A grandmother who used to eat 4,000 calories a day and weighed twice as much as a baby elephant shed more than 20st after she overheard a nurse say to a colleague: 'If I ever get that fat, shoot me'. Sue Callear tipped the scales at a 35st at her heaviest and was classed as super-morbidly obese - meaning she could have died at any time. The 50-year-old’s body mass index (BMI) was a staggering 79 - almost four-and-a-half times the recommended 18.5 for a healthy adult. Scroll down for video . Sue Callear, pictured in 2010, with her grandson Jack, shortly after his birth, weighed 35st at her heaviest . Sue has dropped an incredible 20st from 35st (left) to 15st (right) after having a gastric sleeve fitted . She even had to make her own clothes using two-and-a-half metres of material. Sue also broke several beds and had to use special heavy-duty handrails to drag herself upstairs at her home in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs. The care worker ballooned in weight after she was bullied about her size at school and she continued to pile on the pounds as a adult, consuming more than 4,000 calories a day. She also gorged on crisps, sweets and pop for hours every night slumped in front of the television. Sue eventually decided to battle the bulge after she went into University Hospital of North Staffordshire for cellutitis and overheard a nurse tell a colleague: 'If I ever get that fat, shoot me'. The mother-of-one borrowed £12,000 from her father and went under the knife to have a gastric sleeve fitted at the same hospital in October 2011. And incredibly, she has lost an incredible 20st in three years and is now 15st and a size 18. Granmother-of-two Sue, who lives with her husband Ken, 46, said: 'I was basically trapped in my own body. 'Like a huge blob I sat there in my armchair, unable to move unaided with all my grandson’s toys at my feet. Sue, pictured with her husband Ken, at their wedding in 1988, was so large she had to make her own clothes using two-and-a-half metres of material . 'I suddenly realised to my horror if I did nothing I would never be able to play with him. 'Then another time on holiday as he played on the beach I wept when I thought I would always have to watch from the back of the car because it was so hard to get out. 'I wouldn’t go outdoors because of the cruel abuse. The worst came from kids but some was from those who should know better. 'I was having hospital treatment for cellulitis and overheard one nurse telling another ‘if I ever get that fat, shoot me’. I broke down in tears and just knew I had to change my life. 'Last week Cory was four and thanks to this wonderful operation I have been able to go crabbing in rock pools and build sand castles with him.' Sue eventually decided to battle the bulge after she went into University Hospital of North Staffordshire for cellutitis and overheard a nurse tell a colleague: 'If I ever get that fat, shoot me' Incredibly, the change was so astonishing that her sister-in-law Jayne Callear didn’t even recognise Sue. The 49-year-old, who works at a local newsagents, said: 'I didn’t even know she was having it so I failed to recognise who I was serving. 'Then I noticed her eyes and we hugged and both wept to know her ordeal was over.' Daughter-in-law Joanne Callear, 28, added: 'Before the op she was very self-conscious. 'She didn’t want to go out because sometimes people would stare and make comments. Now she is a completely different person.' At her heaviest, Sue shut herself away from the world and only spoke to her husband Ken and son Nick, 28, because of her embarrassment about being so large. But now she has been able to get her first job in six years working for a home care company and is able to walk her nine-year-old old Alsatian Kizzy miles around the local park. Breakfast: Nothing . Snacks: Biscuits, crisps and sweets (1,500 calories) Lunch: Fish and chips with cream cake for dessert (838 +230 = 1,068 calories) Dinner: Chicken omelette and chips with four slices of white bread and butter (364 + 951 + 356 = 1,671 calories) TOTAL CALORIES: 4,239 . Breakfast: Two poached eggs (128 calories) Lunch: One ham sandwich on wholemeal bread (224 calories) Dinner: A piece of cod with a serving of peas and carrots (158 + 83 = 241 calories) Snacks: Nothing . TOTAL CALORIES: 593 . The transformation has also seen Sue . conquer diabetes, high cholesterol, raised blood pressure, back pain, . sleep apnoea and clinical depression. Before . the operation she used to take 20 tablets a day for the illnesses but . she is now only on a handful of vitamins and mineral supplements. Sue added: 'The op saved was self-funded and it saved my life. 