The struggle with weight and morbid obesity strikes many people. But one Florida woman who was deemed the fattest woman in the world at 1,000 pounds has changed her life. Catrina Raiford, 38, was so obese that she was confined to her bed for five years as family members brought her food, washed her and emptied her bed pans. Trapped in a prison of her own flesh, she had a medical crisis and needed to be rushed to the hospital.
However, this was not an easy task because of her massive form. Rescue workers and firefighters had to bulldoze part of her home to rescue her. Since her rescue, Raiford has managed to lose more than 500 pounds through a strict diet and gastric bypass surgery. Her life has changed for the better as she can go out in public, walk and exercise. Raiford slimmed down to 448 pounds in 2014 and is steadily losing more weight. The dramatic weight loss has left her flaps of excess skin weighing more than 140 pounds. Raiford wants to one day be able to wear a bikini and needs help from the kindness of strangers. She will need to undergo surgery to remove this skin and has started a GoFundMe page.
Raiford posted to her page: “My walking, bending, standing, and sedentary movement is compromised by the extra skin hanging from my body. The extra skin that is restricting my mobility is also restricting my ability to continue reaching my weight loss goal. I am unable maximize workouts and must limit my movement and mobility.”
Her goal is not just to wear a bikini; it’s about continuing to live a normal life. Raiford was the victim of childhood sexual abuse and used unhealthy food to alleviate the pain. Her eating of sugary snacks and fatty foods started when at an early age. By the time she was 12, she could no longer wear clothing from stores and her mother began making her clothes. Her parents knew something was wrong with their daughter when at 14 she weighed 448 pounds. Raiford soon found herself confined to a psychiatric hospital for 8 months in an effort to treat her fragile emotional state. Despite the hospitalization, she continued to gain weight, other health issues and suffer from the mental anguish of isolation.
It was in December of 2003 when she left the confinement of her home and she has a new lease on life. Don’t think that it was just the gastric-bypass alone that allowed her lose all that weight; it was also determination and discipline. Before she could have the surgery, she lost 300 pounds naturally. Now this beautiful Black woman and spirit wants to go even further with her life. She wants to attend school and get gainful employment; Raiford writes, “I can’t settle anymore. I want a life, a really good life. I can see that life now. I couldn’t when I was home in that bed.” But she is now facing another setback. She said, ‘I’ve just been diagnosed with cellulitis – an infection of the skin – after injuring my leg at the gym. Doctors say that I need to lose weight to stop injuring myself and having complications, but this heavy skin makes it so hard.”
Her GoFundMe account has so far raised $1,205 of the $10K needed for her reconstructive surgery. Raiford is asking for any amount from donors to reach this goal.
For more information visit her GoFundMe page.
