PHOTOS: "I Lost Both Arms And Legs While Taking Injection For Bigger Bottom"

A mum of two told last night how her quest for a bigger bottom left her a quadruple amputee – and 24 hours from death.
Apryl Michelle Brown had black-market silicone injections which turned out to be BATHROOM SEALANT.
It left her in agony and led to her losing her hands and feet, as well as her buttocks.
The 46-year-old former hairdresser blames “vanity” and wants to warn others of the terrible dangers of such illegal treatments.
Apryl said: “I’ve paid a terrible price for vanity and I’ll pay for the rest of my life. But I blame no one but myself.
“I want to share my story to warn others about these so-called ‘quick fix’ surgeries.
“I didn’t realise the dangers. I thought it was a harmless injection that would give me the perfect bottom. But the reality was the silicone used wasn’t suitable for humans. It was, in fact, bathroom sealant only suitable for DIY.
“My body had a massive allergic reaction to it which left me at the brink of death.

“I was in so much agony that, by that point, dying would have been a release. The only way doctors could save my life was to amputate my buttocks, my hands and feet.”

Teased as a child about her “pancake” bum, Apryl vowed to buy a shapelier one when she was older.

She said: “I didn’t know if I wanted mine to look like Janet Jackson’s or J-Lo’s.



“I didn’t even know how you could do it. I just wanted a new, bigger bottom.”

The moment that changed her life came in 2004, when two women walked into her successful beauty salon to get their hair done.

One of them ran “pumping parties” — where unqualified practitioners inject illegal silicone into “patients” at their home.

Apryl, from Los Angeles, said: “One of the women told me how she had given bottom injections to the friend who was with her.

“I remember thinking it was a miracle she’d walked into my life. Her friend showed me the work she’d had done and it looked great.

“In a split second I made the decision that I was going to go to this woman and let her inject silicone into my behind.”



That decision nearly killed her. Apryl paid the woman, who had no medical background, around £650 for two lots of injections. Doctors later discovered the substance used was industrial-grade silicone.

Apryl admitted: “I didn’t do any research. A combination of naivety, misplaced trust and insecurity led me to take this disastrous decision.

“I trusted her because she seemed so professional, and I had no reason to think anything awful was going to happen.

“She carried out the procedure in her daughter’s bedroom. She assessed my bottom and said, ‘You’ll need three or four sessions to get the result you want’.

“The first procedure took an hour. I remember asking, ‘Is it meant to be so painful?’ and she said, ‘Yes’. It felt like it was squeezing through my nerves.”

Within weeks Apryl returned for her second treatment.

She said: “After going through it again I had an epiphany. As I left her house I thought, ‘What am I doing? I have no idea what she’s putting in my body’.



“I never returned. But though I didn’t know it then, my life had already changed forever.”

Over the next two years the area where she’d been injected became hard and the skin blackened.

Apryl, mum to daughters Danye, 22 and Courtney, 21, said: “Within a few months of the second injection my buttocks began to harden. I knew something wasn’t right. But shame stopped me seeking medical help. As time went on it got worse as the skin blackened. I developed hard lumps. Then the searing pain started. I had to tell my doctor what I did. I was so ashamed.”

Apryl spent the next four years in constant pain. Two surgeons told her it was too dangerous to remove the silicone.

She said: “I was in so much agony I became a regular at hospital asking for medication to ease what was like a combination of a migraine, childbirth and toothache localised in one area.

In February 2011 a surgeon operated unsuccessfully. Apryl developed a hole in her buttocks — thought to be the trigger for an infection that in June was nearly fatal. She said: “I was 24 hours from dying. I didn’t think of leaving my family. It was a relief I’d finally be free of pain.”

Doctors put her in an induced coma for two months while performing 27 surgeries — starting with amputating her buttocks — and doing extensive skin grafts.

She said: “They saved me but gangrene set into my hands and feet. I was brought out of sedation shortly before I became a quadruple amputee.

“My hands looked like those of a dead person. I knew then I was going to lose them.”

She added: “At first you try to register your new limbs. The real comprehension comes when you start to live this new life.

