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Sad Obesity Story
This story is just plain sad on so many levels.
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38 Responses to “Sad Obesity Story”
Republican health care policies at work…
I have no idea why DQ thinks this has anything to do with partisan politics. Like you said, Patrick — sadsad on so many levels.
“has anything to do with partisan politics”
Because the Republicans have said they wanted “reform” but acted as though they want to maintain the status quo, that's why. And old man told me once, that when observing politicians that I shouldn't pay attention to what they say, but what they did is what counted.
Do you see the Republicans doing ANYTHING to relieve the suffering of people that can't get insurance? Me either.
At one point in my life I was morbidly obese (packed on a extra 185 pounds) to my 285 pound offensive lineman frame. While I was always mobile, the shame of being that obese, along with the lack of good clothing, made me want to withdraw. I fought hard and got through it (I now weigh 265 at 6' 3″). But alot of people don't have the support system like I had to fight through this.
I wish I could have met Mr. Tilman before I got so far gone. I've helped a few other morbidly obese people get the ship righted.
Sad… So very sad…
“I now weigh 265 at 6' 3″”
That is still pretty high. I am 6'3″ and the most I have weighed is 195 which meant my clothes didn't fit.
I had a job once as an AB on tankers where I consumed 4000 calories a day (for the curious, that is two or three steaks at dinner, a dozen eggs at breakfast, etc) and I still could not stop losing weight. I finally stopped and leveled out at 145. My wife and other women said i was nothing but sticks and bones. Now I have a small paunch and weigh 165.
I find it hard to believe that help was not available if the right people were made aware of the situation. It is a sad situation, but sadder still that someone did not know how to get help or at least notify someone that could.
I have no idea why DQ thinks this has anything to do with partisan politics. Like you said, Patrick — sadsad on so many levels.
Perhaps because Republicans oppose health care reform and the paragraph quoted states that the man did not have insurance?
A man is sick, he goes to the hospital, hospital discovers that he has no health insurance, hospital does the bare minimum and send man home, man dies… SOP
The Democrats are attempting and have attempted in the past to change the health-care system so that these sort of things didn't happen on a regular basis, Republicans have done everything they could in the past to derail any attempt at reforming the health-care system, and when given an opportunity to vote for health-care reform (other than tort reform) they will vote en masse against it, therefor one is left with the powerful impression that they like the health-care system just the way it is ie if you don't have the means to pay for health-care, just go home and die quietly…
I fought hard and got through it (I now weigh 265 at 6' 3″). But alot of people don't have the support system like I had to fight through this.
One of the things that is perhaps saddest of all about this story is how uncommon it is to find a response as kind and caring as this one.
Thank you, T.
My ex is 6'2″ and weighed between 145 and 165 during the time I knew him. And even at 165 he was very thin. People's frames make a big difference in whether what seems like a high number on the scale actually translates to overweight or obese.
Perhaps because Republicans oppose health care reform and the paragraph quoted states that the man did not have insurance?
It is a sad story. But suggesting “having health insurance” is the answer to “weighing 700 pounds” seems a tad simplistic. This guy clearly had some deep issues that didn't come down to one emergency room visit. Is the support system T-Steel refers to really the sort of thing the government can provide?
And blaming Republicans is simply out of line.
In fact the story makes it clear that he had offers of help but declined them because of personal embarassment.
Making this a partisan attack line is disgusting.
stjames, “I find it hard to believe that help was not available if the right people were made aware of the situation.”
I agree. The key is that many people do not know available resources. I would imagine that if they do not have health insurance they may not feel that there are ANY resources available to them. Also I don't know the resources available where this took place, in Greenwood, SC but big cities have more resources than smaller communities.
As a general lament…. why can't people understand that health insurance is vital to the well being of our country and recognize that what works for them does not work for anyone else?
What's amazing is that many Republicans will blame Dems over this and many Dems will blame Republicans…. There is no “one” party to blame for this situation. It is what it is and as a country we all arrived at this place together. Having said that….. the GOP is being shrill, obstructionistic and downright lies with regards to the good work the Democratic Party is trying to do on healthcare/insurance reform. Both “sides” need to get over the inability to work together, and negotiate in good faith legislation which addressed the needs of their constituents. America will be stronger for it.
In fact the story is pretty clear, the patient went to the hospital, got the bare minimum done to fix his condition and got sent home in an AMBULANCE. How many patients have you seen get sent home from a hospital in an AMBULANCE?
