'I thought I'd never be able to play with my son again, that I'd never see him again'

A BODYBUILDER, who spent £35,000 on a steroid addiction, was left fighting for his life in a coma and had to learn to walk again.

- By ROBERT WHITE and POPPY KENNEDY

Dad Zak Wilkinson had spent more than two years hooked on steroids and followed extreme dietary habits such as weighing sugar-free syrups for his coffees and salt for his meals ahead of bodybuilding competitions.

The 32-year-old’s steroid expenditure exceeded £750 per month, with substances like Anavar, Masteron and Equipoise becoming part of his routine as he injected himself up to three times a day.

Mr Wilkinson adhered to an intense diet regime that saw him consuming six meals daily, featuring a limited menu of broccoli, chicken, rice, egg whites, and steak.

He'd also spend no less than 45 minutes doing cardiovascular exercise at the gym each day. However, on March 23, Zak’s punishing lifestyle took its toll when he began experiencing seizures, vomiting, and excessive sweating.

In a critical state, Zak was rushed to James Cook University Hospital's ICU in Middlesbrough, following quick thinking by his sister Chelsea Wilkinson, 37, who put him in recovery position and called for an ambulance. At first, doctors thought it could be meningitis, but they soon realised the fits and symptoms had come as a result of Zak's steroid use and fat-loss tablets.

He was put into a medically-induced coma for seven days and he was diagnosed with “likely provoked seizures in context of multiple drugs”.

His devastated family were told by medics to expect the worst but, after a long week of uncertainty, Zak defied the odds. The rope access scaffolder, from Middlesbrough, avoided neurological issues despite being non-verbal for three days, in what medics have said is a “miracle recovery”.