(Youtube/TLC)
Tonight’s episode of My 600-lb Life will focus on Dottie and June, two women who were able to shed hundreds of pounds after adopting a controlled diet and undergoing weight loss surgery on the hit TLC series.
Dottie’s path to weight loss is complicated by the fact that she’s a primary caregiver to her two sons– one of whom has cerebral palsy– while June’s struggle to control her eating habits are rooted in the death of her 17-year-old son in 2011.
Read on to learn more about Dottie and June.
1. Dottie’s 12-Year-Old Son Has Severe Cerebral Palsy
(Youtube/TLC)
When she first appeared on My 600lb Life, Dottie explained that even though walking would cause her severe pain and discomfort, she was forced to get out of bed everyday for her two sons. “I have to be here to take care of these boys, they need their mama.”
Daniel, her eldest, was born with severe cerebral palsy, and since Dottie was separated from his father, she became his primary caregiver. When Dottie married her current husband, Chris, the couple had a son named Landon. Chris is able to help Dottie with the children and around the house in the morning, but often has to leave early for work.
Dottie has made many trips to the hospital with Daniel, who, during the family’s appearance on the show, was having trouble breathing and was admitted to the hospital. Dottie explains that the stress of these situations leads to her adopting self-harming eating habits. “I just don’t know what’s gonna happen to him. And the food is the only thing helping me deal with everything right now.”
2. Dottie Says She Felt Abandoned by Her Mother Growing up
(Youtube/TLC)
Dottie was over 300 pounds by the time she was 18. When she appeared on My 600lb Life at 34, she was 641 pounds. With the weight loss surgery, she was able to shed 121 pounds.
Growing up, Dottie says her mother was far more focused on her sister, Delacy, who was a beauty pageant queen– this left Dottie feeling like she wasn’t beautiful. Delacy, herself, admits that this was the way thing worked in their home. “My mom’s attention was all based around me– winning that pageant. And that left Dottie pretty much out of the picture.” It was this sense of abandonment that first caused her to put on weight.
3. June’s 17-Year-Old Son Died in 2011
June’s weight began to spiral out of control after she lost her 17-year-old son, Mack, in 2011.
June says, “Four years ago, my whole world came crashing down. My son… was at the wrong place at the wrong time, around people he had no business being around, and he was shot and killed.”
Her sister also made an appearance on the show, revealing, “Once her son died, she gave up. She began to eat her pain.” June explains that sometimes, she felt like she’d be eating for Mack. “I think about Mack, and I want to eat something that I know he would love.”
4. June Lost 200 Lbs After Undergoing Gastric Bypass Surgery
A pic of June from January 22, 2017. (Facebook/JuneMcCamey)
June went from 585 pounds to about 385 pounds after undergoing gastric bypass surgery.
When we first met June, she couldn’t move around her own home without stopping to rest every few seconds. “I have three seats. The bed. The bathroom toilet, and my chair,” she says. “My world is confined. I feel suffocated.”
She explains that when she was a child, she didn’t struggle with weight– from high school to her early 20s, she was curvy, but still happy and active. She began to struggle with her weight after giving birth to her children.
5. June’s Weight Has Affected Her Relationship With Her Partner Sadi
(Youtube/TLC)
June’s health threatened her relationship with her partner, Sadi Gregory, who’s been burdened with the responsibility of bathing June and attending to her physical needs. When she first appeared on the show, June said, “Sadi does everything for me… To have someone bathe me is so embarrassing.”
Sadi explains that she was first drawn to June’s confidence and the fact that she liked to get out. That began to shift about a year into their relationship, when June started to put on weight. June admits that she was far more mobile when she first met Sadi, but over time, she had to be waited on like a child.
“I get fast food for her one to two times a day,” Sadi says. “Sometimes three.”
