A 22st mum who has "the biggest hernia doctors have ever seen" is taking Mounjaro in a bid to lose 10st so she can have life-changing hernia surgery. Samantha Jackson, 57, from Hinckley, Leicestershire, developed a hernia 18 years ago which has continued to grow. She was denied surgery because, at 26st at the time, she was overweight and her blood pressure was too high. Doctors have repeatedly told her over the years that surgery would be incredibly dangerous and she would be unlikely to survive it.
Living with the hernia
Samantha is unable to walk properly, has been unable to work for years, accesses Universal Credit, and has required carers to help with daily life since 2011. She said the hernia, which is the size of a "large watermelon," has become a "prison" for her with no way out - until recently a new development has given her hope.
The hernia measures 52cm now, having grown by an additional 10cm in the past year with no signs of slowing. Samantha, who previously worked in a textile business but hasn't worked in nearly two decades, said: "I've missed out on so much of my life.
"The hernia stops me from going anywhere, I don't know how heavy it is, but it's heavy, and the backache it gives me means I can't stand up for long."
Mounjaro prescription and progress
After speaking with a nurse, she was prescribed Mounjaro on the NHS in October 2025 - and has dropped from 26st to 22st since then. After more than a decade of being told surgery wasn't an option, she has now been told that if she can drop her BMI to below 30 - taking her out of the obese category and into the "overweight category" - then surgery may be an option for her.
With the help of Mounjaro, she has started a healthier diet and has become more active as the weight has come off. To get her BMI down from 54.6 to below 30, Samantha will have to lose around another 10st - but doing so would give her the chance to have the surgery that would give her her life back.
She said: "The Mounjaro has kick-started my healthy eating, I eat so healthily now and I feel so much better. It's been a miracle. Food was always my comfort, but now I just want my life.
"I've been living in a prison for 18 years, I deserve a life and to be able to earn my own money rather than relying on benefits and carers. It would mean everything to me to have this surgery, and now thanks to Mounjaro, I'm determined, I have my target and I'll never go back."
Past attempts and new hope
When Samantha first developed a hernia in 2008, she visited the GP and thought it had been dealt with. Initially, she said doctors simply "pushed" the hernia "back in" - but the condition soon returned. It caused her a lot of pain and made it more and more difficult to move, meaning she began to gain weight.
In 2011 she had an appointment to have surgery, but was told she was overweight and her blood pressure was too high, so they couldn't operate. She was put on medication to bring her blood pressure down, but then started suffering very badly mentally and didn't have the energy to chase follow-up appointments. She stopped leaving the house and became housebound.
In 2021, Samantha had several appointments with different surgeons in a bid to get the hernia operated on, but they all said they wouldn't operate on her. One surgeon said he couldn't operate on a hernia of that size and referred her to someone else, who said he could operate but that she'd also have to have weight loss surgery - which he didn't do. A third surgeon said it was too late and that operating would kill her because the hernia had forced her organs down.
Unable to work, socialise, date, sit at a table in a restaurant, or even leave the house alone, Samantha was left feeling hopeless. She said even turning over in bed has become a huge challenge requiring her to "hold it like I'm carrying a rock". She was unable to see her mother, who lived in Spain, before her death in 2020 because she wasn't mobile enough to travel abroad to say goodbye.
But since starting Mounjaro, she has started to lose weight - and this month, for the first time in years, a doctor gave her hope that hernia surgery might not be off the table. Samantha said: "Because I'm now losing weight, it's feasible to be operated on, but my BMI has to be under 30.
"Before, there was no hope. But he has given me an indefinite open appointment for when I've lost the weight. And the Mounjaro has given me the willpower I never had. It's been a miracle. I will have to get under 12st, which won't be easy, but I deserve a life. I've started the weight loss and I have my target now. I want to carry on losing weight, have the surgery, and get my life back."