Now if the man had had health insurance, they would have sent him in an AMBULANCE to a facility such as this one: Catholic Medical Center -Obesity Treatment Center to get help, it may not have worked but at least he would not have died in his feces.
Why? I can hear Rush Limbaugh saying far more worse any given of the week with far less basis in reality…
Why? It's exactly what Republicans would do if the shoe was on the other foot… If the Nurse's Union had refused to treat him because he could not pay his bill, Republicans would not lose a second before attacking Unions, Democrats and which ever minority they could come up with…
Aren't you folks getting tired, yet, of the reactionary finger-pointing? Did you even read the article? Or are we all devolving into headline skimmers and fast-quote concluders now?
This is a story, bottom line, of a man who had an extremely severe problem, but was so ashamed of himself that he repeatedly declined assistance — from a number of sources. I feel horribly sad for him; I cannot imagine the anguish his wife suffered as well.
And although I'm not feeling sadness at the partisan knee-jerking here on this thread, I am feeling some despair.
No…
This is a story, bottom line, of a man who had an extremely severe problem, who went to the hospital and because he did not have health-insurance was not given the appropriate for a man in his condition.
Why? It's exactly what Republicans would do if the shoe was on the other foot
And that wouldn't make it right. Show me how Dick Cheney was force-feeding the guy for the past 20 years, and you'll have a case.
Who cares? It works… Which is why you have 52% of Republicans believing that ACORN stole the election for Obama.
He couldn't have done that, he was to busy running Halliburton into the ground prior to selecting himself as VP and staring a pointless war in which defenseless Iraqis were slaughtered by the thousands. Said war was then used to bailout Halliburton. That takes time and effort…
Well said PM.
Okay, I'll settle for Liz Cheney. Or Nancy Reagan?
The larger question is how much responsibility we all bear to help those who won't help themselves, of which this case is as good an example as I can imagine.
My answer is some, but only a limited amount. You may paint that as cold-hearted; I'd call it having a sense of realistic humility about how many problems we can actually fix. And I'd call the alternative–seizing literally unlimited amounts of someone else's money to spend on lost causes–even more cold-hearted.
I played college football at 285 so I'm 20 below that. Got a pulse rate of 65, blood pressure averages 121/61 and I feel damn good (no belly over here). LOL!
But my goal is 240. Puts me at about NFL linebacker range. But Kathy is right. All depends on the frame. I'm a big framed guy so my doctor says that between 225 – 245 is good for me.
Thanks Kathy. It's tough being morbidly obese. You see how you got there so your ashamed of yourself. You see how you look and you repulse yourself. And then you see how people look at you and you withdraw. Unlike other addictions, food addictions stick out like a sore thumb. You can't hide it. And your judged harder than an alcoholic many times.
um, just a two cent's worth. If you saw T-Steel in person, he's just right. Muscle weighs heavy. H'e got it goin' on.
dr.e
Ah, c'mon, Esmeralda. Round? I don't think so, but even if you were it wouldn't matter. It's all in the soul and the bearing and the sense of self, and that's what the poor soul who is the subject of this post couldn't find.
z
Any time someone is this obese there's a lot more going on besides overeating. Its tragic that he let himself get in this condition, but he should have sought help a long time ago- despite his embarassment.
um, just a two cent's worth. If you saw T-Steel in person, he's just right. Muscle weighs heavy. H'e got it goin' on.
I have not seen T-Steel in person, but I hope you and T both realize that this is exactly the sentiment I was trying to express in my reply to vey9. I couldn't say it with the direct certitude that you did, because of that fact (that I haven't met T in person). But I know that a tall guy with a linebacker build could easily be 265 pounds and not be “fat” or overweight at all. That's what I was trying to say — that you can't draw conclusions about overweight just from numbers alone.
I don't disagree with this. And I actually don't view this story as having partisan implications. My response to Polimom was mostly triggered by the way she phrased her comment: “I have no idea why DQ thinks this has anything to do with partisan politics.” Well, in fact, there was something in the story as written that might suggest a partisan angle — not having health insurance IS a partisan political issue. I don't think that, in this particular case, lack of health insurance explains why this man was morbidly obese, why he was too ashamed to seek help, and why things got to the sorry pass they did. It's just that, for better or worse, I have this “editor accuracy” part of my nature, and that's what was coming out in my reply there. If Polimom had written something like, “I don't think lack of health insurance is the issue here,” I would not have felt compelled to write my (admittedly a bit nit-picky) comment.
