800 Pound Man Seeking Community Help

[matcom]

<snip>

Stanley Slatten figures he weighs 800 pounds.

He can't get into a car, go to a movie or completely bathe himself. He can't walk more than a few steps without becoming breathless. Sitting is painful. He hasn't left his yard, on Lafayette's eastside, in two years.

"It's no fun at all," he says.

He contacted the Journal and Courier, willing to tell his story because he hopes someone can help. He doesn't see a doctor because he can't get to appointments.

"I want to do whatever it takes. I want to live, not die," says Slatten, who thinks he needs gastric-bypass surgery. "I'll die without help."

Slatten weighed 667 pounds the last time he was weighed, in 2003. "There is no comparison" now, he says.

He is on disability and Medicaid, and lives with his girlfriend and her mother. Unable to work for the past six years, he has no way to pay for bariatric surgery, which is used to reduce the size of the stomach to that of an egg.

The operation can cost more than $25,000, and often, months of hospitalization are needed.

http://www.lafayettejc.com/news20050225/200502254local_news1109308611.shtml

[Stop_the_War]

1. It's his fault. n/t

[WI_DEM]

5. how?

I tell you I see the most unsympathetic posters regarding people who are overweight on DU. It is a shame. Somebody doesn't get to be as fat as that without having some major medical and emotional problems.

[Stop_the_War]

12. He's not just "overweight". He is extremely obese, when someone is

800 pounds it is definitely their own fault.

[WI_DEM]

16. you need to read up on the subject

To be that obese there are serious problems, it is actually the people who are mildly overweight who are more capable to correct it than people who are this obese. Start by reading some of the more thoughtful responses below of people who actually know people in this situation.

[bleedingheart]

2. who keeps feeding him the diet that allowed him to get even bigger

I have to ask that....at 667 pounds I bet he found it hard to get around but someone is feeding him a diet that allows him to gain more.

If someone loved him, why wouldn't they try to help him by getting him on a physician directed diet????

I understand that people have problems and I would hate to see him die as a result of this condition but there is no way he will be operated upon until he is in a safe weight zone....

[China_cat]

6. Jere Goss was a friend of mine.

He weighed almost 800 lbs. the last time I saw him. His caloric intake the whole time I knew him was less than his 12 year old son's...who weighed about 120 and was tall and definitely skinny...and he continued to gain.

No physician directed diet would ever have helped him. Nor would it help this person. I doubt seriously if the surgery would stop it. It's like a cascade effect after about 500 lbs. Nothing you do stops the pounds from piling on.

[bleedingheart]

26. I saw a Nova special on people who had severe weight problems

and the caloric intake is reduced severely below that of a 12 year old boy...

One woman was retricted to 3 glasses of milk (24 oz total) a day and the rest was water.....

[Zuni]

15. This might not be his fault

my brother became very fat and we thought it was because he was lazy. It turns out his weight and his fatigue were caused by a severly low thyroid level.

[bleedingheart]

25. yeah but your brother got help or had someone help him....

sorry but if someone i loved started to have a really bad weight problem I would do something...like call a doctor and pay for the tests to find out what was happening...

[CornField]

3. An honest curiousity question here

I often see these types of news stories where the severely obese person states that he/she will die if something doesn't change. Has anyone ever read a story about a severely obese person dying?

Morbid curiousity here... Does the fire department have to cut a hole in the wall of the house to get them out? Can they be transported to the hospital/morgue in an ambulance? How do they bury someone so large? Obviously the person wouldn't fit into a coffin. Maybe all very obese people are cremated? Obviously, the death of a severely obese person would prompt a lot of work. So, why don't we ever hear about someone like that dying?

[China_cat]

8. Jere was buried in a piano crate.

[barb162]

20. I have heard of them dying and I think they have to make special

caskets

[MissMillie]

27. Obesity induced illness

Many times the cause of death is something like "congestive heart failure" or "hypertention" (stroke), or even "diabetes-related illness" which is brought on by obesity.

[Dogmudgeon]

4. (Deleted)

I've decided to delete the text of this until possibly later.

--p!

[WI_DEM]

10. too bad

what you originally said made a great deal of sense.

[CornField]

18. I didn't intend my post the way it sounded. Please read.

After re-reading what I wrote, I how it could be interpreted differently. I'd just like you (and everyone) to know I didn't intend it that way. Of course, I could sit here and type a dozen apologies and no one would have to believe them. I'd like to share a piece I wrote last June. It was published with a larger article about obesity in children.

------

On Raising a Fat Kid

I’m a parent to a fat kid. There, it’s said. I no longer have the luxury of watching news programs on adolescent obesity and simply shaking my head in disgust. My parental job performance evaluation forms have been passed out to people on the streets and I am subject to their various critiques.

