Cherokee teen drops 80 pounds at weight-loss school

Monday, May 5, 2008  

Carol Oocumma, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, has lost 80 pounds since enrolling in a weight-loss boarding school in North Carolina.

At 5-foot-8 and 270 pounds, the 13-year-old Oocumma was teased at school for her weight. She was used to eating fry bread and fried chicken and got little to no exercise.

After six months at the Wellspring Academy, Oocumma is eating more healthy and becoming more active. She used her per capita funds to pay for the $6,250 monthly tuition after a tribal doctor discovered that she had high cholesterol, high blood pressure and was considered morbidly obese.

Get the Story:
Weight-loss school changes the course of teen’s life (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 5/5)