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Lupe's Weight Loss Story
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00:00When I get stressed, I just have to find something I want to eat as quickly as possible.
00:09But I know these have to be my last unhealthy meals.
00:13Once I get to doctor now, I have to give up all this because I'm ready to fight for my
00:19life.
00:32Hey, time to get up.
00:35Gotta get up now.
00:39Being this overweight, everything I do is hard and it's a struggle.
00:45I need a rug for my face.
00:47Things are so hard for me.
00:49I've lost motivation to do anything for myself.
00:53And my body's starting to break down.
00:55My weight is taking a toll on my heart, my kidneys, my liver, my legs, everything.
01:03I'm in pain and I feel helpless, worthless.
01:07The blood glucose says 423.
01:11Dang, 423.
01:14Because of my weight, I am diabetic.
01:17And it scares me the most and my kidneys will fail again.
01:22I've already got into a diabetic coma.
01:25And there was so much fat around my neck.
01:27It was suffocating me.
01:29So I had to do a tracheotomy just so I could breathe while I was unconscious.
01:34I had to do like a chin tuck right here.
01:37And then put the trache in because even with the ventilator, I still needed it.
01:42And it's been 10 years since my coma and I haven't walked on my own since then.
01:47I walked into the ER and I never walked out.
01:50I'm ready.
01:52It changed my entire life.
01:55So now my bed is my restroom.
01:58My place where I take a shower.
02:01Where I do everything.
02:02You good?
02:04Good.
02:04Words can't explain how much I hate being in this bed.
02:09I need to be taken care of 24-7.
02:12Because I can't do anything for myself.
02:15Good for your bath?
02:16Yeah.
02:18My husband Gilbert is my caretaker.
02:19Okay.
02:21He can't have a full-time job because he takes care of me all the time.
02:27I feel helpless.
02:29It's just me taken care of more than us having a marriage.
02:33You know, I guess you could say intimacy is impossible.
02:40This is way harder than I thought it was going to be.
02:44But, you know, I love her and that's what keeps me going.
02:48Wait one second.
02:51I feel unworthy of him taking care of me and loving me the way he does.
02:55It's not a normal life living this way.
03:01It feels humiliating.
03:04And it's...
03:07It's all because of my weight.
03:12The only person I have in my life to take care of me is Gilbert.
03:18We met eight years ago in a chat room.
03:20And since then, he's taken care of me.
03:23Thank you so much.
03:25Have a nice day.
03:26We talked for about six months and we just hit it off.
03:31It didn't have donor holes.
03:33So what'd you get?
03:34I had it.
03:35Don't get mad, but I had to get the other one.
03:38Which one do you want?
03:39I don't know.
03:40Go ahead, go ahead.
03:40Just pick.
03:42Give me a plate.
03:43All right, listen please.
03:44I lied to him and I told him I was like 200 pounds.
03:49But we got really close.
03:51And I told him, I'm going to send you a picture,
03:53but I understand that he never want to talk to me again.
03:58Normally, I'm not attractive to big people.
04:01So when I saw the picture of Lupe, I was upset.
04:05But I already started to care about him.
04:07I want another half of him.
04:10Bring me the box.
04:11I want to choose a woman.
04:13I had doubts about us being together.
04:17She told me something that really hit me in the heart.
04:20She said that she was praying to God
04:22that he would send somebody to her that would be there for her,
04:26would take care of her, and be by her side.
04:29And I wanted to be that person for her.
04:34Let me take it more insulin later.
04:37I know I'm eating unhealthy.
04:40But food is my comfort.
04:43And I'm scared not having it there.
04:46I love her to death and I do not want to lose her.
04:49I don't.
04:50But I need her to lose this weight.
04:53Because it's killing the both of us.
04:55And I don't know what to do.
04:58It's more of my leg.
05:00It feels weird and it hurts.
05:06You're getting kind of worried about us.
05:11Hello, is this Dr. Nell?
05:14I'm calling for my wife, Lupe.
05:16She's having, like, problems with her left leg.
05:18And I think she might have a blood cloud in her leg maybe.
05:21Yeah.
05:22Okay.
05:23Come to the hospital.
05:25Okay.
05:27Thank you so much.
05:29I can't stand seeing her like this.
05:31It's kind of scaring me right now.
05:32Because I love my wife and I don't want her to die on me.
05:38How much longer?
05:40Ten minutes.
05:41Ten minutes?
05:44Lupe should be arriving any minute now.
05:47From what they told me, she's been in a small car for three days.
