Charity Pierce has to shed 20 st (280lb/127kg) so she can have gastric bypass operation

Apr 29, 2014 11:59 GMT  ·  By
Charity Pierce has to shed 20 st (280lb/127kg) so she can have gastric bypass operation
   Charity Pierce has to shed 20 st (280lb/127kg) so she can have gastric bypass operation

Charity Pierce, the world’s fattest woman, has big plans for the future. She wants to turn her dreams of walking down the aisle into reality, but for that, she needs to lose almost half her bulk so that she can have a life-saving gastric bypass operation.

Her mind-boggling weight of 56.4 stones (786.6 pounds or 358 kg) is really dangerous for her health, so Pierce is now determined to shed 20 stones (280 pounds or 127 kg) so that she can have the gastric band surgery and then marry her fiancé, Tony Saur.

“I’m determined not to have to get married at home – I want to be able to walk up the aisle. We both love country music so I plan to wear a wedding dress, cowboy boots and cowgirl hat and Tony will be in jeans and cowboy boots,” Charity says, as reported by the Daily Mail.

The 38-year-old woman, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, says she has always been a heavy person, but a medical condition called lymphedema has worsened her situation, as it has created extreme swelling in her left leg and hip.

She is currently unable to leave her house because of her weight, and has been housebound since 2001. Her limited mobility means it’s very hard for her to exercise and subsequently slim down. However, doctors have warned her that she needed to take drastic measures to lose weight because her health was at risk, and she has already reduced her calorie intake from 10,000 to just 1,200 per day.

“I’m worried about having a heart attack or stroke, or dying in my sleep. My dream goal is to be 14st and get married to my fiancé. I don’t want much – I just want to have a life,” Charity also added.

Before the diet, Charity used to eat cereal, two pizzas, two big sandwiches, two plates of lasagna, a Kit-Kat chocolate bar, five doughnuts, a big bowl of popcorn, and Pop Tarts in one day, according to Metro. But now, her daily menu consists of three yogurts, a banana with peanut butter, vegetable pizza, grilled chicken, mixed vegetables, and hummus with crackers.

Charity believes gastric bypass surgery could help her lose weight, but local surgeons refuse to perform the operation unless her weight is less than 500 pounds (227 kg).

Nonetheless, a hospital in Houston, Texas, is willing to operate, so she is now trying to get on a reality TV show, called “My 600-lb Life,” because she believes it is her only chance to survive. But to get there, she has as to raise $5,000 (€3,600) to pay for her medical expenses and transportation, as her condition means she needs to be transported by a private ambulance.