“I had dark times. I cried a sea of tears. I had to face the fact I’d lost my hands, feet and buttocks because of complications from bottom injections. I was overwhelmed by shame and guilt... all because I wanted a bigger bottom.

“I was six months in hospital. By the time I was discharged I was determined to turn this terrible thing into something positive.

“I decided to do a triathlon. I told myself if I could achieve that I could do anything.

“I took my first steps again by the end of 2011. I built up to training six days a week, learning to walk, cycle then swim again using my residual limbs.

“I’d be crying in pain but I’d push through it. And six weeks ago I did it — completing a three-mile walk, ten-mile cycle and a 150-metre swim.

“When I crossed that finishing line with my family cheering me on, I cried tears of joy.”

She added: “I haven’t sued or sought compensation. I just want to move on. There are things I miss dearly — I’ll never be able to do my girls’ hair or feel sand between my toes.

“But I believe I survived to share my story.

“I want to warn others of the dangers of black-market surgery. We were born whole, perfect and complete.

“My greatest message is we have to learn to love and accept ourselves for who we are.”

How To Keep Fit - By Your Favourite Celebrities

Being fit demands more exercises and incorporating rules to restructure your meals. These can help you to be permanently slimmer, healthier, happier and far more energised.

Here are a few rules to follow.

1. Embrace fruits and vegetables

Eat at least seven servings of fruit and vegetable every day and aim for 10 if you can. According to Yahoo!, a serving is approximately 80g in weight or the equivalent of an apple, banana, orange, and a handful of smaller fruits.

“I eat vegetables without oil. Before, I took four slices of bread but now, I take just half of a slice and it has to be wheat bread. I take lots of water whenever I feel light-headed and I eat regularly but in small bits. There are times I get a bit slack and add a kilo or two but I quickly shed it off. In fact, I weigh myself every morning

— Mrs. Obioma Liyel Imoke, First Lady, Cross River State

2. Cut out alcohol

If you are conscious of your weight and increasing energy levels, you either cut out alcohol altogether or limit it to one or two glasses a week.

“I don’t drink, but occasionally, when I go to parties, I take wine or champagne. Also, I exercise a lot. I wake up by 6a.m, jog, and then, I am at the gym for tummy exercise. I don’t eat late too

— Dr. Taiwo Afolabi (MON) businessman

3. Pack in some protein

Try to add a bit of protein to each meal in the form of nuts, seeds, beans, lean meat, chicken or fish.  Protein is naturally very satisfying so it’s a great way of keeping hunger at bay.

“I can eat beans three times a day as long as it is cooked in a special way. I have learnt to skip breakfast but I eat lot of fruits and vegetables. I avoid fat as much as possible.

Then, I try to do aerobics as often as I find time. I do sit ups too and take a lot of tea with lemon.”

— Hon. Abike Dabiri, politician

4. Have wholesome meals

 Don’t eat too many refined, fast releasing carbs. Rather, go for low Glycemic Index, high fibre and preferably wholegrain carbohydrates such as brown basmati rice, wholemeal pasta, wholegrain breads and cereals.

“I don’t eat crap, neither do I take junk. I eat wholesome meals. If you add stress with bad food intake, you will bloat. I go to the spa once in six weeks, get a scrub, have a facial and a massage.”

— Eugenia Abu, TV presenter/broadcaster

5. Enjoy your exercises

Jogging is a form of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise that provides you with many physical, mental and even social benefits. According to www. Healthylivingaz.central.com, jogging is an excellent way to lose weight. You will burn approximately 250 calories in a half-hour jog and about 500 calories after one hour. As you burn 3,500 calories over the course of a week or more without increasing your food intake, you will enjoy the benefit of losing a pound of fat. To boost this benefit of jogging, you can follow a calorie-reduced diet that adds to your weight loss. A reduction of 250 to 500 calories each day will help you lose a pound more each week, in addition to the weight you lose jogging.

“I have to be the best woman I can be and you should not allow yourself go down physically. I watch what I eat and I find time to exercise. I jog an hour daily.”

