Apr 10, 2009 1:32 am US/Eastern
Terrell Brooks Jr.
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Terrell Brooks Jr., one of three contestants in the CBS4 Subway Get Fit Challenge
CBS
Many people have had their life put at risk because of their weight, but Terrell Brook's Jr.'s story may be unique. He was forced to tread water at sea for almost 18 hours because he was too big to climb into a boat.
Terrell, a 31-year-old lifelong resident of Miami who graduated from Sunset High, was boating with a friend when the craft capsized. The two men were unable to right the boat, but Terrell's friend was able to climb out of the water to wait for rescue.
Terrell, who weighed more than 400 pounds, could not haul himself out of the water and onto the relative safety of the hull. For 18 hours, he clung to the boat, worrying about sharks, until rescue arrived.
That helped him to decide it was time to do something about his weight.
"I quit drinking," he said. That helped him lose weight. "I quit smoking," he said. That helped the pounds return.
That's hurt him in his battle of the bulge.
"It's time I swallowed my pride," he wrote in his essay submitted with his entry to the Subway Get Fit Challenge, "and asked for help to save my own life.
Terrell says both his father and grandfather are diabetic. He didn't know if he was too. When asked the last time he'd seen a doctor, he told the judging panel, "I try to stay away from that guy." He laughed, but his potential health problems have him worried.
His weight is not only a health issue, it's a social handicap. Terrell said he was turned down for a job as a bartender because the bar owner told him, "Customers don't want some big fat buy behind the bar."
Terrell is unemployed, laid off from his previous job, and says he lacks the self confidence to compete for new employment, despite a good record on past jobs.
"People don't see me as Terrell, the Manager of the Year," he wrote in his essay. "They see me as 'look at this huge guy, he must be lazy'."
He knows that's not the case, but knows he needs to change.
"I need help and can't afford a personal trainer or gym membership," he said. "I have the heart and ambition to do this once and for all. I think a group support atmosphere would be encouraging."
Terrell wants a new life, and now has a chance to earn one.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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