'My 600-lb Life': What happened to Samantha Mason? Here's how she ended up at 900lbs after joining Dr Now's program
Season 9 of 'My 600-lb Life' premiered on December 31 and highlighted the story of Samantha Mason from Denver, Colorado. The 35-year-old weighed over 800 lbs and admitted to living a miserable life because of her weight that was out of control "It gets harder every single day. I wish my life was a nightmare the I could wake up from," she said in a confession to the camera. She lives by herself in a one-bedroom apartment on the second floor and has a lot of trouble getting out of bed. Walking was difficult, even getting to the bathroom was a task and she got to a point where she found it difficult to even stay clean.
Sam was happy living her life supported by pounds and pounds of food. Her weight gain brought along a string of health ailments but food brought her happiness and a sense of safety. However, if she continued at this rate, there was no chance that she'd survive for long and the realization that her daughter Isabella would become orphaned fueled her urge to get her life on track. Isabella was in college but still very dependent emotionally on her mother. They were each other's best friends so Samantha decided she would not want to keep failing her daughter any further and that's when she called Dr Younan Nowzaradan better known as Dr. Now to enroll herself in a weight loss program.
Shortly after contacting him, she was admitted to the emergency room after she complained of shooting pains in her stomach. She was diagnosed with kidney stones but couldn't be operated upon because she was too big and was sent away with medication. In the second month of her working with Dr Now, her stomach pains returned, her chest hurt, there was a crack in her heel that was now bleeding and she needed help. An ambulance showed up to take her to the hospital after a 911 call for assistance was made. A slew of tests later, the doctors couldn't determine what was wrong with Samantha and couldn't place the reason for her pains or swelling.
Even after six weeks in the hospital, the reason for her pains remained a mystery and Samantha kept abusing the liberty of ordering food. With her being bedridden and that coupled with her scarfing down food led to an increase in her weight and the scales now tipped at 940 lbs.
'My 600-lb Life' airs Wednesdays at 8 pm ET on TLC.