When My 600-lb Life season 8 star Coliesa McMillian appeared on the series in 2020, she was 41 years of age and 643 pounds, and it’s time to talk about what happened to her after the show. She was a mom of four kids, and Coliesa lived with health issues linked with her weight. Bariatric surgeon Dr. Younan Nowzaradan (also known as Dr. Now) decided to operate on her right away. Coliesa had a heart attack at age 39, shortly before filming her episode. She was too heavy to survive an operation, so her heart was never repaired. After that, her fiance Melvin died in a car accident. Coliesa was devastated by the loss, but she did what she had to do to get through it. One of her coping strategies was emotional eating. She remarked that she spent most of her time in bed.
Many weight loss surgeons, including My 600 lb Life’s Dr. Nowzaradan, generally encourage their patients to lose significant amounts of weight before surgery, through diet and exercise. However, the famous surgeon felt that Coliesa’s health problems were so severe that she would have a better chance of survival if he did the surgery right away. Some details about what happened to her after the show have been revealed.
My 600-Lb Life’s Coliesa McMillian Has Passed Away
Unfortunately, Coliesa passed away shortly after the operation, and her My 600-Lb Life episode has been pulled from TLC. According to Starcasm, Coliesa was hospitalized for almost a month when a suture from the surgery popped. This led to her developing sepsis. Coliesa flat-lined in the emergency room while her doctors were working on her. After a few weeks, Coliesa’s daughter Hannah wrote that the My 600-Lb Life’s patient’s condition had improved. However, she was readmitted to the hospital in August. Coliesa died on September 22, 2022.
My 600-Lb Life’s Coliesa McMillian’s Exact Cause Of Death Is Unclear
Starcasm stated that there have been conflicting reports about the exact cause of Coliesa’s death. Although none of the news reports about her passing revealed the cause, the Wikipedia page for My 600-lb Life lists, “acute kidney failure and other complications related to weight loss surgery” as the reason, and features a reference to a TMZ story. Coliesa’s family members, who ran her official Facebook fan page at the time, wrote that she, “had health problems from her surgery and it just ended her life.”
Coliesa’s niece, Blair Shelton, who is a nurse, explained that the complications from her gastric sleeve surgery were too much for her. In a My 600-Lb Life fan group, she wrote that immediately after Coliesa’s bariatric surgery, a suture popped internally, triggering a hemorrhage. Dr. now performed emergency surgery to repair the problem. Blair alleged that My 600-Lb Life producers didn’t, “follow the correct timeline” about what happened to Coliesa. She wrote that Coliesa never fully recovered from the operation. She spent one and a half months on a ventilator in the ICU in Houston. Coliesa was partially paralyzed, and developed a bedsore. She also had a urinary tract infection, and became septic.
Blair wrote that cast member Coliesa was afraid of going to the doctor because of COVID-19. Her daughter was pregnant, and she was trying to stay safe to protect the expectant mother. When she eventually went to the emergency room, she was septic, and her kidneys were failing. Coliesa was barely producing any urine. According to Blair, the My 600-lb Life celeb was hospitalized and put on antibiotics.At that point, she was slipping in and out of consciousness. Her condition worsened, and the antibiotics were not effective. She passed away within a week of being in the ICU.
Although TLC pulled Coliesa’s My 600-Lb Life episode after her death, viewers still remember her brave journey on the show. She will be remembered as someone who put her family members first. Sincere condolences are offered to Coliesa’s family and friends.
My 600-Lb Life airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on TLC.