When my daughter and I went to the movies, we ordered one large soda and one large popcorn. Was it really necessary for the gentleman behind me to say that we shouldn’t be having either? Did he even consider, just for a moment, that the night was a special treat for my daughter and me and not the ‘norm’ of our existence? If my daughter and I had both been a size eight, would he be compelled to offer the same advice? Did he even hear the order of diet soda and popcorn, no salt or butter? Did he merely see the box and make assumptions?

See, that’s the thing. People have been led to believe it’s only about the food. If we could only stop our kids from putting so much junk or unnecessary food in their mouths, we could solve this problem. Perhaps there are parents out there who serve potato chips, sugary drinks, high-fat entrees and candy bars at every available opportunity. Do you know any? Honestly, I don’t either. Still, this is a crisis for our kids and someone has to be to blame. Parents are easy targets.

No one truly knows what goes on in another person’s home. We can make assumptions, but we can’t really know until we’ve lived there. I’ve heard that I should enroll my daughter in sports. Well, she doesn’t like competitive sports, although she does play softball, ride her bike, hike and garden with me. I’ve heard that I should quit buying junk food. Would that be the one box of treats I purchase each week? I’ve heard that we should stop drinking soda. Do they realize we only drink diet sodas? I’ve heard that she should take up swimming. Don’t they realize that she is mortified at the thought of parading around in a swim suit? Maybe some actually do consider teenage emotional scars a great incentive to weight loss.

We live in a world where food should be a pleasure. We should sit and savor the taste, texture and friendship that goes along with a good meal. In my home, food has become a battleground. My daughter discovered several years ago that food is quick and easy comfort. When her father and I were so caught up in our own grief to pay attention to her, she found solace with food. It has progressed to a toxic relationship, one that I’m sure will kill her if we cannot find an answer. What began as grabbing something from the shelf in response to an emotion has continued to the point that she grabs the whole shelf. She binges. The type of food is unimportant. She binges on saltine crackers as easily as ice cream bars. Dried macaroni, yogurt, milk, bread, Ovaltine powder, instant breakfast packets, bananas, chicken, salad, carrots, chips – it’s all the same to her. She will happily trade desserts from her school lunch for more entrees or side dishes. It’s all about the full feeling, I think.

My younger children, who are not fat, are rarely allowed treats because of this. My husband hides his snacks and junk food in the dresser. We are all being held hostage by her illness and we all sit and wait for the next shoe to drop.

I have taken my daughter clothes shopping and held her while she cried in the dressing room. I have had to force shorts upon her body because she was too embarrassed to wear them. I regret to admit that I have sat and watched my daughter perform in concerts or in school plays while mentally taking a note of which girls were larger. I have felt disappointment and I have felt the sting of stranger’s comments. Even with therapy, support groups, encouragement and out-and-out pushing from us, she continues to grow larger. I know that she will eventually learn the art of purging to cover her tracks. I know that she will find this a godsend in her life… finally she’ll be able to have her food and no one will be the wiser. I’m scared to death for her.

Maybe the next time you see a family with an overweight child, this article will cause you to pause. I hope it does. I hope the man from the movie theater reads it too. He took what was supposed to be a good night – a rare event of mother and daughter having a little bonding time – and tossed it back into the battlefield. Not always, but sometimes there are things going on behind closed doors that don’t fit the norm.

[Samurai_Writer]

21. Thank you for sharing your story...

What your daughter is going through sounds something similar to my sister's situation, although my sister is an adult now. Everyone in my family has struggled with weight issues except one very thin sister (we think she's adopted! *teasing*).

However, the sister I am talking about was diagnosed as schitzophrenic at age 22. She has lived with my parents ever since, and is now 40. She was alway 'big', but once she came home, she has ballooned up to probably 400 pounds, easily. Food is her comfort, her only enjoyment in life. Like you, my mom has to keep the cupboards practically bare and shop each day for meals, or my sister would literally eat everything in the house. However, she is an adult, has money from SSDI, and calls for delivery daily. She is also diabetic from all the weight gain, and her diet is completely uncontrolled.

Her weight has also caused her bones and muscles to weaken to such an extent that she has broken her ankle twice and torn ligaments in her knee from simple falls that would have only caused a sprain to a healthier person. She also contracted pneumonia and was on a respirator for 8 weeks, and had to have surgery to have fluid removed from her lungs. It's a miracle she survived that one.

How does someone control a 6', 400#, schitzophrenic, adult woman without her being institutionalized? You just can't. I cannot believe she is still alive (she's 40). My mom is now 68, and while still in good health, I see a time in the near future where my mom will not be able to care for my sister. Medicare doesn't pay for the kind of help my sister needs (or the meds, either... almost all her SSDI goes to cover her $900/month meds).

