1000-lb Sisters: Season 4, Episode 6 Recap: ‘A Lot of Cooks in the Kitchen’

Last week’s episode of 1000-lb Sisters dropped a bombshell at the end: right after giving birth, Amy finds out her husband Michael has COVID-19 and she’ll be spending an extended period of time juggling raising their newborn and other child alone. This week’s episode deals with the aftermath of Michael’s COVID diagnosis and its complications for Amy, as well as Tammy’s inner battle with anxiety over passing the final assessments to get her weight-loss surgery.

The same day as their new son Glenn’s birth, Michael began to feel sick and tested positive for COVID. The two then worry about the health of their newborn son, but luckily Amy and Glenn both test negative and are discharged from the hospital.

Michael has to quarantine for ten days, but luckily Amy’s family has stepped in to assist her so that she doesn’t have to go through the first ten days of Glenn’s life by herself. After leaving the hospital, Amy and Glenn will stay with Amanda (while Gage will be with Amy’s mother-in-law.)

It’s a serious matter, but luckily Amanda doesn’t let things get too depressing, telling Amy: “hold on to your fupa!” as she drives them out of the hospital parking lot. She’s also ready to hold Amy accountable; as Amy craves a burger after pregnancy, Amanda is quick to remind her that’s not the best for staying on track with her weight loss goals.

Meanwhile, at her weight loss rehab center, Tammy is in good spirits after her weight loss surgery approval — and she hopes to be having her surgery within the week. Tammy’s new attitude and outlook on her situation has continued to approve, and she’s truly a different person from how she acted in prior seasons. She insists on keeping her hands busy to avoid the temptation of food, calling it ‘mind tricks’ and saying “I’m a gentie [sic]. Oh wait, not a genie…a magician!”

Tammy’s also happy at the fact that she’s inspiring her friends at the facility who are happy that she’s leaving but will miss her. Still, though, Tammy must pass more assessments before her surgery — including a lung specialist she’s worried about giving her approval, considering COVID and smoking have left her lungs weakened.

Perhaps more challenging for Tammy’s approval though, will be the green light from her therapist, whom she’s been rude and confrontational with in past weeks following the bad news about the passing of Little Bit and the robbery of her apartment. It’s important for the therapist to see Tammy’s made emotional and mental changes to be able to continue to be a success after the surgery, and her attitude during their last meeting wasn’t very encouraging.

The show skips over Amy’s time at Amanda’s house, fast forwarding to Michael’s negative COVID diagnosis and moving over to Amy and Glenn being able to return to their actual home for the first time since Glenn’s birth. Luckily, Michael’s COVID (or as Amy keeps calling it ‘Covic’) was mild with a headache being his primary symptom.

Amy finds herself annoyed that Michael didn’t clean while he was home alone, comparing his COVID quarantine to a vacation. She had a lot of help while she was staying with Amanda, and now she’s realizing that back at her own house, she’ll be the one primarily doing all the work.

Amy and Michael take a break from the household drama of raising two young boys and go for a family outing and horseback riding. Amy confesses to the family that the children’s diets are better than hers, and Amanda commiserates with her about diet struggling.

Both of Amy’s boys start crying and needing her attention during the family outing, and Michael doesn’t lift a finger to try and help while Amy scrambles to take care of them both, forcing Amanda and Chris to step in and help keep the kid’s calm.

“You’re not supposed to be doing this shit by yourself,” Amanda reminds Amy. “You’re married and have a husband. He’s supposed to be being a dad, too.” It’s damning words, especially coming from Amanda, who has always been the levelheaded voice of reason among the Slaton sisters’ family members. Still, Amy is battling feelings of worry over being a bad parent, and Michael taking a backseat role now that Glenn has arrived is a bad sign.

Just two weeks ago, Amy was desperate to see Michael again and have what she keeps referring to as “her perfect family” begin. But while the two were apart, Michael was able to rest and enjoy alone time — and it seems like now that the family is reunited, he’s checked out on his responsibilities as a dad.

Chris tries to bring up the mood of the family gathering with some horseback riding — something he hasn’t done since a teenager. “I didn’t realize how much I missed it, until I got back on that horse.” Chris feels very accomplished being able to go horseback riding — something he is able to do again thanks to his huge weight loss.

While Tammy isn’t with them, the family is missing her, and they discuss the activities they hope to one day share with her after she loses weight and can participate. Chris, Amanda and Misty all plan to go and be with Tammy for the surgery, and Amy wants to go too — but the four hour drive is a considerable one for the mother of a newborn, especially with Tammy having factors against her that may make the surgery approval difficult.

Tammy will head to her surgery in Lexington via ambulance, something she’s doing out of a concern for safety, especially with her trach posing issues that could kill her if problems arise during the four hour journey. During the trip, Tammy soon begins coughing uncontrollably — with Chris reminding viewers that the last time Tammy took a trip this long, she ended up in a coma.

It was a smart choice for Tammy to go via ambulance, because the nurse was able to quickly assist Tammy and soothe her dry throat. Tammy is exhausted when arriving, and is too tired to talk to the family when they arrive to greet her.

The doctors discuss the risks with Tammy about her approval steps. The pulmonologist is the one that worries Tammy and the family the most, and the doctor calculated Tammy’s risk — landing on a 39% chance that she will have a pulmonary complication post-surgery. It’s an elevated risk, but she still is approved by the pulmonologist.  The cardiologist and psychological evaluation both take into account Tammy’s heart issues as well as the risk she faces if she does not get the surgery — and she is approved.

Next week’s episode will see Amy seeing her doctor about her weight, while Tammy preps for surgery. Watch 1000-lb Sisters on TLC and streaming on Discovery+.