Lifefollows the journey of Latonya, (Shreveport, LA) who has been to see Dr. Now before and faces losing her mobility completely. Can she make the changes she needs to make to save her life?….CONTINUE READING
Latonya suffers from unbearable pain from the lymphedema in both of her legs and struggles to get out of her bed in the morning. Her mobility is approaching a tipping point at the beginning at herMy 600 LB Lifejourney. She’s made a promise to herself to not be wheelchair bound, but finds herself barely able to walk.
She lives with her fiancé Daune and also has a caretaker who helps her shower and makes her food. Showering takes a lot out of Latonya, so she often goes back to bed while her caretaker, who spends about five hours a day with her, cooks her breakfast.
The caretaker says that Latonya has deteriorated since she first started working with her.
Latonya also gets help from her nephew Aiden, who helps her grocery shop once a month.
Latonya really enjoys these grocery store trips because she loves food so much and she doesn’t know when she’ll be able to go back to the grocery store. She considered food to be her hobby.
Latonya eats about six times a day. She loves all kinds of food, especially sweets, chips, cereal and other snacks. Sometimes all she eats all day is snack food.
Latonya grew up with three siblings, including a deceased brother. She was the youngest child. Her dad worked and her mother stayed at home.
She says her family was always positive with positive attitudes. She says she loved food and for her food meant love.
She says her life was peaceful until she was 12, which is when her mother died suddenly from asthma. Latyona was so shocked and devastated she turned to food to cope with the trauma.
“Food took my painful thoughts away, and it made me happy in the moment,” Latonya says.
Just three months after her mom’s untimely death, Latonya’s father moved in with a new girlfriend who Latonya didn’t get along with.
Latonya didn’t want to live with them and decided to move in with her older sister. When she was only fifteen years old she got her own place because her dad signed the lease for her.
Although Latonya’s dad provided for her financially, he wasn’t there for her emotionally. While she lived alone her weight continued to skyrocket. By age 17 she was 300 pounds.
Five years ago Latonya broke her knee, and she has had mobility problems ever since.
While she was recovering from her knee injury and facing dark times, she met her current fiancé Daune through her cousin.
Latonya’s cousin recommended Latonya to Daune while they were both incarcerated because he knew Daune liked “big-boned women.”
“I look past what other people see, her weight and this or that,” Daune says. “I know she a good person. She teach me some things.”
Latonya thinks God has put Daune in her life and now wants to lose weight and work on her health so she can live long enough to grow old together.
Latonya has sought help from Dr. Now before, but says he didn’t take her seriously because she refused to commit to the program. Now she’s ready for a second chance.
Daune says he’s going to stay with Latonya forever and feels like she’s going to succeed in her weight loss journey. He lives by a family motto: “If you’re gonna worry, don’t pray. If you’re going to pray, don’t worry.”….CONTINUE READING