By LAURA HEDGES FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA
A morbidly obese Indonesian woman has undergone life-saving weight loss surgery after begging the government for help.
Titi Wati, 37, from Palangka Raya City in Central Kalimantan, weighed an astounding 220kilograms and was unable to move, sit or stand on her own.
She had been spending her days lying on her stomach on the floor, but on Tuesday she underwent a medical procedure – funded by the government – to put her on the path to a healthier future.
The operation took place at Palangkaraya Regional Hospital and lead surgeon Dr Gede Eke Rusdi Antara told local reporters Ms Wati’s stomach had shrunk by up to 60 per cent following the surgery.
‘Titi Wati has now come to and is in the Intensive Care Unit for close monitoring for the next 24 hours,’ Hospital Director Yayuk Indriarti told local news outlet Antara.
‘We pray that her condition improves and stabilises after undergoing bariatric surgery.’
Ms Wati had been living off a diet of Indonesian gorengan – a range of different sweet and savoury foods being coated in batter and fried – as well as fizzy drinks and other unhealthy snacks.
Mr Indriarti said Ms Wati’s diet would be controlled post-surgery until she was stable and safe.
If the 37-year-old follows the advice of doctors, she is expected to lose 15-25kg per month.
Ms Wati said she wasn’t always this size, noting that she ‘was slim and had long hair’.
‘But for more than six years, I have only been able to lie on my stomach,’ she said.
‘Whenever I try to get up, I feel cramp-like pain in my legs, then I feel pain all over my body.’
Ms Wati is looked after at her home by her only daughter Herlina, 19, who feeds and bathes her, while her husband Edi works as a carpenter.
Over the years, Ms Wati had tried other methods of losing weight, including consuming herbal drinks which did have an effect.
However, these drinks were expensive and with her husband’s income alone paying for their rented accommodation and daughter’s studies, they were unable to afford them long-term.
When they first approached the government for help, the main issue they faced was how to get Ms Wati to hospital as she could not walk.
The head of Palangkaraya’s Health Agency, Dr Suyuti Syamsul, said they had considered using a forklift to carry her.
‘We need to disassemble the house door, or we can get her out through a window, as long as her family allows it,’ he said.
