'If you don't walk you could die': Morbidly obese woman willingly puts her life at risk after refusing to get out of bed on My 600lb Life

 A morbidly obese woman put her life in danger by refusing to walk after her gastric bypass surgery - even though she was warned that she could develop a blood clot from her lack of physical activity and die.

When Pauline Potter, 51, from Sacramento, California, joined TLC's obesity series My 600lb Life, she weighed nearly 700lbs and was completely dependent on her 21-year-old son Dillon. But after finally realizing the severe impact her weight was having on her health, she and Dillon decided to make the move to Houston, Texas, so that Pauline could receive treatment from obesity specialist Dr Younan Nowzaradan.

But despite claiming that she was committed to shedding her excess weight after undergoing a gastric bypass – saying that she determined to do so for the sake of her son – Pauline quickly started making excuses to avoid getting out of bed following the procedure.  

'She still has to make the decision to be healthy on her own,' Dr Nowzaradan told the cameras. 'If she doesn't the surgery will be a waste. This is her last chance. I hope she takes it.'

Although Dr Nowzaradan explained that she was putting herself in danger of developing a life-threatening blood clot, Pauline tearfully refused to get up.

'I pulled a muscle in my stomach,' she told him. 'I know you always think it's an excuse, but if it's hurting me, it is there.'

She added: 'I am only on day five of a really big surgery.' 

Dr Nowzaradan reminded her that patients are typically discharged just two days after having gastric bypass.

'You are making excuses that are not acceptable,' he said. 'I want to see you walk out of this room.'

But Pauline continued to make excuses for her frustrating behavior, tearfully telling her doctor that he couldn't – and shouldn’t – expect such fast results. 

Because she wouldn't walk, she had no other choice but to undergo another high-risk surgery to put a blood clot filter into her leg.

And after spending several months in the hospital, Pauline was finally ready to be discharged – but still refused to get up at her doctor's request.

Dr Nowzaradan, who was concerned that Pauline would end up undoing the results her surgery, noted that she had been a difficult patient throughout her stay.

'Her attitude is her biggest problem right now,' he said.

When viewers first met Pauline she was being cared for by her son and her niece Megan. She wasn't able to do anything on her own except 'feed and wipe' herself.

'I am absolutely trapped in this body,' she explained. 'I let myself get way out of control. I feel like I am dying every day.'

While her niece washed her hair and gave her sponge baths, Dillon had the full-time job of being her primary caregiver.

'I do feel bad for Dillon just because it doesn't seem like he has had much of a life,' Megan said, explaining to the cameras that his relationship with his mom is more like that of a client and their caregiver.

Although she felt like a burden, Pauline said she couldn't stop eating and called it the 'highlight' of her day.

Pauline explained that she had been struggling with her weight since she was a child. When her parents had gotten divorce, she often went hungry because her mother was a homemaker and unable to buy them food.

After her parents got back together and food was readily available, she started 'overdoing it'.

Pauline said she began to get 'chubby' when she was eight-years-old, and by the time she was 17, she weighed nearly 300lbs. She hit the 500lb mark at 29 - the same year she gave birth to Dillon.

'I’ll probably die in my bed one day and I don’t want my son to find me,' she told the cameras tearfully. 'I feel like I’ve done enough damage to him that that’ll be the final straw.' 

But eight months after she started her journey, not much had changed for Pauline or Dillon.

Although she had gotten down to 535lbs, she wasn't losing weight like she was expected to.

She also stubbornly refused to do anything but limited activities of her choosing. She skipped several physical therapy appointments and opted to go swimming instead.

'The pool is safer than the physical therapist's office,' she said. 'If I fall it would be a dangerous situation.'

While Pauline was thrilled that she lost nearly 150lbs, Dr Nowzaradan reminded her that she should have dropped at least another 60lbs since leaving hospital.