Fitness influencer Lexi Reed is in the hospital “working on recovery” after she was placed in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator after her organs began to fail, according to her husband.
Reed, 31, who grew her social media following after she began documenting her 312lb-weight-loss journey alongside her husband Danny in 2016, has been in the hospital for a month, according to Danny, who shared a health update on her Instagram Thursday.
In the post, which shows Reed in a hospital bed, Danny said that “a few weeks ago” the fitness influencer had been getting sick and was struggling to keep food down. According to Danny, after Reed started “acting differently,” he brought her to the hospital, where she was placed in a medically induced coma and put on a ventilator.
“They also told me if I had waited it’s possible she could have died,” Danny said in the post, after explaining that doctors told him Reed’s organs were failing. “She is currently in dialysis, can’t walk, and working on recovery.
“Thank you all for your prayers, they all mean so much to us and this will be a long hard battle part of her story but she is strong!”
On Reed’s Instagram, Danny also shared an update about his wife’s health on her Stories, where he posted a video taken by Reed from her hospital bed and said that doctors told him she could have died if he had waited another day to bring her to the hospital.
According to Danny, Reed has been in the hospital for the last month, with the focus now on “getting Lexi back to health”.
Danny also noted that the couple “sadly” does not have health insurance.
Following the update, fans have flooded the comments under the post with well-wishes for Reed. “So many prayers and love sent her way. We love you, Lex!” one person wrote, while another fan said: “Praying for her, you and the family. I’m so sorry.”
Others encouraged Danny to set up a GoFundMe so that fans could help cover the costs of Reed’s hospital bills.
Reed, who goes by the username @fatgirlfedup on Instagram, where she has more than 1.2m followers, and on YouTube, where she has 90,000 subscribers, became a well-known influencer after documenting her and Danny’s weight-loss journey. The couple ultimately lost a combined 407lbs.
The Independent has contacted Danny for comment.