Family pleads for help finding medical care for 800-pound brother

By Johnette Magner

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    TEXARKANA, Texas (KTBS) — A family in East Texas is desperately seeking assistance for their brother, Christopher Harrell, who requires specialized medical care that local hospitals are unable to provide due to his size.

Harrell, who family members say weighs nearly 800 pounds, has been facing significant challenges since a New Year’s Eve incident left him immobile.

On that night, Harrell fell in his home; his legs too weak to support him. When he called 911, firefighters had to cut a hole in his wall to extract him and load him into an ambulance. He was taken to Christus St. Michael Hospital in Texarkana, where the staff has struggled to accommodate his needs.

“I was brought into the emergency room at St. Michael’s in Texarkana and left on the floor for a few days,” Harrell said. “Because they didn’t have a bariatric bed for me.”

The hospital eventually secured a bariatric bed, but it broke under his weight within hours. According to Harrell’s sister, Victoria Lyle, technicians have worked on the bed repeatedly, but it remains unreliable.

Adding to the challenges, Harrell cannot fit into the hospital’s CAT scan machine for critical tests, and the hospital is not equipped to manage long-term care for someone of his size. Despite efforts by social workers, no suitable facility has been found.

“They’ve called 28 places,” said Lyle. “Austin, Houston, even the doctor from the TV show My 600-lb Life won’t take patients over 700 pounds. Right now, they know he’s maxing out the bed at 750.”

Dr. James Barnes, a Shreveport-based bariatric surgeon who works with morbidly obese patients, said it’s difficult to find care for individuals in Harrell’s condition.

“Usually, in these situations, you try to find a place that can take them for six months to a year,” he said. “Controlled diets and medications like GLP-1 inhibitors can help get them to a weight where you can do something.”

Harrell, a 50-year-old online Spanish teacher and talented artist, remains hopeful despite the challenges. His family shares his determination, refusing to give up on finding a solution.

“I’m not too proud to admit that I’m scared,” Harrell said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but my goal is to just put one foot in front of the next and figure out the steps I need to take to get help.”

The Harrell family is asking anyone with information about a facility capable of accommodating Christopher to give them a call at 903-399-7964 or 903-293-7634.

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