05:51And that's a long time for somebody in her size to have that much stress on her body.
05:57Oh, so many.
05:59She may have developed serious medical conditions that we need to address immediately.
06:08Hi, Lupe.
06:08We're going to get you inside right now.
06:10And we're going to get you taken care of.
06:13All right.
06:14Let's do it.
06:17If it is something like a blood clot in her leg,
06:20she could be moments away from a life-threading event like pulmonary embolism.
06:26So we're going to try to determine what's going on with her.
06:33It's clear that Lupe is in very bad state.
06:38She's short of breath.
06:40She cannot walk.
06:41She cannot stand.
06:42She cannot move.
06:42She cannot breathe.
06:44But at her weight, any number of things could be creating a serious medical issue for her.
06:49And if we don't find it fast, it may be too late to save her.
06:54We have ruled out blood clots.
06:57But her heart is in failure, and it's only functioning about 35% capacity right now.
07:03Oh, my feet.
07:04She's lucky because if her car ride was two to three hours longer, she would not have survived.
07:10Her heart is literally being smothered under the weight of her body.
07:15What seems to be your biggest challenge with your eating habits?
07:18I'm emotional.
07:20I eat her.
07:20I get bad anxiety.
07:21Mm-hmm.
07:22And then I'll eat food until, like, I get sick.
07:25Who brings you the food?
07:27My husband and my family.
07:29They don't realize that they are killing you?
07:31No.
07:32No?
07:33I think they do what they do because they love me.
07:36Okay.
07:37All right, let's see if we can get in bed.
07:39We got a very pathological situation here.
07:43She's been killing herself, and her husband has been helping her to do that.
07:49At her size, she's been consuming at least 20 to 30 times in calories a day.
07:55I'm gonna push a little bit.
07:56So we need to get her health under control immediately and turn the situation around with her husband.
08:02Wait, wait, wait.
08:02No, no, take a turn.
08:04Okay.
08:05I'm feeling very scared for her because we're really close to her, you know?
08:12But I don't believe that she would have lasted much longer if she was still there, just laying in the
08:18bed.
08:19Lupe is in very bad shape, so I don't want to push her to do anything more but rest.
08:26And we will weigh her and run more tests tomorrow.
08:30This moment needs to be a wake-up call for Lupe.
08:34This is a new beginning for you, and you're gonna have to make some changes, okay?
08:40Okay.
08:41Or you aren't even gonna survive next month.
08:44Get some rest, and I'll see you tomorrow.
08:49She's so close to death right now that it's uncertain that she will even fully recover.
08:56But we'll do everything we can to pull her to this.
09:08Now that the day is here to see the doctor again, I'm a little nervous.
09:14He wanted me to lose 50 pounds this past month.
09:17I'm just hoping I've done it, or that I'm at least close enough for him to approve me for surgery.
09:23Did you check the restroom while you have to see if it's big?
09:26No, I'm gonna check it.
09:30I'll just walk back there.
09:31One of the reasons I hate being out in public is that I can never use the restroom anywhere.
09:38The restroom looks like it's okay.
09:41Wanna try it?
09:43It's been a long time since I even tried to use the restroom, because I just don't fit.
09:51There's no room in here to close the door.
09:53Help me.
09:54Help me.
09:55There you go.
09:59One, two, three.
10:01No, it's gonna make me fall. Ready?
10:06Make me up, Lee.
10:08Babe, you're over-dinking it.
10:10It's broken. I'm not gonna fall the damn thing.
10:12The chair broke?
10:14Yes.
10:16You gotta get off this damn...
10:17I'm trying to help you. You're crying more than you're trying.
10:20I'm trying.
10:22Let me get a nurse real quick.
10:23Uh, can you give me a hand real quick?
10:26If you could help her push up.
10:30Don't let me go, please.
10:31I'm not. Would you just come on?
10:33Okay.
10:33One, two, three.
10:36I can't. I can't do it.
10:38Are you serious?
10:39Did you wear yourself out?
10:41Did you wear yourself out crying?
10:43Babe, what am I supposed to do?
10:44I don't know. Call an ambulance or something. I can't get off.
10:47You ever need him?
10:48I don't wanna fall.
10:50Yeah, just get him.
10:51I can bring someone else if you want.
10:53I'm gonna do it.
10:54She got stuck in the toilet.
10:56I think it broke the seat.
10:57Okay.
10:59And this is not a good situation with Lupe.
11:02We'll figure it out.