The larger question is how much responsibility we all bear to help those who won't help themselves, of which this case is as good an example as I can imagine.
This, I disagree with very strongly — with all my heart, soul, and mind, in fact. I disagree both with the conclusion and the reasoning used to get there. When you use the phrase “won't help themselves,” you leap to a conclusion that is entirely unwarranted by the facts as you know them. In truth, if I may be so bold, and just a little harsh, that phrase is rooted far more in your own personal prejudices about people in desperate situations who need help and have not found that help than it is in any objective facts that are apparent.
My goal: as much health as possible. As much life as possible. As much happiness as possible. As much learning as possible. As much mercy as possible. As much discipline as needed for all the above.
Very well said. It puts me in mind of Jackson Browne's take on what we need these days: “More light, more love, more truth, and more innovation.”
Hmmm. I sense a Friday night video break coming on….
I must disagree more than strongly with you, Kathy, here. Dr. J. is exactly right that the facts of this case imply that the man in this case refused help when offered it. It seems to me that Dr. J is absolutely on point, simply because this man was so ashamed of his weight does not mean that we as a society owed him anything. In fact, he was offered help and he refused it. To me, this was, while sad, his own fault.
PJBFan,
Obviously, he refused help. That doesn't mean he did not want help. Shame and self-loathing are powerful disincentives to asking for help, looking for help, or even accepting help when it's offered.
As a society, we have no problem with the concept of difficult business challenges or difficult military or national security challenges. As a society, we never throw up our hands and say we have to have some realistic humility about how many problems we can actually fix, when the problem is national security, or using our military around the globe to advance our national interests — in spite of the fact that a lack of realistic humility is arguably THE central problem with U.S. foreign policy in the last 65 years. “But they won't take our help, they don't want our help, they refused our help” is not a reason for NOT going to war, for example, that I have ever heard in my lifetime or read about in any history book.
If only we could apply the same kind of perseverance as a society when it comes to a situation like the one in this news item. But we're real quitters when it comes to help and support and resources for human beings in trouble and in pain. We give up very, very easily.
I agree with PJB here- we can make the help available but it is up to the individual to get over their shame and reluctance and accept it. People in the health professions are trained to be nonjudgmental in dealing with obesity-of course not all of them are. But they can't care more about what happens to the individual than he or she does.
Once you stop caring enough to seek help, you put yourself in the precarious position of endangering your own welfare.
Sad Story – Six-Year-Old Girl ‘On Verge Of Never Hearing Again’ Due To Insurance Company Denial
Sorry Kathy, I cannot agree with you in the slightest. We have a duty to protect our interests around the world. Actually that's why the government is set up as it is, to protect our interests and rights. However, there has to be some sense of personal responsibility. If we force people to take help when they are unwilling to do so, we have basically condemned this country to a total welfare state. No longer is personal initiative an issue. If we don't want to do it, the Government will do it for us.
Wonderful idea. Now, can I please have my Government-Owned robotic slave to please tie my shoes? Fix and feed me a sandwich? I don't really want to do those things. Apparently, though, in your view, that's the Government's responsibility, to do for us what we don't want to, or are unwilling to do.
But the real question to be asked is: “What are our interest?”
Was it in “our interest” to invade and occupy Afghanistan?
Was it in “our interest” to invade and occupy Iraq?
Was it in “our interest” to overthrow Mossadeq?
Was it in “our interest” to overthrow Allende?
Was it in “our interest” to overthrow Arbenz?
Was it in “our interest” to spend 10 years in Indochina getting our asses handed to us?
Was it in “our interest” to fund the contras to overthrow the Sandinista?
DQ — this is a sad story as well, and a much better example of problematic insurance policies and coverage. It is also utterly different from the original post here. There's a vast world of difference between someone who has coverage but has a policy coverage dispute (going public is probably their best approach for this little girl, btw), and someone who has a deep-seated self-loathing who refuses assistance.
Shame and self-loathing are powerful disincentives to asking for help, looking for help, or even accepting help when it's offered.
Kathy, you're right about that, and I have no doubt this guy had powerful reasons for not seeking help.
But if “wouldn't help himself” doesn't fit here, I can't imagine a case where it would. Sure, he was a victim of his neurological state, but we all are in varying degrees every day while we enjoy the belief we have free will. If you insist this is a case of “couldn't help himself,” that's a defensible position. But you might as well throw the word “wouldn't” out of the dictionary, because you'll never have occasion to use it.