Ashley Bratcher who turned to food after being sexually abused loses 250lbs
A morbidly obese woman who weighed 725lbs has shed 255lbs over the course of a year after she vowed to get her addiction to food under control for the sake of her five-year-old son who was forced to take care of her.
On Wednesday night's episode of the TLC reality series My 600lb Life, Ashley Dunn-Bratcher, 27, from Kemp, Texas, headed to Houston with her husband Jake and son Patrick to meet Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, a weight loss surgeon who specializes in obese patients and was warned that she wouldn't make it to the age of 30 if she continued her addiction to food.
However, just four months after her weight loss surgery, Ashley found herself back in the hospital with an ulcer after abusing her pain medication. After the life-threatening emergency, Dr. Nowzaradan told her she needed to see a therapist to learn how to cope with her emotional trauma.
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Amazing transformation: Ashley Dunn-Bratcher, 27, weighed 725lbs (left) when she started her weight loss journey on the TLC reality series My 600lb Life. Over the course of one year, she got down to 470lbs (right)
In pain: Ashley admitted that her bulky body made it almost impossible for her to get around
Heavy burden: The 27-year-old was afraid that the strain of her hefty stomach, which hangs down in front of her, could eventually break her back
Ashley revealed at the start of the episode that her problems stretch back over more than two decades, when her unhealthy relationship with food first began.
Ashley began piling on weight at the age of six, when she was abandoned by her drug addict mother and then sexually abused by the husband of the babysitter who was assigned to take care of her. Left with few family members or friends to offer her any kind of emotional support, Ashley turned to food for comfort - and quickly gained weight.
She admitted that she blames her mom for her emotional addiction to food, explaining that, as the oldest of her siblings, she felt a duty to look after them whenever their mother wasn't around - which was, in reality, almost all of the time.
'If my mother had been paying attention I think she could've changed a lot of stuff that was going on,' she said.
'As the oldest one, I felt like I had to protect my brother and sister because they were really little. So I let it happen to me, so it wouldn't happen to them.'
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Constant fear: 'I am terrified to get in my own bathtub because I almost feel like I'm going to fall through the floor,' Ashley said of her weight
Taking precautions: The mom had to rub her stomach with talcum powder in order to stop it from rubbing
When she reached the age of eight, Ashley and her siblings were taken in by their father, who won custody of them. But although she felt safer, her eating habits didn't change, and she continued to pile on weight.
She tipped the scales at 250lbs when she was in the sixth grade, and by the time she graduated from high school she weighed more than 400lbs.
The mother-of-one, who met her husband Jake when they were in high school, said he didn't care about her weight, and he made her happy.
Jake understood why Ashley turned to food for comfort, and he would often enable her by getting her the foods she wanted.
During the episode, the couple went grocery shopping. However, Ashley waited in the car while Jake went inside. Even though she was sitting in their truck, people stared at her, and one man told her that he would pray for her.
Constant companion: Ashley was forced to rely almost entirely on her five-year-old son Patrick to help her around the house
Working hard: The young boy is even forced to do the family's laundry, as his mother is unable to stand for long enough to take care of it herself
In charge: Patrick can be seen putting food in the microwave as he cooks breakfast for him and his mom
Ashley was so upset by the encounter that Jake took her to get fast food on the way home to make feel better.
In addition, to the embarrassment and shame she felt because of her size, Ashley also suffered extreme physical pain and was terrified the weight of her stomach, which hung down almost to her knees, would 'physically break her back' and could leave her totally immobile, or, worse still, actually kill her.
'People don't understand how much it actually takes just to do anything,' Ashley said. 'I have this thing hanging off of me. It's not supposed to be there. My stomach hangs so heavy on my back, sometimes when I'm standing, I'm scared of physically breaking my own back.'
Ashley admitted that she relied almost completely on her five-year-old son Patrick to care for her every need; the only thing she is still able to do for herself is bathe, and even that, she confessed, takes an almost unbearable physical toll on her body and her mind.
Where it all began: Ashley first began piling on weight when she was just six years old, after her drug addict mother abandoned her and her siblings
Painful memories: She was then sexually abused by the husband of the babysitter who was left to care for them
Downward spiral: Ashley's weight continued to increase throughout high school, and by the time she left she weighed more than 400lbs
'There's not a day that goes by that I don't have pain,' she tearfully explained. 'Just about any movement hurts. Just walking the 20ft from my bed to my bathroom is extremely painful.
'My weight has made it almost unbearable to get around. The normal things that everybody does is so hard to do when you are my size.
