A morbidly obese woman who weighs more than 600lbs has admitted that she started to turn to food for comfort as a child because her parents were too busy working to pay attention to her.
In a preview clip for Wednesday night’s episode of the TLC reality series My 600lb Life, Karina recalls being very sick with severe asthma as a young child. Although her asthma attacks were under control by the time she was about five or six, her parents had to work long hours to pay her medical bills.
‘I had asthma really bad, so I was in and out of the hospital with asthma attacks and I was in an oxygen tent most of the time,’ Karina explains.
Struggle: Karina (pictured) weighs more than 600lbs after years of turning to food for comfort
Health concerns: Karina (pictured with her mother) was very sick with severe asthma when she was a young child
Lost childhood: She was in and out of the hospital with asthma attacks and was in an oxygen tent most of the time
Karina is the oldest of three children, and while she and her sister are only 10 months apart, she didn’t get to spend much time with her when they were kids because she was so sick.
‘I remember them holding me down, pinning me down, sticking IVs in me. I felt like I was suffocating,’ she says of her hospital visits. ‘But my family was always there when I was sick.
‘I remember looking over at my mom and seeing her sitting their crying and watching me suffer.’
Hard times: Karina and her sister are only 10 months apart, but she didn’t get to spend much time with her when they were kids because she was so sick
Finally healthy: Karina’s asthma was under control by the time she was five or six years old, but her parents had to work all of the time to pay for her medical bills
By the time she was about five or six, her asthma was under control and she felt ‘healthy’ for the first time in her life.
‘I thought this would be a happy time, but my illness took a financial toll on my family, so my parents were always working,’ she explains.
Karina’s mom worked two jobs and would leave early in the morning to start her day, while her dad was in the military and would be gone long stretches of time.
Feeling alone: Karina was used to having her parents’ attention when she was sick, and she started turning to food for comfort when they weren’t around
Out of control: Karina says she got away with eating so much because ‘no one paid attention’
Catch 22: Karina’s mother Maria can’t help but blame herself for her eldest daughter’s physical state even though she needed to work two jobs in order to give her kids a better life
She hardly saw her parents, and she admits their absence in her life really started to affect her because she was used to them paying attention to her.
‘When I was younger and in the hospital, everyone paid attention to me, and now it was like I didn’t exist at all,’ she recalls.
‘But I really just wanted a little attention. I wanted a hug, but they were too busy to give it, so food was my hug.’
Karina says she got away with eating so much because ‘no one paid attention,’ and her mother Maria can’t help but blame herself for her eldest daughter’s physical state.
Putting on the pounds: Karina says she kept gaining and gaining because of how much food she was consuming
Catching up with her: Karina says by the time she was 10 years old she weighed about 100lbs
Looking back: ‘Food was always there to comfort me no matter what,’ she says
‘Karina’s mother really feels a lot of guilt, but she had to work in order to try to provide a better life for them,’ her father Ezequiel tells the camera.
Maria bursts into tears as she admits: ‘I don’t think I was there to take care of them better. Perhaps, if I had been there, she wouldn’t have gotten to this state.’
Karina says she ran to food whenever she was feeling any stress or loneliness, adding: ‘I just started gaining and gaining and gaining.’
By the time she was 10 years old, Karina estimates that she weighed about 100lbs.
‘Before school and with my allowance, I would buy junk food: chips, soda, cookies, cupcakes. Food was always there to comfort me no matter what,’ she says.