Lubov Nurdinova, who was Russia’s heaviest woman before turning her life around and losing 200 kg (440 pounds), has died at 57, local media said. Nurdinova hoped her dramatic weight loss would inspire others.
The woman, a resident of Tuymen, a city in Siberia some 2,143 kilometers (1,332 mi) east of Moscow, had become a sort of nationwide celebrity not long before her passing, after her story grabbed attention of the local and later national media earlier this year.
Nurdinova had been bed-bound for years and had to rely on her 25-year-old son as a caretaker. The woman was living off a disability pension and it was her desperate plea for help, carried by a local news website 72.ru. that resulted in her being admitted to hospital, where she slimmed down to some 150 kg (330 pounds), a far cry from her starting weight of 350kg (771 pounds).
Her inspirational story saw her being thrust into the national spotlight, even earning her appearances on a popular TV show.
In April, she underwent a weight loss surgery and was filmed taking her first steps in what is believed to be many years less than a week after the procedure.
Nurdinova, who worked as a nursery cook before being forced to quit her job due to her weight, had said she hoped her success would inspire others, suffering from morbid obesity, to not give up and change their lives for the better.
“I thought that my life came to an end, I thought that I would die. But now, I do not want to die, I want to live,” she was cited saying back in April. She told journalists that she dreamt of leaving her house, dressing up and going out into the city one day.
However, her dream of starting a new life from scratch was not to be. In early May, Nurdinova was hospitalized after taking 47 antidepressant pills.
While doctors saved her some time, local media reported that Nurdinova had been suffering from a severe depression, and stopped answering the door and responding to messages from journalists since June. 72.ru confirmed Nurdinova’s passing, citing sources, on Saturday.
