Extreme Weight Loss is Only Half the Makeover | Weekend Read

Each weekend, Patch shares stories sparking conversations beyond one town:

After Extreme Weight Loss, Man Faces Next Hurdle in Makeover

Gino Warner's saga began in 2009 at the local YMCA. At the age of 19, Warner weighed in at 333 pounds. Today, Warner is about to turn 27, and his long journey has seen him shed a stunning 142 pounds. Unfortunately, he now faces yet another obstacle.

Losing such an astonishing amount of weight, even over such a long period, often results in loose hanging skin, and Warner is asking for friends and strangers to help pay for such an expensive surgery.

"I mess up on my eating, get sick, miss days at the gym, miss a whole week ... it happens," Warner said. "I have even come close to dying because of my chronic illnesses. But it didn't stop me." >>> Read more.

Next-Gen PSAs Target New Angle in Drug Addiction, Recovery

A new video contest is hoping to reframe the conversation surrounding addiction. “Just Say No” and “This is Your Brain on Drugs” campaigns of the 1980s sent powerful messages, but they didn’t address the stigmas surrounding addiction, according to Ashton Tupper, a spokesperson for Recovery Brands.

“We wanted to bring about a new message, something other than ‘Just Say No,’” Tupper said. The focus is to avoid invoking “feelings of shame or fear.” With five videos now left in the running, Recovery Brands wants viewers to decide the People's Choice Award winner up. Online voting is open until Aug. 25 with a $5,000 prize going to the winning filmmaker. >>> Read about one finalist.

Man from Ellicott City Human Chain Video Says He's Not a Hero

he man who leapt from a "human chain" to save a woman trapped in her car during Ellicott City's deadly flood denies being a hero, despite what others may say. "You do what you need to do to help someone," Jason Barnes told CNN.

Barnes, 36, was leaving All Time Toys, the store he bought in June, when he saw a woman floating by in her car and tried to reach her, but was swept down Main Street. "I thought that was it..." the man who captured it on video, David Dempster, told The Washington Post. "I thought he would be swept away to his death." But Barnes recovered and tried again.>>> Read more.

Heroin Crisis: Desperate Maryland Families Wonder If Anyone Cares

Nobody cares if heroin addicts live or die. That’s the only explanation Carin Callan Miller can reach for the lack of action she perceives as Maryland and the country ineffectually battle a heroin epidemic.

“We’re losing 129 people a day nationwide. I don’t know why this isn’t a national emergency,” said Miller of Mount Airy, the president and co-founder of Maryland Heroin Awareness Advocates.

Miller’s organization of family members advocates for prevention and tries to educate the community, including police officers, on the disease of addiction. Her journey with an adult son who is now a recovering heroin addict may help others grappling with the quagmire of opiate abuse. >>> Read more.