A teenager who watched her obese mother die of a heart attack has undergone weight loss surgery at 16 to avoid the same fate.
Muriel Mena, 18, was just a toddler when her mother Debbie Mena, 44, suffered a heart attack at the family's home in Whitman, Massachusetts.
Then aged three, Muriel watched in horror as her mother Debbie collapsed in front of her in 2004.
Debbie, who weighed around 300lbs, knocked over Muriel's toy kitchen as she fell to the floor and had passed away by the time paramedics brought her to hospital.
Terrified she would also die young, the teenager - who weighed 275lbs (19st 6lbs) - had a vertical sleeve gastrectomy at 16, and has since lost 100lbs.
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| Muriel Mena (Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk) |
Muriel said: 'Me and my mother were at home the day she died and she started experiencing pains.
'She called 911 from the bathroom so I wouldn't hear. I remember even though I was young.
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| Source:https://i.dailymail.co.uk |
'When she came out she fell onto the floor just as the paramedics came right in. I always remember she knocked over my toy kitchen.
'She was brought to hospital but she sadly died. They determined that she had a heart attack.
'I believe she was over 300lbs when she died and did live with heart disease.'
Muriel was raised by her dad Jose Mena, 69, a retired maintenance worker, but said her weight was a constant struggle throughout her childhood.
The teen's love of fried chicken and piled-high portions of rice and mashed potato led her to tip the scales at 275lbs (19st 6lbs) by the time she started high school.
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| Source:https://i.dailymail.co.uk |
She said: 'For as long as I remember I always felt like I was bigger than everyone else.
'Even though I felt like I was quite sporty and I played soccer growing up, my weight was out of control.
'I think genetics plays a part, but my lifestyle was unhealthy too.
'I had a lot of unhealthy eating habits. I would eat in secret a lot because I was scared of people judging me.'
A wake-up call came in 2016 when a blood test revealed her cholesterol was sky-high and she was in danger of developing type two diabetes.
The high school student feared she would die young like her mother and was afraid of having to take insulin daily like her father Jose, who lives with diabetes.
Muriel said: 'It wasn't until I had a blood test and I discovered I was at risk of type two diabetes. My cholesterol was really high and I had problems with my liver.
'My dad is a diabetic and he has to take insulin shots every day.
'I was close to being diabetic and I just didn't want to have to wake up and give myself shots in the belly every day for the rest of my life.
'It was scary for me especially when I think about how my mother died.
'I didn't want to leave my kids behind. I want to have a full and happy life.
Doctors discussed the option of weight loss surgery and she decided to undergo a vertical sleeve gastrectomy in August 2017.
She now works out four times a week, has shed 100lbs (7st 1lb) and says the surgery has greatly altered her life.
Muriel said: 'It was then my doctor brought up the possibility of weight loss surgery.
'My dad and my stepmom didn't want me to do it. At 16, weight loss surgery seems like a foreign idea.
'But I knew that medical intervention was necessary for me.'
Muriel underwent the procedure, which reduced the size of her stomach, in Boston Children's Hospital but the teen warned it is not an easy process.
She added: 'For two weeks after the surgery I lived on just chicken broth. I will have to eat a low-carb, high-protein diet for the rest of my life.
'It can be quite dangerous for me if I don't eat my 60 grams of protein a day because my muscles will deteriorate.
'You need to take vitamins because you really lack nutrition after the surgery.
'I had some insane side effects. For instance chunks of my hair started falling out, which was scary.
'I wouldn't recommend this surgery to someone who wants to do it for vanity or to look good in a prom dress. My health was the motivation.'
Since losing the weight Muriel has gone zip-lining on a trip to Costa Rica, something she wouldn't have been able to do at 275lbs (19st 6lbs).
She said: 'I weighed in under 197lbs (14st) by January 2018 which was crazy. It felt really weird but I was so excited.
'It was my goal to be below 200lbs (14st 2lbs) before my school trip to Costa Rica.
'I was at a safe weight to go zip-lining in Monteverde which was an incredible experience.'
Muriel, who now weighs 175lbs (12st 5lbs), said although weight loss surgery in teens is a controversial topic, the procedure has greatly improved her health and lifestyle.
'I'm glad I did it.
'I did not want to have diabetes like my dad or die as young as my mother did. I happy I don't have to worry about that anymore.
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