900-Pound Man Battles The Bulge

Ricky Naputi lives less than half a mile from a gorgeous tropical beach on the island of Guam, but he hasn’t seen the beautiful coastline in years.

Naputi, 39, weighs 900 pounds and the massive weight makes it difficult for him to go to the beach — or anywhere — because island transportation cannot support his weight.

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“The last time I got out and enjoyed myself must have been years,” Naputi said on “900 Pound Man: The Race Against Time,” a documentary debuting May 22 on TLC. “I miss feeling the sun on my face. Miss showering, feeling the water run down my body.”

Things get so bad for him that he is forced to attempt to lose enough weight so that he can fly safely to the U.S. mainland for potentially life-saving surgery.

Naputi is not alone in his struggle. While he spends his days in bed, his wife of 10 years, Cheryl, takes care of his every need, including shopping, cooking and giving him sponge baths. She even helps him go to the toilet.

“It’s like taking care of an overgrown baby,” she said on the special.

Naputi was already morbidly obese when he met his wife, but he managed to charm her over the phone so much that she wanted to meet him in the flesh.

“When I went to Ricky’s apartment, he only cracked [the door] open an inch or so,” she said.

She pushed the door open and they’ve been together ever since.