I hope your daughter can have the courage to help herself get healthy. You didn't say what she weighed or her height, but it is possible to not be 'thin' and be healthy by eating nutritiously and being active. I sure don't want to see her end up like my sister.

Peace,
Bella

[Dez]

7. He should go to Mexico

for the surgery, a lot cheaper down there.

[edbermac]

9. 800 lb man needs help from the community?...he IS a community!

[Dez]

11. Dems put down fat people and republicans

anyone else?

[Beware the Beast Man]

14. You are a beacon of compassion, my friend!

:eyes:

[Zuni]

13. girlfriend?

I hope he does get his surgery. It will save his life.

He also probably has a severe thyroid problem, and synthetic thyroid meds could help kick up his metabolism

[Dez]

17. Yea, poor guy,

he obviously has a problem and needs help. More power to him.

[barb162]

19. when people are morbidly obese, I think it is definitely from severe

emotional problems

[Dogmudgeon]

22. Here's the original rant

I pulled it because I thought I was reacting way too fast. I am actually pleased to see that there is only one person on this thread with a blame-the-bad-fatty attitude.

--p!

Stories about overweight people always bring out the ghouls

I continue to be astounded by liberals who hold onto pre-scientific notions that morbid obesity is from moral turpitude. It isn't. There is enough well-supported medical literature on the process that if there is something we can say about morbid obesity, it's that it certainly isn't from self-indulgence or a lack of personal virtue. (Unlike the fatty-phobes, who act as if they are the beloved of god.)

FYI, plenty of severly obese people die young. There have been several cases where their bodies were treated with such little respect that getting the corpse from the house became a topic of great amusement. In one case, one wall of the deceased's house was torn down and her body was dragged some distance by a tow truck with a chain. In the process, her clothes were torn off, and quite a crowd was assembled.

No, fatties don't deserve a bit of dignity. They have offended popular esthetic tastes, and deserve what they get. It's that old "Personal Responsibility" song and dance again.

So I guess it's a little too difficult to expect any of the peanut gallery to do a little research on bariatry (the medical field dealing with anorexia and obesity). And heaven forfend that anyone count their blessings.

You may also want to keep in mind that my writing has been tempered by the DU rules. Think about how much anger the mere mention of a pedophile brings out here. That's the kind of anger I'm experiencing toward the weight moralists right now.

--p!

[Zuni]

24. Your post makes sense

My own brother is obese and just found out a few months ago that he has a severe thyroid problem. Even if he ate nothing but health foods he would still have problems metabolising food

[MissMillie]

23. Food is the hardest addiction to treat

because one cannot simply go cold turkey.

We do not tell alcoholics that their addiction is their fault. We do not tell drug addicts that their addiction is their fault.

Addiction is a disease. It needs treatment. And with no insurance, this guy is not likely to get treatment.

I have been overweight all of my life. After gastric bypass I am finally getting a bit of control when it comes to portion size, but the truth of the matter is that food is still my drug of choice. Whether it be to mask bad feelings or to exaggerate good feelings, I still turn to food (just not as much).

[bleedingheart]

28. My cousin died as a result of Morbid Obesity.

It is not funny and it is terribly tragic. A wonderful mother and loving grandmother dead at 60.

She was heavy all her life. She used food as a way to make herself feel better. She ate when she was depressed or when she was happy, but more so when she was depressed.

Her weight problem caused her diabetes and heart problems. The event that led to her eventual death was when she had heart surgery. The doctors took a vein/artery from her leg and put it in her chest. The leg wound never healed right because of her diabetes and her heart condition didn't get better because she did not remain active. So she ate out of depression....eventually she was completely confined to bed and her weight continued to grow until she died of lung and heart failure.

It was horrible...

Typically those who have severe weight issues like hers are the result of physical health problems or mental health problems. What they most need are people who help them get help.

[FourStarDemocrat]

29. At such a level of obesity, usually it's a metabolism problem..

It's almost like a catch 22, because after 350-450 lbs or so, most people's bodies are in severe crisis with risks of hypertension, stroke, and diabetes increasing exponentially. Exercise becomes almost impossible at this point, because they find difficulty even in walking. The stomach bypas operation becomes often too risky for those who are morbidly obese- and they need to lose weight in order to undergo an operation, which is doubly difficult.

[bleedingheart]

31. Interesting that you should bring that up.

a pal of mine wanted to lose weight, being a friend I never asked her weight, but she was having health problems and decided to go out and buy a treadmill. Turns out that she couldn't use a treadmill until she lost a certain amount of weight because the treadmill had a weight limit. She didn't let that stop her and she did lose some weight but she also was encouraged by her husband to visit a doctor and she was diagnosed with a thyroid problem. Once her thyroid was under control, she started to feel lots better.

[GreenPartyVoter]

30. But for the grace of God, There go I..... He will be in my prayers!