Tears flowed on Wednesday night’s Operation Transformation as expert Dr Ciara Kelly and host Kathryn Thomas broke down at the weigh-in for leader Clare Scanlan.
Viewers have watched as Clare has found a way to appreciate life again while still grieving the tragic loss of her beloved son Darra.
A talented footballer, Darra was just 15-years-old when he died from Sudden Adult Death Syndrome. Operation Transformation viewers have heard Clare speak very movingly about the ongoing impact of Darra’s death on her and her family.
On Wednesday night's episode of the weight loss show, Clare travelled to west Cork to visit her parents who haven’t seen her since she started on Operation Transformation.
Mum Vera O’Donovan said: “It is marvellous to see Clare as she is now, in the state of mind that’s she is in now actually. It is something that we never thought we would ever again see, the old Clare, but she is getting there.
"That is something we have prayed for and wished for really. Maybe Darra is doing this for her but certainly someone is helping her because she is getting back and there is no doubt about that”.
Keen to celebrate the memory of Darra, Clare made plans to display his favourite things rather than leave them locked up in his room.
“Maybe telling his short story, his short life, in all those little bits would be a good way to go as opposed to going in there and picking it up and brushing the dust off it,” she said.
Clare told viewers that being part of Operation Transformation has changed her life. “It has been life changing. I would say that I am a totally different person to what I was seven weeks ago,” she said.
Clare Scanlan
At the weigh-in, she celebrated losing 4-and-a-half pounds, more than twice her target for the week.
Clare, OT host Kathryn Thomas and expert Dr Ciara Kelly became very emotional as the experts spoke to her following the weigh-in.
Operation Transformation expert Dr Eddie Murphy said: “When you first started the programme, you always said that ‘if 20 per cent of your heart could be for Darra, and if you could you just get to 80 per cent’. To me you have got to 80 per cent. Here’s the thing Clare, your 80 per cent is worth more than half this planet.
"That is true. You didn’t look for somebody new, you found your old self and that is what transformation was about for you. When it comes to bereavement and loss, what you are doing offers a light of hope for other families in traumatic grief... I just think you are an amazing, amazing person”.
In tears, Dr Ciara Kelly told her: “I have a son the same age as Darra and I have kind of mentally walked in your shoes and I don’t know how you did it. Every week you come out with such dignity and such integrity and such truth and you tell it like it is.
"I doubt you know how many people you have helped around the country. It has been a privilege to have witnessed this and to be with you here,” she said before adding, laughing, “And you are not anaemic anymore so well done! Thank you Clare, thank you for sharing all of this with us.”
Afterward Clare sang the classic Lean on Me in her message to her followers.
Also on Wednesday night, leader Lucy Dillon also exceeded her target for this week:
