Makeup Artist Passes Away After Flying To Mexico To Get Weight Loss Surgery
Biloxi, Mississippi. 34-year-old Markita McIntyre was a self-taught makeup artist and mom of three children that many of her loved ones described as a beautiful soul.
“Markita was funny, outgoing, determined, and did exactly what her heart desired,” her obituary reads.
“Her beauty, charm, and graceful spirit would light up your world; let’s not be deceived; she was fiercely loyal to her family and close friends. Furthermore, she was a huge positive influence on the community.”
Not long ago, Markita decided to go on a weight loss journey and ended up losing around 25 pounds on her own.
Wanting to lose more weight, Markita then planned to have a weight loss procedure done.
Markita and one of her closest friends Franchesca both wanted gastric sleeve surgeries, and they were supposed to get their surgeries done at the same time.
Facebook; pictured above is Markita
The friends were going to travel to Mexico to save money on their procedures since the country is well known for having some of the most affordable surgeries in the world.
Gastric sleeve surgery involves having a surgeon remove a section of your stomach. The remainder of your stomach is then pieced back together, essentially creating a new, much smaller stomach than the one you originally had. After having this permanent procedure done, you can’t eat the same amount of food as you did before, which is the main way you continue to lose weight.
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Franchesca ended up backing out of the gastric sleeve surgery, but she was planning to get a tummy tuck instead. Markita wasn’t going to back out just because her friend did, so she traveled to Mexico anyway.
On May 6th, Markita went under the knife, but she never woke up. Unfortunately, something went terribly wrong during Markita’s surgery and she sadly did not survive the procedure.
Traveling outside of the US to have a medical procedure done is called “medical tourism” and it’s something the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tried to warn American citizens about.
Facebook; pictured above is another photo of Markita
“When reviewing the risks associated with medical tourism, travelers should consider both the procedure and destination,” the CDC wrote on their website. “Overseas facilities may not maintain accreditation or provider licensure, track patient outcome data, or maintain formal medical record privacy or security policies.”
“Medical tourists should also be aware that the drugs and medical products and devices used in foreign countries might not be subject to the same regulatory scrutiny and oversight as in the United States. In addition, some drugs may be counterfeit or otherwise ineffective (for example, expired, contaminated, or improperly stored).”
In light of Markita’s tragic passing, some of her family members are speaking out about the risks of traveling out of the country to have procedures like this done. You can donate to the GoFundMe created to help care for Markita’s children here.
Facebook; pictured above is one of Markita’s final posts as she traveled to Mexico
More About:Human Interest
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