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World's fattest man, Ricky Naputi, ate himself to death at almost 900 pounds


TV cameras documented what ended up being Naputi's last days for a TLC special entitled '900 Pound Man: Race Against Time.'

The tragic final days of one of the world's fattest men were spent desperately hoping to lose the weight that kept him bedridden for five years.

Ricky Naputi, who weighed nearly 900 pounds, died in November 2012, but before he passed, the 39-year-old opened up his home to reality TV cameras from TLC. The cable network aired his story Wednesday night in a special called "900 Pound Man: Race Against Time."

Naputi, who lived in the U.S. island territory Guam, was bedridden and confined to his home, unable to walk or to bathe himself.

Naputi, who lived in Guam, was working on losing enough weight to be able to fly to the U.S. for weight loss surgery.
 
TLC Naputi, who lived in Guam, was working on losing enough weight to be able to fly to the U.S. for weight loss surgery.
 
"The last time I got out and enjoyed myself must have been years. I miss feeling the sun on my face. Miss showering, feeling water run down my body," he said at one point.

But Naputi had also vowed to turn his life around. He was working on losing enough weight to be able to fly to the continental U.S. for weight loss surgery.

"I'm willing to try my best," he said. "My one goal and my one goal only is to get my life back."
Naputi's wife Cheryl, who had been with him for 10 years, gave her husband sponge baths and helped him to use the restroom.
 
TLC Naputi's wife Cheryl, who had been with him for 10 years, gave her husband sponge baths and helped him to use the restroom.

The show also revealed Naputi's loving relationship with his wife, Cheryl, his primary caretaker.

Cheryl acted as Ricky's nurse, cooking for him, giving him sponge baths and helping him go to the bathroom, which she likened to "taking care of an overgrown baby."

At the time of his death, Ricky Naputi weighed  almost 900 pounds.
 
TLC At the time of his death, Ricky Naputi weighed almost 900 pounds.
 
The two met 10 years ago, and at first communicated only over the phone. Naputi was already obese, but still far from his heaviest.

"He asked me for my number so he could call me up, so we could talk," a smiling Cheryl told the cameras.

"When I went to Ricky's apartment ... he only cracked [the door] about an inch."