Obese man still serves as a caretaker for bedridden mother

A morbidly obese man who fears he weighs over 700lbs can barely walk, but he refuses to allow himself to become bedridden while taking care of his ailing mother.

Drew Stewart, 43, hasn’t weighed himself in 10 years, but he wears a size 18X T-shirt. Although he hopes to be a candidate for weight loss surgery, he is worried about what the scale will say during his weigh-in at his upcoming doctor’s visist.

‘I just hope I weigh under 700lbs. I’m not happy with my weight that I am at now,’ he says in a preview clip from Wednesday’s episode of the new TLC series Family By the Ton.  

 

Morbidly obese: Drew Stewart, 43, hasn’t weighed himself in years, but he wears a size 18X. He fear he weighs over 700lbs 

Fears: Drew can barely walk, and he is worried his weight will eventually cause him to become bedridden 

Fears: Drew can barely walk, and he is worried his weight will eventually cause him to become bedridden 

Not an option: Drew takes care of his bedridden mother, and he refuses to put her in a nursing home 

Not an option: Drew takes care of his bedridden mother, and he refuses to put her in a nursing home 

‘Sometimes I feel like I am in a fat suit, like I got a fat suit on, it’s zipped up, and I just want to take it off and get back down to my size.’ 

Drew says his morbid obesity is a ‘health problem’ that is putting him in danger of becoming bedridden like his 49-year-old cousin Chitoka Light, who weighs 680lbs and hasn’t left her home in three years. 

‘Even though it hurts me to walk, I still have to do it,’ he explains. ‘It’s not even an option for me to be not mobile because people depend on me.’ 

Drew lives with his mother as her caretaker, and he refuses to have her be put in a nursing home because of his increasing size. 

Everyday struggles: 'Even though it hurts me to walk, I still have to do it,' he says. He is pictured making his mom dinner 

Everyday struggles: ‘Even though it hurts me to walk, I still have to do it,’ he says. He is pictured making his mom dinner 

Throwback: Drew (center, front) says he was a normal kid who road bikes, swam, and played basketball

Throwback: Drew (center, front) says he was a normal kid who road bikes, swam, and played basketball

‘I want to take care of her. I’m not going to put her in a nursing home and throw her away, but I’m afraid I haven’t done a good job taking care of myself,’ he admits. 

Looking back on his childhood, Drew says he was a normal kid who road bikes, swam, and played basketball. 

‘In my later years of high school, I was an athlete,’ he says. ‘I worked out and I played football. 

‘After practice, I would go home and run a full-court basketball game, so I didn’t realize what I was eating and things like that because I would just burn that off, just from physical activity.’

Looking back: Drew was an active kid and an athlete when he was in high school. He admits he never thought about what he was eating because he always burned off the calories 

Looking back: Drew was an active kid and an athlete when he was in high school. He admits he never thought about what he was eating because he always burned off the calories 

Start of it all? Drew believes the weight really started piling on when he moved to Atlanta to care for his mom after she got sick

Start of it all? Drew believes the weight really started piling on when he moved to Atlanta to care for his mom after she got sick

Start of it all? Drew believes the weight really started piling on when he moved to Atlanta to care for his mom after she got sick

Trapped: 'Sometimes I feel like I am in a fat suit, like I got a fat suit on, it's zipped up, and I just want to take it off and get back down to my size,' he says 

Trapped: ‘Sometimes I feel like I am in a fat suit, like I got a fat suit on, it’s zipped up, and I just want to take it off and get back down to my size,’ he says 

Drew believes the weight really started piling on when he moved to Atlanta to care for his mom after she got sick.

‘I was already wearing 6X and then the next thing I know it was 8X then it was 10X, so [my weight] just gradually went up and just didn’t realize it,’ he admits. 

Drew really wants to be a candidate for weight loss surgery, and he is excited to have an appointment with Dr. Procter and start his weight loss journey. 

‘It’s been like 10 years since I’ve weighed myself, and I know the number is going to be really high,’ he says. ‘But I am excited to know where my starting weight is because, in my mind, I’ll never be this big again.’

Disapointment: Drew is excited to go to the doctor's and begin his weight loss journey, but the scale can't register his weight 

Disapointment: Drew is excited to go to the doctor’s and begin his weight loss journey, but the scale can’t register his weight 

A nurse explains that the maximum amount of weight for the scale is 550lbs, so she can confirm that he weighs more than 

A nurse explains that the maximum amount of weight for the scale is 550lbs, so she can confirm that he weighs more than 

Heartbreak: 'I can't believe after all of this I still don't know how much I weigh,' he says

Heartbreak: ‘I can’t believe after all of this I still don’t know how much I weigh,’ he says

However, when Drew steps on the scale at the doctor’s office, he is upset to learn that he weighs too much for the scale to register.

‘When the scale says stop, I was disappointed,’ he admits. ‘If his scale can’t weigh me, what exactly could he do for me?’

A nurse explains that the maximum amount of weight for the scale is 550lbs, so she can confirm that he weighs more than that. 

‘I can’t believe after all of this I still don’t know how much I weigh,’ he says. ‘I’m disappointed about that.’



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