'My 600-lb Life': What happened to Tammy Patton? Texas woman on brink of death due to food addiction
Is food a friend or foe? Tammy Patton — the latest patient to be seen on 'My 600-lb Life' — sheds light on troubles in her life due to food addiction. The 41-year-old who lives in Wichita Falls, Texas, recounts the tragic incidents in the episode titled 'Tammy's Journey' that includes loneliness and drug-addicted parents.
The death of the love of her life, Victor Greer, with whom she welcomed three daughters Deonte, Serenitti, and Alize just made things worse for her as she experienced a loss like never before when that happened. Tammy kept eating to comfort herself and it helped ease out all the emotional pain to quite an extent. But all her woes came to a head when she had to ask her mother Pauline and her daughters Serenitti and Alize to move in with her to help out with basic tasks due to her mobility issues.
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"Through tough times, food has always been Tammy's friend. But now she has gotten so big that her daughters and mother have moved home to care for her, and unless Dr Now can get her to confront her grief, food might be her killer," read the official synopsis of the episode on TLC's website.
Wondering what led to her gaining all those pounds over the years? Here's what happens in the episode as she struggles to lose enough weight to get Dr Now's approval for the weight loss surgery.
Tammy Patton struggled with loneliness as a child
Tammy was always on the heavier side even as a kid. She came from a happy family but everything changed at age of nine when her family suffered financial turmoil which she later found out was because of her father's drug addiction. He spent the rent money on drugs and Pauline moved Tammy and her son to Texas as her father had offered to help get her a fresh start.
Tammy was consumed by the feeling of loneliness as the rest of her family and her friends were in California. She made food her best friend and kept eating perpetually to keep the feeling of sadness at bay.
Did Tammy Patton's mother Pauline encourage her food habits?
Pauline admitted that she was responsible for Tammy's morbid obesity. She never put her on diet or said a word about her weight that steadily escalated from age 10 where she weighed around 150 lbs. "I ignored her weight gain because I was happy that she was happy. I feel bad and guilty about it and hold myself responsible a lot," Pauline said in the episode.
Sadly, as Tammy grew older, her weight continued to be an issue as well.
She weighed 250 lbs while in junior high and by the time she graduated from high school she weighed over 300 lbs. But her weight didn't stop her from doing what she wanted back then. She moved away from Texas to pursue higher education. However, she couldn't handle the pressure and came back home due to homesickness.
The trip back home wasn't worth it as she discovered her mom was gearing up to enter a rehabilitation center in California for her drug problem. Tammy found herself alone once again and to comfort herself she kept eating and kept gaining weight. At just 19 years old, she had already gained 350 lbs.
How did Tammy Patton's boyfriend Victor Greer die?
Tammy met her friend's uncle Victor at age 19. She described him as a "very handsome and loving man" with whom she had a very happy relationship. The time she spent with him is what she considered the best phase of her life. In their time together, the couple had their three daughters and even though Tammy kept gaining weight during the entirety of their relationship, Victor always managed to make her feel beautiful and wanted.
They were together for five years before they grew apart. Tammy had tried to get back to school to complete her education and started to see less of Victor as he would be at work when got home and vice versa. They were no longer romantically involved but that didn't stop them from being friends. In fact, Tammy even confessed they didn't end up with a "bad breakup".
Who killed Victor?
Victor continued to be in Tammy and his daughters' life which became a cause of concern for the woman he was dating then. The woman believed that Victor was cheating on her and planning to get back with Tammy. The horrific tale will leave you shocked as, in a fit of rage, she stabbed him in the heart twice. Victor succumbed to the injuries and died.
Tammy kept eating to make the pain go away and in her 30s she was almost 500 lbs. She was in the 600 lb category at 41. In the episode, she talks about being dependent on her family for her basic needs but she wished to make a change and her grandchildren played a big role in Tammy coming to a realization that she needed to snap out of her food addiction.
How much does Tammy Patton weigh?
Tammy loved being a grandmother and wanted to help out in raising them. Sadly, it wasn't going to be possible with her weight. This is the reason she decided to enroll in Dr Now's weight loss program and eventually get weight loss surgery done to help improve the quality of her life.
At the clinic, the first step was getting weighed. The scales read 594 lbs. Even though Tammy was happy that she was under 600, Dr Now gave her a harsh reality check. Her BMI was 100. Revealing how she was in trouble, Dr Now told her that the life expectancy for people her weight was only 50 years — meaning she would end up in the grave in nine years if she continued with her eating pattern.
Will Tammy be able to give up her food addiction knowing that she was on the brink of death? Will she lose enough weight to get approved by Dr Now for the weight loss surgery? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
'My 600-lb Life' airs every Wednesday at 8 pm ET on TLC.