Victim stands for the first time on TLC's 'My 600-lb Life'
theGRIO REPORT - Marla McCants, who weighed 800 lbs after binging on comfort food following a kidnapping ordeal, stood up for the first time in years, a huge step toward recovery, in Wednesday's My 600-lb Life...
Marla McCants, who weighed 800 lbs after binging on comfort food following a kidnapping ordeal, stood up for the first time in years, a huge step toward recovery, in Wednesday’s My 600-lb Life.
McCants turned to comfort food after her boyfriend kidnapped her at gunpoint when she tried to break up with him. She had never struggled with her weight before, but after that experience, she was afraid to leave the house, worried her boyfriend would find and kill her. By the time he was caught, she weighed 700 lbs.
The 43-year-old had moved with her daughter, Sierra, to Houston, Texas in order to work with Dr Younan Nowzaradan, a weight loss expert. The trip very nearly killed her however, when a blood clot that had developed in her leg because of disuse migrated to her lung.
Watch the dramatic moment from TLC’s ‘My 600-lb Life’ below:
“She is in the worst condition health wise that I have ever seen,” Dr Nowzaradan said when she arrived, noting that her condition meant she was only weeks or months from dying in her bed in Nashville.
McCants, who depends on her daughters for everything because she cannot leave her bed even to bathe, was put on a 1,000-calories-a-day diet.
She also had gastric bypass surgery in an attempt to help manage her weight. However, despite pleas from her daughters and doctors, she continued to make excuses to get out of standing. She was convinced she could not do it.
When she was pressured into standing, McCants screamed in pain and asked to be returned to her bed.
The doctors discharged McCants from the hospital because she was not cooperating. “Marla has convinced herself that she cannot walk, but the reality is that she doesn’t want to walk,” Dr. Nowzaradan said.
“If Marla won’t get up, we can’t treat her,” Dr. Nowzaradan said. “This is a life or death situation. She is going to die.”
Following her discharge, McCants moved back in with her daughter, claiming that she could make healthy choices on her own. But she continued to stagnate.
“You’ve been sitting here for eight weeks!” Sierra yelled before making a call to Dr. Nowzaradan.
Finally, McCants followed her daughters’ and doctors’ advice and stood, stepping onto a scale for the first time in years.
The difference was shocking. She was down 266 lbs.
“Getting up and standing was one of the most encouraging things I’ve done and now I don’t want to stop,” McCants said, noting that she was “proud” of herself.
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