— Senator Chris Anyanwu, politician

“For health reasons, I work out regularly and it’s very good for me. I do a lot of walk-out within my vicinity especially in the evenings.”

— Aisha Falode, sports broadcaster

TWENTY FIVE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT A NEWBORN BABY

Knowledge is power.... learn new things about your baby today

1. All newborn babies have a pug nose. The  bridge of the nose  isn’t there at birth – it grows later – so babies  have a small `button’ nose.

2. Nearly all babies are born with blue or  blue-grey eyes.  Permanent eye colouration develops during  the following  months.

3. Newborn babies may cry a lot but they  don’t produce any tears. There is moisture to lubricate and clean the eyes but proper tears don’t start to appear until the baby is between three and twelve weeks of age.

4. Any hair that is on your newborn baby’s head will soon fall out – to be replaced by permanent hair (which may be of an entirely different colour) at about six months.

5. All newborn babies – even black ones – have a ruddy complexion . This is because their blood contains a high number of red blood cells.

6. Four out of ten babies are born with at least one birthmark.

7. The commonest day of the week for babies to be born is Tuesday. Fewer babies are born on Saturday or Sunday than on any other day of the week (though this may simply be because doctors and midwives don’t like working weekends).

8. Babies have a strongly developed sense of smell. By the time he is one week old a baby can identify his mother by her smell.

9. Newborn babies are genetically programmed to respond to human voices – especially female voices. Babies learn to distinguish between different sounds very quickly.

10. Few babies have much of a sense of taste – though most prefer sweet tasting liquids.

11. Babies have very poor eyesight. Their eyes are focused on a spot about eight inches away – so you need to get really close if your baby is to see you clearly. Babies prefer looking at curved lines rather than straight lines.

12. Contrary to the old wives’ tale, babies are not colour blind . They prefer strong primary colours – particularly red and blue.

13. The heart of a newborn baby beats between 130 and 160 times a minute (about twice that of a normal adult).

14. Babies breathe much faster than adults – 30 to 50 times a minute compared to an adult’s 15 to 20 times a minute.

15. Babies often sneeze and snort in their  sleep to clear their nasal passages . Only later on can babies
breathe through their mouth if their nose is blocked. To minimise the problem keep the air in the home as clear and as smoke and  dust free as possible.

16. Although babies get some immunity – and  protection from infection – from their mothers, they are still very vulnerable to colds. Keep anyone with a cold away from your baby.

17. Babies have very small stomachs. An 8lb baby can get 3 ounces of milk into its stomach. It is the small size of its stomach that may explain why many babies will occasionally vomit. (But always get medical advice if a baby vomits.) Because they have small stomachs – the average stomach in the
average baby is no bigger than the size of  his fist! – babies need small feeds regularly (every three or four hours) rather than large feeds occasionally.

18. Nearly every newborn baby gets wind – and colic – that lasts for the first three months of its life.

19. Newborn babies spend between 15 and

20 hours a day sleeping – in bouts of sleep lasting 20 minutes to 5 hours.

20. In the first year of his life your baby will triple his weight, increase his length by 50%, double the size of his brain and create every nerve cell he will ever have.

21. Babies respond well to touch – which stimulates the production of growth- promoting hormones and helps the body become more responsive to these hormones.
In one survey it was shown that premature  babies who were touched regularly showed  47% more weight gain.

22. Babies are often nervous – even fearful – of new foods. To enable your baby to overcome his fears allow him to play with the food a little before eating it. You may be able to encourage a baby to try a new food by putting a small amount of food on his index finger and then gently guiding his index finger into his mouth.

23. If a baby suddenly starts to refuse a once favourite food it probably means that he is bored with it and would appreciate a little variation in his diet.

24. Teething can start when your baby is just three months old.

25. Babies sometimes need background noise to help them get to sleep (the womb is not the quietest place in the world). Some sounds that are known to relax and soothe babies include: a recording of their mother’s heartbeat; the sound of a clock ticking; a recording of a stream, waterfall or sea; a vacuum cleaner; air bubbling through a fish tank; running water from a tap.