'Before I didn’t have a life, I didn’t leave my house for nearly three years. I just sat in my chair eating and watching TV. 'Now I can walk for miles and love going to the beach at our caravan in Anglesey. 'It has given me a totally new life.' Sue owes her second chance to pioneering weight-loss surgeon Chandra Cheruvu at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire. Sue owes her second chance to pioneering weight-loss surgeon Chandra Cheruvu at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire (pictured) Since the operation Sue  has been able to get her first job in six years working for a home care company . He fitted her gastric sleeve which works by reducing the size of the stomach by about 75 per cent. Now the surgery which saved Sue from an early grave is set to be offered on the NHS to hundreds more people in Staffordshire every year. The hospital is poised to appoint two more weight-loss surgeons to increase the number of patients undergoing the procedure from 170 to 400 a year . Mr Cheruvu said: 'Mrs Callear is a perfect example of how someone’s life can change completely. 'Britain is the most obese country in Europe and Stoke-on-Trent is among the worst cities in the UK. There really is a crisis. 'In fact, since 2012 obesity has replaced smoking as the biggest cause of death. 'Surgery costs the NHS £8,000 so just by curing a person’s diabetes - let alone the other 40 health conditions caused by obesity - it pays for itself in two years and saves money for a further 30 years. 'Of course there are risks but the benefits are hugely impressive.'
Sue's diet of junk food and snacking saw her eating 4,000 a day .
Was so large she had to make her own clothes using metres of material .
Decided to tackle her size after hearing a nurse make a hurtful comment .
Borrowed money from her father for gastric sleeve operation .
Dropped from 35st and a BMI of 79 to 15st and a size 18 .
Gone from taking 20 tablets a day for numerous illnesses to just vitamins .
Now able to get first job in 6 years and play with her grandchildren .
A grandmother who used to eat 4,000 calories a day and weighed twice as much as a baby elephant shed more than 20st after she overheard a nurse say to a colleague: 'If I ever get that fat, shoot me'. Sue Callear tipped the scales at a 35st at her heaviest and was classed as super-morbidly obese - meaning she could have died at any time. The 50-year-old’s body mass index (BMI) was a staggering 79 - almost four-and-a-half times the recommended 18.5 for a healthy adult. Scroll down for video . Sue Callear, pictured in 2010, with her grandson Jack, shortly after his birth, weighed 35st at her heaviest . Sue has dropped an incredible 20st from 35st (left) to 15st (right) after having a gastric sleeve fitted . She even had to make her own clothes using two-and-a-half metres of material. Sue also broke several beds and had to use special heavy-duty handrails to drag herself upstairs at her home in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs. The care worker ballooned in weight after she was bullied about her size at school and she continued to pile on the pounds as a adult, consuming more than 4,000 calories a day. She also gorged on crisps, sweets and pop for hours every night slumped in front of the television. Sue eventually decided to battle the bulge after she went into University Hospital of North Staffordshire for cellutitis and overheard a nurse tell a colleague: 'If I ever get that fat, shoot me'. The mother-of-one borrowed £12,000 from her father and went under the knife to have a gastric sleeve fitted at the same hospital in October 2011. And incredibly, she has lost an incredible 20st in three years and is now 15st and a size 18. Granmother-of-two Sue, who lives with her husband Ken, 46, said: 'I was basically trapped in my own body. 'Like a huge blob I sat there in my armchair, unable to move unaided with all my grandson’s toys at my feet. Sue, pictured with her husband Ken, at their wedding in 1988, was so large she had to make her own clothes using two-and-a-half metres of material . 'I suddenly realised to my horror if I did nothing I would never be able to play with him. 'Then another time on holiday as he played on the beach I wept when I thought I would always have to watch from the back of the car because it was so hard to get out. 'I wouldn’t go outdoors because of the cruel abuse. The worst came from kids but some was from those who should know better. 'I was having hospital treatment for cellulitis and overheard one nurse telling another ‘if I ever get that fat, shoot me’. I broke down in tears and just knew I had to change my life. 'Last week Cory was four and thanks to this wonderful operation I have been able to go crabbing in rock pools and build sand castles with him.' Sue eventually decided to battle the bulge after she went into University Hospital of North Staffordshire for cellutitis and overheard a nurse tell a colleague: 'If I ever get that fat, shoot me' Incredibly, the change was so astonishing that her sister-in-law Jayne Callear didn’t even recognise Sue. The 49-year-old, who works at a local newsagents, said: 'I didn’t even know she was having it so I failed to recognise who I was serving. 'Then I noticed her eyes and we hugged and both wept to know her ordeal was over.' Daughter-in-law Joanne Callear, 28, added: 'Before the op she was very self-conscious. 'She didn’t want to go out because sometimes people would stare and make comments. Now she is a completely different person.' At her heaviest, Sue shut herself away from the world and only spoke to her husband Ken and son Nick, 28, because of her embarrassment about being so large. But now she has been able to get her first job in six years working for a home care company and is able to walk her nine-year-old old Alsatian Kizzy miles around the local park. Breakfast: Nothing . Snacks: Biscuits, crisps and sweets (1,500 calories) Lunch: Fish and chips with cream cake for dessert (838 +230 = 1,068 calories) Dinner: Chicken omelette and chips with four slices of white bread and butter (364 + 951 + 356 = 1,671 calories) TOTAL CALORIES: 4,239 . Breakfast: Two poached eggs (128 calories) Lunch: One ham sandwich on wholemeal bread (224 calories) Dinner: A piece of cod with a serving of peas and carrots (158 + 83 = 241 calories) Snacks: Nothing . TOTAL CALORIES: 593 . The transformation has also seen Sue . conquer diabetes, high cholesterol, raised blood pressure, back pain, . sleep apnoea and clinical depression. Before . the operation she used to take 20 tablets a day for the illnesses but . she is now only on a handful of vitamins and mineral supplements. Sue added: 'The op saved was self-funded and it saved my life. 'Before I didn’t have a life, I didn’t leave my house for nearly three years. I just sat in my chair eating and watching TV. 'Now I can walk for miles and love going to the beach at our caravan in Anglesey. 'It has given me a totally new life.' Sue owes her second chance to pioneering weight-loss surgeon Chandra Cheruvu at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire. Sue owes her second chance to pioneering weight-loss surgeon Chandra Cheruvu at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire (pictured) Since the operation Sue  has been able to get her first job in six years working for a home care company . He fitted her gastric sleeve which works by reducing the size of the stomach by about 75 per cent. Now the surgery which saved Sue from an early grave is set to be offered on the NHS to hundreds more people in Staffordshire every year. The hospital is poised to appoint two more weight-loss surgeons to increase the number of patients undergoing the procedure from 170 to 400 a year . Mr Cheruvu said: 'Mrs Callear is a perfect example of how someone’s life can change completely. 'Britain is the most obese country in Europe and Stoke-on-Trent is among the worst cities in the UK. There really is a crisis. 'In fact, since 2012 obesity has replaced smoking as the biggest cause of death. 'Surgery costs the NHS £8,000 so just by curing a person’s diabetes - let alone the other 40 health conditions caused by obesity - it pays for itself in two years and saves money for a further 30 years. 'Of course there are risks but the benefits are hugely impressive.'
incredible 20st from 35st (left) to 15st (right) after having a gastric sleeve fitted . She even had to make her own clothes using two-and-a-half £12,000 from her father and went under the knife 15st and a size 18. Granmother-of-two Sue, who wedding in 1988, was so large she had to make her own clothes using two-and-a-half metres of take 20 tablets a day for the illnesses but . she the operation Sue  has been able to get her first