TLC’s Family by the Ton doesn’t shy away from the most painful moments in people’s journeys to weight loss. The spinoff of the popular My 600-lb Life, airing Wednesday nights, follows a number of families struggling with obesity issues.
In this exclusive clip from this week’s episodes, which TLC provided to Men’s Health, star Ed Barnes gets ready to go under the knife—well, technically, robots—the day before his planned gastric bypass surgery. The type of bariatric surgery makes the stomach smaller in order to change the way the body digests food.
Barnes, who weighs 415 pounds, sits his kids down with help from his wife the night before the surgery to see if they have any questions (they do) and prepare them for what he’ll undergo. “It’s scaring me to tell them the truth about what could happen and this could possibly be the last time they talk to me,” he says.
Then Barnes’ kids give him cards to cheer him up about the process. One daughter’s heartfelt card calls him the “best dad ever,” and adds, “When you go to your surgery tomorrow, I don’t want you to be nervous. I want you to be happy that you’ll be able to do more with our family and enjoy it.” It’s a moment packed with mixed emotions, and Barnes appropriately cries at the gesture. Watch the exclusive clip below.