A morbidly obese woman who was bedridden for three years, and had to rely on her children to wash and care for her, has shed 596lbs (42.5 stone) and learned how to walk again.
Mother-of-five Milla Clark, 51, from Fayetteville, Tennessee, became the most successful patient ever on TLC’s My 600lb Life after slimming down to just 155lbs (11 stone).
She originally weighed in at a hefty 751lbs (53.6 stone) when she first consulted weight loss expert Dr Younan Nowzaradan over three years ago.
Mother-of-five Milla Clark, 51, from Fayetteville, Tennessee, became the most successful patient ever on TLC’s My 600lb Life after slimming down to 155lbs (11 stone)
She originally weighed in at a hefty 751lbs (53.6 stone) when she first consulted weight loss expert Dr Younan Nowzaradan over three years ago
Milla was completely immobile, having been completely unable to get out of bed for three years, which was due, in large part, to a 43lb lymphedema on her leg – painful swelling that left her in agony when she tried to stand.
As a result, Milla had not walked on her own in over 13 years when she first sought help with her weight – and she admitted on the show that her life had been made ‘miserable’ because of her condition.
‘Every single day of my life is miserable,’ she explained at the time. ‘I have been trapped in these four walls for more than two years. During that time, I have not stood one time. All I can do is eat and sleep.’
She relied heavily on her children, four of whom are adopted, to take care of her, with the siblings having to bathe their mother every morning to make sure she didn’t develop an infection.
Three of Milla’s teenage kids, Jacob, now 19, Hannah, 18, and Caleb, 18, woke up every morning before sunrise to come in and wash her because she couldn’t do it herself.
Prior to her incredible weightloss, Milla was bedridden for three years and relied on her children to wash and care for her
Milla said her life before her weightloss was miserable every single day as she was trapped in bed
The mother-of-five, pictured before her weightloss journey began, admitted that the only thing she could do on her own was eat and sleep
While Hannah washed her ‘private parts’, Jacob held her lymphedema because it was so heavy that her daughter couldn’t lift it and clean her at the same time.
‘It is such a humiliating thing,’ Milla said in 2017, lamenting: ‘Children their age shouldn’t have to take care of their parents’.
Milla had struggled with her weight her entire life, and when she was only three years old, other kids started calling her fat, making her realize just how big she was.
When Milla’s daughter Hannah washed her ‘private parts’, Jacob held her lymphedema because it was so heavy that the teen couldn’t lift it to clean her mom
Milla, who is pictured when she was younger (left and right), said kids started calling her fat when she was only three years old
However, because she was so young, she didn’t associate her eating habits with her ongoing weight gain, and she said the only way her mom knew how to show her love for her and her sisters was by giving them food.
After her high school graduation, she met Elroy and they got married, and while she weighed over 400lbs at the time, he didn’t see her weight as a problem.
‘I was so in love with Elroy. I forgot I was fat for a minute,’ Milla said.
Milla, who is pictured on her wedding day, said she met her husband Elroy shortly after she graduated from high school
After their wedding, Milla got pregnant with their first child, but after her weight reached nearly 500lbs, it became too risky for to try and have another baby
Because they couldn’t have anymore biological children, Milla and Elroy decided to adopt four kids who were growing up in homes with drug addicted parents
Soon after they said ‘I do’, Milla gave birth to her first child, and while they wanted to have more children, her weight was close to 500lbs making it far too risky for her to try and conceive again.
Instead, the couple adopted four children from homes with drug-addicted parents. And while, she vowed to take care of them, they ended up being the ones tending to her needs.
In the hopes of saving her life, Milla and her family made the decision to move to Houston, Texas, so she could consult with weight loss surgeon Dr. Younan Nowzaradan.
Before she started her journey, Milla had been bedridden for two years, and relied on her five children and her now-late husband Elroy to take care of her
Milla was inconsolable because she was unable to leave her bed to visit Elroy in the hospital before she died, but she remained motivated to stick to her weight loss plan
He made sure her children met with a dietitian to learn about their mother’s diet because he wanted to be sure they would no longer enable her addiction to eating before he sent her home.
After losing more than 100lbs on her own, Dr Nowzaradan removed the large lymphedema – swelling caused by a build-up of lymph fluid under your skin – on her leg.
Once she was able to finally stand on her own, she underwent weightloss surgery.
Milla faltered briefly when her beloved husband Elroy passed away from a heart attack two months into filming the show.
Milla, pictured in 2017, chronicled her weight loss journey on the TLC special, My 600lb Life: Where Are They Now?, going from 751lbs to 477lbs (pictured) in two years
Once Milla got under 200lbs she had both knees replaced which allowed her to finally stand completely upright and walk on her own without a cane or walker
Milla underwent several skin removal surgeries after shedding the pounds, leaving her with significant scarring
Dr Nowzaradan removed the large lymphedema – swelling caused by a build-up of lymph fluid under your skin – on her leg and Milla later underwent weightloss surgery
She was inconsolable because she was unable to leave her bed to visit him in the hospital before she died.
But it was her children who ultimately motivated her to stick to her weight loss plan and she became more determined then ever to lose the weight so she could be a ‘proper mom’ to her kids.
She also underwent several skin removal surgeries, and once she got under 200lbs she had both knees replaced, which allowed her to finally stand completely upright and walk on her own without a cane or walker.
At the end of an episode of My 600lb Life in 2017, Milla had shed a total of 153lbs and stood for the first time in two years
Milla pointed out she still had a lot of excess skin around her body, which was later removed
On the latest episode of the show Milla was seen celebrating her 51st birthday surrounded by family and friends including her kids
During the celebrations for her birthday, Milla’s children said they were ‘very proud’ of her journey
On the latest episode of the show, Milla was seen celebrating her 51st birthday surrounded by family and friends including her kids, who also said they were ‘very proud’ of her journey.
She was also seen doing activities with her children for the first time in years, including canoeing – and she even took three of the kids on a date with her!
By the end of the three years she was down to her goal weight of 155lbs, earning her a well deserved hug from Dr Nowzaradan.
By the end of the three years Milla was down to her goal weight of 155lbs, making her the most successful patient on the show of all time
Milla was also seen doing activities with her children for the first time in years, including canoeing
With her newfound confidence, Milla even took three of her children out on a date with her