining weight when he was only six months old and by the time, he was 22, he was 220 kg. He was an example of acute childhood obesity as all his genetic test reports came clean.
He even started getting treatment across the globe in France, Switzerland and the US. He had undergone his first bariatric surgery in 2004 in a famous weight-loss centre in the US and following it, initially, he lost 35kg. But gradually, he started regaining weight. The surgery left him so traumatised that he was apprehensive about undergoing another until his mother who works with the UN Human Rights Council and is a former resident of Kolkata, told him about Dr Lakdawala.
He still needs a walker but is hopeful that soon he will be able to walk with a walking stick. He will also need orthopedic surgery to straighten his right leg followed by hip surgery. Chenais will fly back to Mumbai to continue with his treatment by the end of September.
Remember Eman?
Egyptian national Eman Ahmed Abdulati, touted the world's heaviest woman at 500 kg, arrived in Mumbai with sister Shaimaa Ahmed in February 2017. She hadn't left home in 25 years and her bed in 13 — owing to severe lymphedema (swelling in arms or legs) and water retention. The family had nearly given up hope of restoring Eman's quality of life when it approached Dr Muffazal Lakdawala, bariatric surgeon, as a last-ditch effort. Moved by the family's plight, Dr Lakdawala offered to perform a surgery for free to remove much of Eman's flab. Saifee Hospital sponsored the treatment. But Shaimaa later leveled allegations against Dr Lakdawala. She alleged that Eman had been suffering from seizures every alternate day since and had stopped being her cheery self. Dr Lakdawala refuted all allegations. Eman was later taken by Shaimaa to Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi for treatment. Eman passed away at the hospital after medical complications in September 2017.
Watch video: Eman Ahmed drinks water, plays with balloon
Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