11:03She's putting a lot of strain on her heart right now.
11:07God.
11:07So we're calling an emergency crew to help her get up immediately.
11:11Because she can easily go to cardiac arrest and there'll be nothing we can do about it.
11:18So they need to act fast.
11:21How's it going, ma'am?
11:23Did you fall down?
11:24She got stuck in the toilet.
11:25I don't want to fall down myself.
11:27Okay, then we're gonna go ahead and get the fire truck out here, okay?
11:30And just to help us out.
11:31Just get me off the toilet.
11:32What we'll do is put something on your back.
11:34We can get you up and upright position.
11:36Okay.
11:37Need more slack?
11:38We're gonna try.
11:39Holy God, my legs.
11:41The truck just arrived, okay?
11:42Okay.
11:42So once we get you up, you'll be all right.
11:45Yes.
11:46All right.
11:46Don't let me go in time.
11:47That's all right.
11:48We're not gonna do anything until you say you're ready.
11:50All right.
11:50Okay, hold on.
11:51All right.
11:52One, two.
11:55I got your chair.
11:58Can you hold yourself?
11:59I got it.
12:03A little bit more.
12:04There.
12:07There.
12:08Yeah, sit.
12:08You got it.
12:11There you go.
12:11There you go.
12:13Breathe.
12:13Yeah, you did break the toilet.
12:15Thank you guys so much.
12:16You're welcome.
12:17God bless you.
12:18Is that all you needed from it?
12:19This is very disheartening to witness.
12:22Lupe got to the point that she won't tolerate any physical activity.
12:26She's less moving now since last time I saw her.
12:31And took a whole team to get her up and put her in the wheelchair.
12:35But right now, I'm very worried about how much strain she just put on her body.
12:40How do you feel?
12:41It just hurts.
12:44It just hurts.
12:46Lupe, I want you to go over to hospital to make sure that there is no major concern going
12:52on with your heart or your overall health.
12:55Okay.
12:55We'll transport you there, and I'll see you there very soon.
12:59Okay?
13:00Once we have her health under control, we'll get her up and see how her weight is.
13:06Hopefully, she hasn't gained too much over the past two months.
13:10I'm very concerned because if her heart gets worse over the past couple of months, then minimal activity can put
13:17her on her heart failure.
13:18And she just puts far more strain than that on her body and her heart.
13:28Good morning.
13:30Morning.
13:31How are you feeling today?
13:33Good.
13:33Lupe has been in the hospital for the past two months on a controlled diet for the second time.
13:39And she's doing a lot better.
13:40I'm going to get you up today and see how her weight is.
13:43Okay.
13:44Okay.
13:44All right.
13:46Okay.
13:48All right.
13:49All right.
13:49Everybody else hands off of it.
13:55That's 128 pounds you lost now.
13:58That's great.
13:59The first day she got here, she couldn't even stand.
14:02She's making progress.
14:04So I'm going to go ahead and send you home today.
14:07And for the next two months, I want you to lose another 75 pounds.
14:11Take this seriously if you want to get approved for weight loss surgery, okay?
14:15Okay.
14:16All right.
14:17All right.
14:19Her husband, Gilbert, hasn't been around very much.
14:22And I think that has helped her to stay positive.
14:25But I'm concerned with her being back with him on a daily basis and how that's going to affect her.
14:33Regardless, she has to prove that she can do this on her own.
14:37Until she does that, she will not be ready for any weight loss surgery.
14:50After being in the clinic and having that fear that I'm about to see my weight and it's not going
14:56to be low enough, I realized how hard I need to be working for this.
15:03I still can't really walk.
15:06So I'm just moving as much as I possibly can in my bed.
15:11Hey, you tired of the room.
15:13I'm done.
15:13I'm tired.
15:14You're done already?
15:14Looking all sexy and stuff.
15:16Put your red shirt on.
15:19I feel like I made a lot of progress these past two months.
15:23But I started to fall away at the end.
15:25Okay.
15:26Wait, wait.
15:27It's four.
15:28So I need to make up for that time in case it took me so off course to where I'm
15:35not going to hit the goal I need.
15:41But I'm so scared when I see the doctor next week that I'm not going to make as much progress
15:47as I thought.
15:51Woo!
15:52Good job, lovey.
15:54Loving it.
15:55Loving it, loving it.
15:56And I feel like I'm racing a clock right now and that my time is running so short.
16:02I just hope I make it.
16:05Hey.
16:06Good morning.
16:06How you all doing?
