03x12 - Never Say Never

[bunniefuu]

Previously on


Say bye-bye, Kentucky.

Today, me, Michael and Gage are
going to Atlanta to meet Dr. Procter.

It's my 2-year checkup.

And this time, we're flying.

- Cheers!
- We jammin'.

We can make
some screwdrivers.

- We got moonshine.
- Ooh.

Amy's did a big thing.

And she just wants y'all
to be able to come in

and sit in her couch
and just chill and relax.

I love Gage so much, I'm
ready to have another one now.

But Dr. Procter told me
to be careful

because I could gain
all my weight back and some.

Uh...

We just got back to the
hotel from seeing Dr. Procter.

He just wants me to take
a pregnancy test, like, now.

I want another baby. But...

- Oh, get your phone.
- Oh.

That's two barbells.

Uh...

Well...

It just sucks.

Yeah.

We're just gonna keep trying.

But before I even had
weight-loss surgery,

I was trying so hard
to get pregnant.

And then I had the surgery,

and then, boom, I got pregnant.

I was just really fertile.

And now that
I'm a little farther out,

I'm worried that this time,

I might not be able
to get pregnant.

I come by today
to talk to Tammy about

how my doctor's appointment went

and just see
how she's really doing.

Knock knock.

Hey, b*tch.
How are you doing?

Figured I'd stop in
and check on you.

Tell you how bleep went
at the doctor.

I'm under 350 lb since
the first time being--

Since a teenager.

So, I mean, that's...
about ten pant sizes down.

To be honest, my 3-months
post-op appointment really went well.

And this is just one step
on a long journey

to getting where I need to be.

My next goal, I'm buying
a three-piece suit.

Ever since I started going to
church when I was a kid,

I've wanted a suit.

Never been able to get one,

because it had to be
tailor-fit 'cause I was so big.

He asked me how you been doing.

I told him you been doing you.

And whatever that consists of.

Living wild, whatever.

He said that, uh...

there's a possibility if
you didn't wanna come see him,

he could come see you.

Tammy, that show you
he's dedicated.

I mean...

I know. I know I was there
when he said... that if--

Because he's worried about you.

Just like the rest of us.

I can see
where you're coming from,

but I'm kind of upset that you
don't want to stay on the wagon

and do it right.

But at the same token--

I mean, there's more to me
than weight.

But with your size being
as big as it is,

you're not going to be around
as long as we want you around.

I mean, if Dr. Smith wants
to come visit,

would you be okay with
him coming and...

visited you and...

talked to you?
How do you feel about that?

There ain't no time like
the present

is the best thing to say.

I mean, the biggest deal
is, Tammy, is...

three of our brothers
and sisters had the surgery.

So if we can do it,
we know you can.

You're hardheaded enough
to do it

if you'd just
put the effort to do it.

- I'm sorry.
- No, no, no.

Yeah.

Because she's putting other
things in her lungs that don't belong.

I'm glad Tammy has said that she
would go ahead and talk to Dr. Smith.

Come on, little.

Now that he's getting older,

I've had some concerns about
what I'm feeding Gage.

You never know if it's
right or wrong.

So, recently, me and Michael set up an
appointment to go see a baby dietitian.

Yeah. And as
you probably learned,

did, when you were younger,
eating until you were full,

how did that work out for you?

Yeah. So we really wanna try to help
him develop those hunger and fullness cues.

-No, I don't think you're-- -Or I'm
doing the right-- going the right...

You're going in
the right direction,

but there's just things
that we can tweak,

so as he gets older,

hopefully, he doesn't have
to struggle

with some of the things that
you struggled with

at a younger age.

You know, talking to Lauren
is so precious to me,

because I don't want Gage
to be... an overeater.

So it's time to get strict.

'Cause I don't want him to end
up like me or Tammy's size.

We should put the
fish table cloth on this one.

The theme is ocean animals,

because we went to the aquarium,

and Gage really loved
just touching the jellyfish

and stuff like that.

So we were like, "Okay, it has
to be an ocean-themed party."

Oh, my goodness.

Oh, dear.

Hey, y'all.

Y'all on the struggle bus.

