My 600-Lb. Life alum Pauline Potter has died at 62, just months after being involved in a serious car accident earlier this year. Pauline passed away on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, leaving her family heartbroken.
Her son, Dillon, shared the news in an emotional YouTube video on November 30, explaining the long health battle his mother faced following a collision in January.
According to Dillon, he and his mom were driving on a dark two-lane highway when they crashed into a stopped truck and trailer that had no lights on. The driver claimed he’d run out of gas, but because the trailer wasn’t lit, Dillon and Pauline didn’t see it until it was too late.
“We hit the trailer,” Dillon said. “The car was totaled.” Both suffered wrist and hand pain, and Pauline later learned she had broken ribs and a large gash on her left leg.
Despite being checked at the hospital immediately after the crash, doctors initially told Pauline nothing was wrong. But within a week or two, she was back in the ER with severe chest pain. That’s when the broken ribs were finally diagnosed, and she was sent home to heal.
By late June, things took a sharp turn. Pauline suddenly couldn’t keep any food down — “everything she ate or drank kept coming back up,” Dillon said. Yet again, doctors told her they couldn’t find the cause.
In August, after more tests, doctors finally discovered a blockage in her esophagus that was forcing food back up. She also tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to the hospital long-term. While hospitalized, doctors found a severe untreated wound on her back. Dillon said his mom seemed embarrassed and had hidden it from everyone.
Doctors wanted to perform procedures to treat her various health issues, but her condition was so unstable that they couldn’t safely move forward. Pauline also struggled with malnutrition because she still couldn’t keep food down. Dillon said she often refused treatment on the back wound, telling staff it was too painful.
In November, the family was told there was nothing more doctors could do. Pauline was sent home on hospice care around November 19 to stay at her sister’s house. Dillon said some days she seemed alert and talkative, but other days she was in significant pain.
On Thanksgiving Day, Pauline passed away before Dillon was able to reach the home.
“We were all going to gather there,” he said. “Right when I was leaving to head over, I got the call saying she had passed.”
A GoFundMe has been launched to help cover cremation costs. As of December 11, the fundraiser had collected $125 of its $1,400 goal.
Pauline was from Sacramento and first appeared on My 600-Lb. Life in 2015. In 2016, she was named the world’s heaviest living woman by Guinness World Records at more than 647 pounds. Over the years, she shared updates about her weight loss journey on Facebook, celebrating dropping to 226 pounds in 2020 — the smallest she had ever been as an adult.