16:08How you feel today?
16:09Good.
16:10We finished running all the tests and they're showing that your heart is too weak for gastric bypass.
16:17Yeah.
16:17So there is a very high risk that you would not survive procedure that extensive.
16:22However, gastric sleep is still an option.
16:25It would be much shorter operation that would not strain your body as much and give you much benefit of
16:33gastric bypass in short term.
16:35So I'm approving you for that procedure.
16:38Oh my God.
16:38Thank you, Jesus.
16:39Cool.
16:41Congratulations.
16:42I'll see you tomorrow.
16:43Okay.
16:49Finally, our prayer has been answered.
16:51Oh my gosh.
16:52I was so scared I wasn't going to get the surgery even after all that work.
16:57I'm just thankful to God that I'm getting surgery still and that I have this chance.
17:04And this approval meant everything to me.
17:06I've been waiting for this day for a long time.
17:10This is the beginning right now.
17:13This gives me a lot of hope.
17:15I was like literally just barely hanging in there.
17:19I'm not going to lie.
17:20But it just made things better.
17:22It's really great.
17:26Oh my God.
17:30The doctor said he wants to know my progress.
17:33And that I have to stand up on a regular scale to get my weight today.
17:37I know every day I don't get out of this bed.
17:41I get weaker and weaker.
17:44But I'm scared right now.
17:46And I don't feel like I'm ready for this.
17:51Today, I told Lupe she needs to get out of the bed.
17:55Over here.
17:55It is imperative to get her up.
18:00If she doesn't, then her health is going to continue to decline rapidly.
18:05And her body is not going to be able to handle that.
18:09Whoa.
18:10You're going to be fine.
18:11Just come on.
18:12Lupe, you've been in bed so long.
18:14You're losing your stress, okay?
18:17You don't know.
18:18Because if he knew you, we'd do something about it.
18:20Come on.
18:21I can't.
18:22My legs don't know.
18:24I don't want to fall.
18:25That's because you haven't been trying.
18:27Dupe.
18:28Dupe is not dealing with the issues in her life in the right way.
18:32And that is creating a very dangerous situation for her.
18:36You've been months and months and staying in the bed and asking for pain medicine.
18:41You're going to have to get up and move.
18:43She's convinced herself to stop doing anything and making progress because she's scared right now.
18:50I'm going to fall.
18:51You're not going to fall.
18:52Dupe, do you want to stand up or you don't?
18:55I do, but I'm scared.
18:56Just tell me the truth.
18:58This is all by your design.
19:00This is where it got you to be almost 600 pounds.
19:03This is where you got you in the bed.
19:05You refused to get out of this condition.
19:07You're playing with everybody around you.
19:09No, I'm not.
19:10You are.
19:12This is your life and we're trying to help you.
19:15I know you are.
19:16I'm not very thankful for that.
19:17I know you are.
19:18Your action speaks louder than what you say.
19:20Yeah, I know.
19:21Ladies, I feel like I've been in bed these days.
19:25You know what you need to do.
19:27Well, you don't want to do it.
19:31Put her back in the bed.
19:36Breathe, breathe, breathe.
19:39This is a very bad situation.
19:43Lupe is at a crossroad and she's choosing a path that is going to lead her to her death.
19:50The doctor is going to check out my legs today to see what we can do to get me up
19:56and walking faster.
19:59Hi, Lupe.
20:00Hi.
20:01Let me just check and see how your leg is doing.
20:03The feeling down here is normal.
20:06Yeah, when I stand up, I can feel like that right now.
20:09Okay.
20:10Unfortunately, Lupe got to the point where she's physically losing the ability to stand.
20:16That hip joint needs to be probably replaced and then she needed tendons to be worked out.
20:23But the fact that she's willing to try is a good sign.
20:27So we'll address this issue as you start losing some more weight, okay?
20:33Okay.
20:33And she's stuck to her reduced diet and she's still losing weight.
20:37All right, let's check your weight.
20:39Oh my gosh.
20:46360.
20:47Woo!
20:51We still have a lot of work to do with her, but she's a fighter at the end of the
20:55day.
20:56I'm proud of you.
20:57You lost all that weight.
20:59But I want you to keep this up and every day try to stand up and do your exercise.
21:05Okay.
21:05Okay.
21:05Keep it up and I will see you later, okay?
21:08Okay.
21:08Thank you, Dr. Mel.
21:09All right.
21:09Goodbye.
21:11Bye!
21:14Bye!
21:16Bye!
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