Where is the birthday boy?

- He's with my sister.
- Okay, all right.

-Well, he's one. He's not gonna
really know-- -Exactly. Yeah.

So have you heard
from Tammy today?

Like, is she comin' or--
What's her deal?

I'm hoping she's coming,

but I haven't really
talked to her today.

Hmm.

Tammy's supposed to
be here today.

- Hey, guys.
- Hey.

Thank you for coming.

It's important to have
all my siblings,

not just Tammy here,

because this is Gage's
first birthday.

I'm feeling happy, I'm feeling
overwhelmed, you know...

Does she need
to get her wheelchair out?

Yeah.

Do y'all think you can get
the wheelchair out of the back

and go ahead
and roll that up there?

It's been almost two
weeks since I've seen Tammy.

You can tell by
the way she looks

she's still drinking
and bleep.

It's so disappointing to
see somebody just...

throw their life in the trash.

She says she lost her voice
at the haunted forest.

b*tch, you just hungover.
Let's be real.

I ain't starting a fight with
you on my son's birthday.

Okay, y'all ready for Gage
to eat his cake?

You ready for this?

There you go.

Okay, here we go, y'all.
Eat it.

- Yeah! The you go.
- There you go!

That's my boy!

Can I have a bite?

No.

It's amazing coming together
today for Gage's birthday party.

Amy has accomplished
so much in a year,

with the house,

being a new mom,

moving...

I'm very proud of her.

I thank you for coming.
I really appreciate it.

You know...

I'm just happy you're here
to witness this with me.

You know...

we started this journey
together.

We're still in it together.

Yep.

It's hard because I want her
to watch Gage grow up.

But I don't know how long
her body can hold up.

Chris said Dr. Smith was gonna
go visit Tammy in a couple days.

She needs a wakeup call.

And I don't know how to do it.

Smile.

Tammy's oxygen
is bottoming out.

And she's having a really
hard problem breathing.

How's your oxygen?

- Sixty-five?
- Sixty-five?

Hello, how are you all?
Welcome to Big City.

Can I have a... just a...
a black hot coffee?

We're here today at
the coffee shop

to meet Dr. Smith.

We talk to Tammy till
we're blue in the face.

Maybe getting Dr. Smith down
here will snap here out of it

and we can get her
to where she needs to be.

Like, give us a glimmer of hope.

You know, that shows
a lot of support,

whether she wants to take
advantage of it or not.

- Wonderful to see you.
- Hey, man.

- How are you doing?
- How are you, buddy?

Good to see you.
You're looking good.

Ah, can't complain.
Doing pretty decent.

- How are you, Amy?
- Amy, the baby sister.

- Good to see you.
- This is the youngest one out of the crew.

Nice to see you. I'm glad
I finally get to meet you.

Last time I saw Tammy,
about three months ago,

she really had not made
much of an effort at all.

And I thought it would be an
opportunity that I could swing by

and just come and check on her.

I have nothing to lose in
offering my support to her.

And in the end,
I just want her to know

I'm an advocate for her health,

um, irregardless of surgery.

Well, I'm glad we could
catch up.

You know, it's been...
it's been about three months

since I've seen her
in the office.

Um, so, where is she now?

- So approaching 700 lb.
- Yeah, I would say.

And now she's drinking.

Three, four times a week.

And not the weak stuff.

- She's drinking moonshine.
- She's drinking the hard liquor.

Yeah, she's drinking
hard liquor.

You know, Tammy's
still never dealt with her food addiction.

With the alcohol,
we have to be careful,

'cause people will convert--

They'll take an addiction and
convert it to something else.

So even if I can get her
to eat better,

even if I can get her
to stop drinking,

if we don't get to
the root of the problem...

- She's gonna revert it-- - ...why
she's eating and why she's drinking,

she's gonna find something else.

And when I tell her,
"This is not good for you,"

she's like, "I need
to work on my mental health."

I'm like, "Yeah, but drinking is
not helping your mental health."

She's actually right.

Her mental health is not good.

She's gotta be
doing something about it.

