Some alarming news
Food was, for Amber, a source of comfort and a way of escaping her reality. If she wasn’t eating, she would spend her time thinking of what she was planning to eat next. There was no joy in her eating; it made her feel desperate, sad, and very alone.
Patti explained that Amber had become a typical underachiever and that she was always afraid that she didn’t meet her parents’ expectations.
Patti and Amber’s father, Abe, grew increasingly concerned for their daughter and took her to the doctor. It was there that they received the news that would change Amber’s life forever; Amber would be dead before the age of thirty if she kept making the same choices she was currently making.
Weighing in
While Amber knew she needed to make some changes in her life, she had no real idea where to start. She decided to contact the TLC reality TV show, My 600 Pound Life. The series offers help to people such as Amber and follows them along their journey of weight loss.
Amber wasn’t sure if the TV show would work for her, but she was determined to try. She couldn’t have known the incredible changes that were about to occur in her life.
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Drastic action
My 600 Pound Life was the kickstart Amber needed to motivate her to make changes. She came to the realization that she wasn’t living, she was existing. She decided that she wanted to live, and she knew that she needed to lose weight.
Before she could start her weight loss journey, though, Amber had to make the first, scariest move of her young adult life. Amber would have to go see Dr. Younan Nowzaradan. The catch? He was in Houston, Texas.
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First difficulties
When the filming for Amber’s episode of My 600 Pound Life started in 2014, Amber had to travel to Houston, Texas to meet the star of the show, the bariatric surgeon Dr. Younan Nowzaradan.
The family couldn’t have known that this trip would be one of the first of the obstacles Amber would face on her path to weight loss.
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Humiliating moments
Amber had to take a plane from Oregon to Texas to meet Dr. Nowzaradan. Her embarrassment started in the airport when her wheelchair broke due to her weight.
With no other way to get through the terminal to her flight, Abe had no choice but to find a luggage cart, put Amber on it, then push her through the crowded airport.
The show’s filming crew caught many people in the airport snapping pictures of Amber as she was wheeled around the airport, making her feel like a sideshow.
It didn’t stop there, though. Amber had to buy two plane tickets and could barely fit through aisles to reach the seats. She spent the entire flight feeling embarrassed, overwhelmed and anxious.