'I am terrified to get in my own bathtub because I almost feel like I'm going to fall through the floor.
'I'm good to stand for maybe five minutes so it's a struggle for me to bathe.'
'It's gotten so bad now that I'm afraid I'll be completely immobile soon and I'm going to have to have somebody take care of me,' she added.
'I don't want that embarrassment. I can still take care of my body, washing and bathing, right now. But I need help with just about everything else. And most of that falls on my five-year-old son Patrick. My son helps me with everything. He's my legs and a lot of things. Basically everything that involves standing and walking around a lot, Patrick does for me.
Concerned: Her father Tommy (pictured) admitted that his daughter's eating habits had been out of the ordinary for many years
Trying to help: Ashley's husband Jake understood why she turned to food for comfort and would often enable her eating habits
Feeling ashamed: Ashley, who can be seen waiting in the car when Jake went to the grocery store, was embarrassed after a stranger came up to her and told her that he was praying for her
'He has to help me with just about every household chore. Without him I'd be lost.'
Other doctors had refused to help Ashley, and she was fearful that Dr. Nowzaradan would turn her away as well. Ashley, who lived in constant fear that her enormous bulk would cause her life-threatening injuries, burst into tears at her consultation after she stepped on the scale and learned that her weight had climbed to 725lbs.
After Ashley's weight was revealed, she told the doctor about the food she and her family ate. Dr. Nowzaradan looked at Jake and saw that he was also overweight and not making healthy choices. He warned Ashley that she would not live to see 30 if she stayed on the dangerous path she was on.
Ashley vowed that she would not abandon her son like her mother abandoned her, so she agreed to follow Dr. Nowzaradan's diet and lose 50lbs in a month, so she would qualify for weight loss surgery.
Last hope: Ashley and Jaked headed to Houston, Texas, to meet with weight loss surgeon Dr. Younan Nowzaradan
Family issue: Dr. Nowzaradan told Ashley she had to lose 50lbs in a month to be approved for surgery, but he also noted that Jake was overweight and needed to change his eating habits as well
Weight loss treatment: During the surgery, Dr. Nowzaradan treated Ashley's hernia before performing gastric bypass
Winded: A few months after surgery, Ashley was able to got to the grocery store, although she felt out of breath
While she was trying to lose weight, Ashley and Jake moved their family nearby to Kerens, Texas, because the lease on their home was up. They weren't able to cook during the move, so they stopped for fast food.
Ashley got a chicken dish, which was a bit healthier, but her husband ordered cheeseburgers. Despite her difficulties, she lost a total of 58lbs in one month and was approved for surgery.
She recently allowed her mother Stephanie, who was no longer using drugs, back into her life, and while she was in the hospital, her mom would be watching Patrick.
Before the procedure, Dr. Nowzaradan was concerned that Ashley had a large hernia, but he was able to repair the hernia and proceed with the gastric bypass without complications.
A month later, Ashley had lost a total of 103lbs and was able to do her own laundry and drive her son to his first day of school.
Too much: Ashley found herself back int the hospital with an ulcer because she was abusing her pain medication
Getting help: After being hospitalized, Ashley visited Dr. Santhi Periasamy, a therapist who helped her cope with her past abuse
Great success: At the end of her journey, Ashley lost a total of 255lbs and was happier than ever
Bonding time: Ashley can be seen enjoying the great outdoors with her family after her weight loss
Although she was thrilled with her progress, she noticed that it was becoming more and more of a struggle to battle her cravings that had returned.
Seven months into her weight loss journey, Ashley weighed 578lbs and was able to go to the grocery store, but getting out of the truck was difficult for her and she felt out of breath in the store.
Meanwhile, her family was still eating the foods that used to bring her comfort, making the weight loss process even more difficult for her. Ashley started to experience extreme abdominal pain and uncontrollable vomiting, and when she arrived at the hospital Dr. Nowzaradan feared she was abusing her pain medication and had an ulcer.
Although he was able to remove the ulcer, she was in critical condition for 72 hours and hospitalized for two months because she was taking too much pain medication. Dr. Nowzaradan advised her to start seeing a therapist, so she would be able to combat her emotional trauma in a productive way.
Knowing that she needed to find replacement for food, Ashley visited Dr. Santhi Periasamy and discussed her past abuse and how how her addiction to food spiraled out of control.
A year after she started her weight loss journey, Ashley had a new haircut and clothes as well as a new outlook on life. During her final consultation it was revealed that she weighed 470lbs, losing a staggering 255lbs in 12 months.
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