She's gotta be willing
to be compliant

with talking to therapists,

talking to people,

doing the things that
we will put in place with her

to help her mental health.

Maybe we can just do
one baby step at a time.

If he can talk her into
at least showing up

to the mental health
appointments,

that's a win in itself.

Because she won't do nothing
right now.

She's not getting any help
in that whiskey bottle.

There is not a therapy
in the bottom of that jar.

We all have our demons.

We all have things that
we battle with.

Until we hit our rock bottom,

we can't go back up.

I don't think Tammy's hit
her rock bottom yet.

And that's what scares me.

But what is rock bottom for her?

She's already been
on life support.

-That's the variable-- -I don't
know. That's what I'm saying.

We all only know what our
rock bottom is for ourself.

Unfortunately,
some people's rock bottom

is much lower that others'.

We're all tired of
beating our head against the wall

trying to motivate Tammy.

Basically, it boils down to ain't
nobody can do nothing for her

until she's ready to start
making the changes she needs.

The problem is is with Tammy,

by the time she hits
rock bottom,

she gonna be too far gone...

to come out and recover.

That's my focus on
talking to her today.

Last time I saw Tammy,
about three months ago,

I really left it up to her

to let me know when
she was ready to move forward.

But I did not want Tammy to think
that I was ever giving up on her.

Even if I walk in
and she kicks me out,

I just want her to know
that I'm here for her.

Come in.

- Hey! How are you?
- Hi.

I just thought I'd drop by.
Is that okay?

How ya been?

Good to see ya.

A few days ago,
Chris had mentioned that

Dr. Smith wanted to stop by
and say hello.

Well, I was kind of
in the neighborhood,

and I got a chance to stop by
and say hi to Chris.

I finally got to meet your
sister, which is kind of cool.

I did. So how are you feeling?

Right now? Good.

So you say,
"Right now, good."

So sometimes good,
sometimes bad.

- Yeah.
- No, I get it.

Are you-- are you struggling
with that some?

Are you?

Are you battling with
some depression?

Yeah.

Is it worse when you're by yourself
versus when people are here?

Okay.

So, tell me what your--
How your days are going.

I'm not gonna lecture you.

Listen, I can't come in
your house and lecture you.

Okay.

When you saying partying,

are you just drinking more or...

Yeah. Drinking, smoking.

How much do you think
you're drinking a week?

Like, fifths of liquor?

Oh, wow, Tammy. That's a lot.

Tammy's doing a lot of partying,
which raises a concern for me.

That alone is putting her
in severe danger.

She says she's focusing
on her mental health,

which if that was true,
I'm all about that.

But she's not made any strides
to actually do it.

So I'm a little concerned that she's
actually just using that as an excuse

to buy her more time to not
work on her activity level,

making some changes in her diet,

or anything further than that.

I just want you to know
when you have days like that,

you can reach out to us.

- And-- and I'm willing to listen anytime.
- All right.

- It's okay.
- Why do you always make me cry?

Oh, I don't think
I always make you cry.

Well, you just did it.

You just did it.

My last month and a half,
I've been wanting to...

ask for help.

What do you think
your next steps are?

Do you have any idea?

You don't know.

Would you consider possibly
going back to rehab?

No. Okay.

That's a phone call away.

We can have that
set up and facilitated.

And then I can tell you,
from their side,

- they will welcome you back.
- Okay.

Um, but would you ever
consider talking to...

as psychiatrist,

where you just sit down
with them and just...

get the noise out

and just talk to 'em.

I would love for you
to consider that.

I think it could be helpful.

All right? Did you just
say yes, kind of?

You're ready?

The most impressive thing
that happened today

is when Tammy looked at me
and said,

"I don't know
how to ask for help."

It may not seem like
anything big,

but that's the glimmer
of hope we're talking about.

I think with Tammy,

we have to take
the smallest win possible

and call it a win.

You just made my day.

You do. You do.

- Bye, Tammy.
- Bye.

Dr. Smith, like,
he understood

that I need to get my
mental health under control

before I worry about
anything else.

Does anybody know what
the heck's going on today?

I don't know.
He ain't tell me nothing.

Chris calls
everybody up and he's like,

Suki suki.

