Since their debut on TLC back in 2020, Tammy and her sister Amy have opened up their lives to viewers, documenting their physical and emotional challenges as they began their weight loss journey together. At the start, the sisters had a combined weight that crossed the 1000-pound mark.
At her heaviest, Tammy weighed 725 pounds. She had to rely on a walker and a wheelchair to move around, and also needed an oxygen tube to help her breathe properly.
On top of that, she had to cope with deep personal loss, including the heartbreaking death of her husband Caleb Willingham, who passed away in 2023 at just 40 years old.
Despite the many obstacles she’s faced, Tammy never gave up. She eventually managed to lose enough weight to be approved for bariatric surgery—a procedure that gave her an extra push in her transformation.
She’s been proudly sharing her incredible progress through before-and-after photos on TikTok, showing just how far she’s come.
She reflected during the podcast: “I see pictures of me now and I think ‘wow.'”
She also took time to talk about how tough it was to lose the weight needed to qualify for surgery. These challenges were made even harder because of the restrictions and limitations brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Even with that setback, Tammy pushed through and made it happen and she’s not letting anything hold her back now.
In the weeks following her skin removal surgery, Tammy spoke to People about how she’s been adjusting and what the experience has been like for her.
Although she’s been through several intense procedures over the years, Tammy confessed that the idea of having her skin removed made her feel the most anxious.
“I was really nervous for the skin removal surgery because I was really just kind of afraid of how I’m gonna feel looking at myself without the belly there.” she said.
Thankfully, everything has gone really well since her operation. In fact, doctors and medical staff were surprised and impressed by how fast her body started to recover.
She also mentioned: “I surprised the doctors with how well my body was healing. I ended up coming home from Pittsburgh, like, four days early.”