Dolly Martinez’s sister, Lindsey Cooper, is revealing the details of the former reality TV star’s final days before she tragically died on Saturday, April 11. Cooper exclusively tells Us Weekly that Martinez was put on a ventilator on March 30, nearly two weeks before she passed away at the age of 30.
“When I think of my sister, I think of love,” Martinez exclusively tells Us Weekly. “All Dolly ever wanted was to be loved and to love other people. And I felt like she did that. She did that everywhere she went.”
She continued, “No matter her size, no matter what people said about her or how they treated her, you could always come to Dolly and she would be there for you and not judge you.”
While Cooper says she was “not alerted” of her sister’s hospitalization before she was put on the ventilator on March 30, she feels content with their final goodbye.
Cooper reveals that once she arrived at the hospital, she sat with Martinez and had “tea-time,” where she spilled the proverbial tea about family drama and other “spicy things” that she knew her sister would have loved.
She adds that she could tell Martinez was listening because her eyes would twitch and move as she spoke.
Cooper also recalls bringing pink nail polish, cleaning wipes and moisturizer to the hospital to “clean her up.” She painted Martinez’s nails with the bright polish, telling Us it was her sister’s “favorite color.”
She confirms that the My 600-Lb. Life star died of congestive heart failure.
Martinez’s doctors initially considered performing a tracheostomy, Cooper says, but opted against the procedure when they realized her lungs weren’t functioning well enough to be taken off the ventilator.
According to Cooper, Martinez’s oxygen levels kept dropping and on the day she died, the level was only 50 percent. (Per the Cleveland Clinic, an oxygen level below 90 percent is considered dangerous and potentially life-threatening.)
Despite being hospitalized for weeks, Cooper says Martinez’s final days were full of love. She tells Us that her sister died “pain-free and at peace.”
Cooper explains that Martinez’s heart just stopped — but she wasn’t alone in her final moments. Copper was holding Martinez’s hand when she died, telling Us that she placed a locket with her dad’s ashes between their palms.
She adds that other loved ones — including Martinez’s mom, Staci Thurman, and their cousin Gina — were all in the room as well when Martinez died.
Martinez gained fame in 2021 when she appeared on season 10 of My 600-Lb. Life. When she began filming the TLC series, Martinez weighed just under 600 pounds and was on supplemental oxygen.
During her episode, she moved to Houston, Texas, to be closer to bariatric surgeon Dr. Now’s office. While she ultimately lost 40 pounds, Martinez was not approved for the weight-loss procedure.
Prior to her death, Martinez’s sister asked for prayers amid her two-week hospital stay. On Saturday, Cooper confirmed her death via a Facebook statement.
“It is with a heavy heart that I share the passing of my beautiful sister, Dolly,” Cooper wrote. “Dolly had the brightest personality, she could light up any room with her laughter, her kindness, and her loving spirit. She had a way of making everyone feel special, and her warmth will stay with us forever.”
The statement continued, “While our hearts are broken here, I find comfort in knowing she is now reunited with our dad in heaven. I can only imagine the joy of that reunion. Rest peacefully, Dolly. You will always be loved, always be missed, and never forgotten.”
