‘1,000-Lb. Sisters’ Star Tammy Slaton Surprises Surgeon by Walking on Her Own Without Oxygen

Tammy Slaton surprised her surgeon on his birthday by walking alone as she showed her progress in losing weight. Last week, the 1000-lb. Sisters star came to Dr. Eric Smith’s office to surprise him and his staff. Smith recorded the significant moment on his Instagram account, and in the video, Slaton is seen walking on her own and later hugging Smith. Moreover, Slaton is seen taking great pride in the fact that she can walk without her oxygen tube. Another staff member embraces Slaton and then begins to cry happy tears. 

Slaton asks the staffer if she’s crying, which evokes an “Aww” from Slaton. “Look who came to visit me on my birthday! @queentammy86,” Smith captioned his post. The doctor also posed with TLC star Chris Combs and Slaton in a separate Instagram post. “Feeling blessed today from all the birthday love from my patients, staff, friends and family,” Smith captioned the post. “You all mean the world to me and make every year more exciting!”

In an Instagram post from just a few weeks ago, Slaton shared photos of herself posing without an oxygen tube. Prior to that post, Slaton had not posted a picture without an oxygen tube or trachea tube since her birthday on July 27, 2021. During the most recent season of the reality show, Slaton documented her weight loss journey and achieved a significant goal that qualified her for weight loss surgery. The reality star was ecstatic when she saw the scale drop from 717 to 534 pounds. “When I got on the scale and I saw the scale was at 534.7, I kinda stopped breathing for a second,” she said during the Feb. 7 episode. “I’m like 14 lbs. under my goal weight. From over 700, that’s a huge drop.”

She added, “I’m feeling thrilled, proud, excited — just all the emotions. I proved everybody wrong. Everybody that doubted me, I finally got mine! My told-you-so moment!” As a result of the weight loss, Slaton qualified for bariatric surgery with Dr. Smith. The series aired an episode on Feb. 28 in which Slaton was greeted by her entire family as she left the Ohio rehabilitation facility where she had been staying to undergo the weight loss operation. Slaton shed tears during the emotional moment, with the 36-year-old speaking to the camera that she “needed to know that they loved me no matter what” in the wake of her family’s support. “I needed to know that they’re here for me. They love me. That’s one of the biggest things to help push me through to get to where I am now,” she shared.