A model who donated her liver to save her baby nephew has told how the experience transformed her body 'rapidly' and changed her life.
Sophie Hughes, from Stockport, had been living halfway across the globe in Australia for three years when she received a devastating email informing her that her new nephew, Oscar, was gravely ill.
Just weeks after her brother Ant welcomed Oscar into the world in 2016 the baby was diagnosed with a rare condition called biliary atresia.
The illness causes the bile ducts both outside and inside the liver to become scarred and blocked and the condition can prove fatal if not corrected with surgery or a liver donation, Manchester Evening News reports.
When surgery failed, a transplant became Oscar's only hope but medics advised Ant and his wife, Kerry, not to donate themselves because they would need to care for the baby after the surgery.
The parents struggled to find a match for Oscar and as soon as she heard the news Sophie volunteered as a donor.
Initially, Ant and Kerry turned down her offer — holding out hope that a deceased donor would be found.
But when Oscar's health began deteriorating quickly they were left with no other choice and Sophie jetted 17,000km back to the UK for the operation.
The life-saving aunty said that doctors had warned her that her body could change after the surgery, but she hadn't even given it a second thought.
She told the Manchester Evening News : “I was a good match because I had a small, fatty liver, so it worked out in his favour.
“Before the operation, doctors told me that weight gain was very likely. But when you’re talking about saving a child’s life, you don’t hear that because it’s irrelevant. It doesn’t matter.
"You’re not thinking about that in the moment – but they weren’t wrong and I started to gain weight after the surgery.”
The liver donation was a success and Sophie spent four months in the UK recovering before flying back to Australia.
But after returning to Sydney the model started to notice the rapid changes to her body — which had gone from a size 8 to a size 14.
“It was a really big adjustment looking at myself in the mirror. I had a seven-inch scar down my stomach and my body image was at an all-time low," she said.
She added: “I struggled to put a bikini on and I struggled to be confident within myself, which to be honest isn’t something I’ve struggled with before.
“I was eating well and exercising and the weight was piling on regardless. Nothing had changed, yet my body was changing so rapidly.
“It was really rough because I had to relearn what I could wear and how to dress for my shape which I never had to do on a bigger body before.”
Sophie was forced to quit modelling after suffering from crippling body anxiety and thought she'd never be able to go back to the career again due to her loss of confidence.
But two years later she was scouted by a plus size modelling agency on Instagram, which kickstarted her career again.
After splitting from her partner of nine years, Sophie decided to return to the UK where she began establishing a successful career as a curve model and content creator.
She now confidently shows off her body on her Instagram account, which has racked up over 30,000 followers.
“Other body positive influencers on Instagram really inspired me,” Sophie Said. “It made me realise there’s so much more to me than just the way I look and the body I’m in.
“I moved back to England and started doing modelling here and that was the start of my career as I know it today."
Since her experience, Sophie has started supporting the Children's Liver Disease Charity and says that her body's transformation had made her happier than ever.
She said: “I’m the happiest, most confident and most settled in my body that I’ve ever been,
“Now that I’ve just turned 32, I think part of that is age, you realise there’s more important things in the world.
“But a lot of that is learning and really working on and respecting my body. I feel strong and I feel healthy, and those are the things I focus on now – not my cellulite or my muffin top.”