- Hey, Bang-Bang.
- Sup?

- What's up, Bran?
- Oh, damn, you done got it all set up.

Yeah.

You need any help
getting anything together?

- It looks like you got it.
- Uh, pretty much.

And that's the surprise,
I'm hungry.

What's he in there doing,
French-braiding his beard or something?

He wanted to surprise y'all
with something.

Brittany, come on now.
Spill the beans.

He's keeping it from me, too.

He told me to come out
and sit with y'all.

I can't be in there.

It better be damn good for him
to kick you out of your own house.

That's all I got to say.

It's been almost
four months since my surgery.

So, today, we're having
a little get-together

to show my family...

Being overweight
most of my life,

for me to be able to go
get a suit off the rack

is a milestone in
my weight-loss journey.

Suki suki.

That's my big brother, y'all.

You look really good,
Chris.

- You look real good.
- He's so handsome!

She's like, "Can everybody
leave right now?"

Since surgery,
I've lost about 70 lb,

which means I'm 140 lb lighter

from my heaviest weight.

And the difference
is between night and day.

The biggest change for me
since the surgery

is my blood sugar levels
have leveled off

and I don't have to take
insulin no more.

- You look really good, Chris.
- Thank you.

So when I turned around,
I was like, "Damn!"

You gonna take it all off?

Yeah, well, I'm gonna
take the jacket off.

I noticed Chris is doing more of
the things he wanted to do in life.

I think because of his weight,
it held him back.

And he's looking great.

I'm super proud.

You! Oh, yeah,
and you give him to me.

I'm extremely happy and
proud of Chris for his weight-loss.

It's pretty chill that all
my sisters and my brothers

could come together and
celebrate Chris', you know, victory.

You.

You!

Hey, Tammy.
How are ya?

I feel like my depression
has gotten worse.

Okay.

And my health is getting worse.

Like, I can tell.

Well, I am very
happy to hear that.

Not happy to hear
that you're struggling,

but I'm happy to hear that you
have made that decision on your own.

So what was your moment
that made you think that?

What happened since
the last time I saw you

that flipped that switch?

I can't...

But that's when it was.
I was like...

Well, you know
what's interesting, Tammy,

I had a conversation with, um,
Chris and Amy when I was there.

And I told them, I said

one of the hardest things
about situations like this,

when you have somebody that you love
so much that needs help with something,

is that person has
to hit their rock bottom

before their willing
to ask for help.

You have to get there
on your own.

But when you get there
on your own,

that's when you say,
"I will do whatever it takes

I don't want to feel like this
anymore."

Okay.

That's music to my ears.

- I know it's music to your family's ears, too.
- Yeah.

You're basically saying, "I'm
ready to finally get healthy."

Let's do it across the board.

Since you're gonna go
back to Ohio,

we'll make sure that we get a
mental health professional there locally,

whether it's inside of the
center or outside of the center.

The most important thing
is your mental health.

And once we have that
under control,

what I have to offer you,
from a surgical standpoint...

You know that our goal
was to get you to around 550

when I first met you.

If we can get you down to that
weight we talked about before,

then we're ready
to get you to surgery.

I would love that.

And if that happens
while you're still there,

we'll make arrangements where
you can literally come from there

straight to us for surgery.

Tell me what
you're looking forward to.

Okay, and what is that outcome?

Okay, that's good.

It's been great
talking with you.

I'm really excited for you.

- You seem excited.
- Yes.

So I'll get the ball rolling.

We'll get things moving.

And we'll get this
taken care of you

and get you in and settled
as soon as possible,

- and then I'll be checking back in with you, okay?
- Okay.

- Thank you.
- All right, you're welcome.

- I'll see you later.
- All right.

- All right, bye-bye.
- Bye.

Today, I'm gonna
go back to rehab.

I am so proud of you.

And I know you've got this.

Tammy, how you doing?

Tammy.

Oh, my God.
She waited too long.

Tammy, this is it.
I'm so happy.

But you'll get you a little
nap when you're on the road.

We are so proud that she
decided to go back to rehab.

And all of us coming together

trying to show Tammy that
we're here,

we're trying to support you
any way possible,

we've always been here,

even if you didn't
think we were.

[Misty I What's up, Tam-Tam?

Hey, everybody.

- Hey.
- Hey. What you up to?

Ready for this ride.

Go up there with an
open mind and an open soul...

Just don't soak up the food.
Soak up the knowledge.

Tammy, I want you to know
I love you.

And I know you've got it
this time.

I've been proud of you
ever since you were born.

You were the first girl to ever
graduate Emma Slighten with honors.

I am so proud of you.

And I know you've got this.

You know, they say
three times is a charm.

Well, you're gonna
prove 'em wrong

and say it's gonna happen
in two times.

You want Gage to give you
a hug and kiss before you leave?

I'll try to keep him as little
as I can till you get back.

What are you doing?

All right,
y'all ready to load 'er up?

Well, I reckon we are.

- Let's hit the road road.
- Yeah.

Bye. Love you too.

We gotta load 'er up.

Everybody grab a suitcase and
help Chris get it all packed up.

Today's ride's
gonna be about eight hours,

so it's gonna be a long
ride to the facility.

But we're gonna hurry up
and get her there

so she can just start resting
on her way to recovery.

bleep, she'll be asleep
before she gets out of the driveway.

Probably.

Is there something
I could do to help you?

No.

I guess I'll sneak on up here
and...

I'm proud of you.

You're gonna be all right.

You got this.

You got it!

I know
I might not act like it,

but I do really
appreciate everybody

- You ready to head out?
- Yeah.

All right. I love you.

Just be careful.
Call me if you need me.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye!

You feeling okay, Tam?

Tammy's not feeling the hottest,

travelling's starting
to wear her down

and she's just worn-out anyway.

Everything's harder on
Tammy because of her size.

How's your oxygen?

- Sixty-five?
- Sixty-five?

How's your oxygen?

- Sixty-five?
- Sixty-five?

Six hours into the trip
her oxygen started to go low,

so Tammy's having a really
hard problem breathing.

Tammy, let me see your thingy.

- Can you tell the oxygen's in there?
- Yeah.

We called the rehab facility

and they told us to make sure
we had her hooked up

to her Bi-Pap machine,

'cause it keeps a constant
air pressure on your lungs.

- Mmm-hmm.
- Good.

Now, Tammy, I just want
you to take slow deep breaths,

okay?

You feel good?

She was pretty insistent
on not going to the hospital,

so we're gonna
make the best of it,

push through it

and get her there,
so she can rest.

Two hours and twenty minutes,
Tam.

Oh, Lord.

- You all right?
- Hey, Tammy.

Hey.

I mean, I love my sister Tammy
with my whole heart.

She's talking about staying
in here six months or a year

and get better,

then I'd rather
miss her for a year,

than miss her
for the rest of my life.

If you need anything,

I'm one phone call away.

You got three more sister
that'll do the same thing.

So...

I love you.
Get some rest.

The facility had called

and told me Tammy had took
a turn for the worst.

And they had transported Tammy
by ambulance to the hospital

They're just telling us that
her lungs have given up

and like her body
is shutting down.

So, at this point,
you know, we're...

we're facing making funeral
arrangements for my little sister.

The fact that that's
my sister scared me.

And I can't help her.

The fact that she might never
see her nephews or nieces

ever again

scared me.

I'm just sittin' here thinking
like, "Oh, my God,

like, she's been in such
a bad place for so long."

You know, she waited too long.

She waited too long.

And now that she has the courage

to step out and get
the help that she needs...

you know, now this.

To make-- and then...

And she kept telling us
she loved us

and wanted to go home.

I'm happy, I'm
relieved, I'm still sad,

I'm just grateful.

I'm just, like, you know...

Thanks.

We prayed for a miracle,
and God gave us one.

I'm overjoyed that she's ready
to get on this train

and start rolling
down the track.

Me and Gage call Tammy
all the time.

Gage loves talking
to Aunt Tammy.

He don't say much,
just "da-da-da-da-da," but...

you know, she's...
she's okay.

She's still alive.
She has her life.

Sorry.