'Hoarders' 10/8/2012 - It Has Happened

[ralph124c]

Horrible-how this woman stayed alive is a good question..she must have had an excellent immune system. How anyone can live in such degrading squalor is beyond me-was she normal when her mother was alive?

[Seanette]

ISTR mention that the, ahem, bodily waste accumulation began when her mother was alive, and that a not-insignificant number of the bottles were in fact the mother's.

[Helena330]

I'm generally tolerant of people with mental issues, but when it hurts others as in Tom Tildrum's post #37 they've got to be stopped for everyone's safety. When it comes to neglecting/abusing animals, I'm extremely intolerant. I'd shoot the person in ferret herder's spoiler post. My God.

[YogSosoth]

Originally Posted by Tom Tildrum

In the news: Someone who helped clean up one of the houses due to be featured on "Hoarding: Buried Alive" developed hantavirus.

“Kids, we need to talk for a moment about Krusty Brand Chew Goo Gum Like Substance. We all knew it contained spider eggs, but the hantavirus? That came out of left field. So if you’re experiencing numbness and/or comas, send five dollars to antidote, PO box… “

[Guinastasia]

Originally Posted by Helena330

I'm generally tolerant of people with mental issues, but when it hurts others as in Tom Tildrum's post #37 they've got to be stopped for everyone's safety. When it comes to neglecting/abusing animals, I'm extremely intolerant. I'd shoot the person in ferret herder's spoiler post. My God.

There was an episode with an animal hoarder who was keeping all these injured farm animals and was an absolute bitch. I was extremely happy when they took them away. She had a pregnant goat with a broken leg, and ducks in cages with sores on their feet from the bottoms of the cages. When told they had to be in the nearby pond, she freaked out and screamed, "I ain't puttin' them in no pond!" I think she was brought up on charges of animal cruelty.

Then there was the guy who was collecting empty beer cans, because he thought they'd be worth something. It was amazing, because he had them all organized on shelves, by brand and variety, all stacked and neat, just like a store display. It was almost surreal.

But my personal favorite was the guy who was collecting tons and tons of books and magazines, while he used the burner on his stove to heat the house.

[Rushgeekgirl]

Originally Posted by lisacurl

There is only so much abuse you can take from a mentally ill family member before you just don't care any more. (I almost wrote 'just don't give a shit' any more, but that seemed inappropriate. ) You get told by authorities over and over that they cannot intervene because the person isn't a danger to anyone, and eventually you just pull away because you can't help and the family member won't let you help in any case.

But how could they have not found her a danger to herself? She keeps her own crap and it's everywhere in her house. If someone came out to investigate they surely couldn't walk away. Could they? God that is so depressing. I have become disabled due to a mental illness and it scares me to think I could become a person who needs to be taken care of but I would refuse the help because I'm so ill. Uggh I don't want to think about it.

[prettydorky]

As I've read through this thread, I was thinking that this is actually the second worst episode I have ever seen. It's been a long while, but I was able to find this one. The woman was strapping herself to a hospital toilet chair each night in her hoard. She had no plumbing and used adult diapers. The beginning of the show talks about how she had fallen from her chair and gotten trapped. She was hospitalized with sores on her feet from a combination of insect bites and human waste eating away at her skin. She also was obviously unfit to live alone. I didn't re-watch the whole thing, but IIRC, there is a part where the cleaners are in danger of falling through the bathroom floor because the pile of used diapers has eaten through it. During the entire episode she is very giggly and just completely out of touch with reality.

After catching this episode (rerun perhaps?) a couple years ago, I kind of lost my taste for the show. It really put me off my cheerios.

[Jeep's Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Guinastasia

But my personal favorite was the guy who was collecting tons and tons of books and magazines, while he used the burner on his stove to heat the house.

Shanna was shown placing a filthy paper bowl in a toaster oven; the cleaning expert (Matt?) could smell the burning over the stench of the house.

[bouv]

Originally Posted by Jeep's Phoenix

Shanna was shown placing a filthy paper bowl in a toaster oven; the cleaning expert (Matt?) could smell the burning over the stench of the house.

All the wood in the house is so soaked with urine and feces that it's never going to catch fire.


Well...it was until it got torn down, I should say. I wonder if they had to do a full hazmat style teardown of the place. Guys in suits, like when they were removing the piss+shit bottles, only this time slowly removing parts of the walls to put into biohazard bags.

[StusBlues]

Honestly, the worst thing about this situation (well, maybe not, but it's up there) wasn't the excretia retained. She had taken to dumping her excretia outside when the pail got full.

I don't have a real clear picture of what the neighborhood looked like, but I can't imagine living anywhere near to this person.

[StusBlues]

Originally Posted by edwards_beard

In a recent interview with Matt Paxton, he mentions that the state had no idea she existed. He also mentions that they couldn't show a lot of what was in the house...so in reality it was worse than what they showed.

Interesting interview. I'm a little surprised at the disdain he shows these people--though I guess my own pity isn't really much better.

Fascinating that most of his crew are former felons. Might advertising this fact be an effective deterrent to crime?

[ralph124c]

This same thing happened in my neighborhood. The old lady living in the house was taken away by the City DOPH-the house has been vacant for two years. As far as I know, the city was trying to get a condemnation order, so the house could be torn down. Speaking to a neighbor (who lives across the street), I learned that the house is full of trash-no cats or animals (fortunately). The abutters must be very upset-something like this really destroys property values. Quite frankly, these people are seriously mentally ill-they need to be put into mental hospitals-their houses are a threat to the neighbors. A few years back, there was a similar case in another town-they wound up burning the house down-at least that didn't risk tyhe health of the poor guys who have to clean these places up.

[edwards_beard]

Originally Posted by StusBlues

Interesting interview. I'm a little surprised at the disdain he shows these people--though I guess my own pity isn't really much better.

Fascinating that most of his crew are former felons. Might advertising this fact be an effective deterrent to crime?

Funny you mention the disdain he shows...that kinda stuck out to me too.

There was an interview he did last year for the same show where he talked about the episode where they had the guy that hoarded the pinball machines and arcade games. (Matt also got his hand crushed in the episode when trying to move a large racing game) When watching that episode you could see him getting irritated and arguing with the guy, which he admitted to in the interview. But then went on to say that he has since visited him (and a few other hoarders) on occasion and considers them friends. (I am at work so can't track down that interview)

[Covered_In_Bees!]

You guys never caught on during the episode Matt holds a certain disdain for these people? He's the cleaner, not the therapist and the tone of his voice combined with his choices of words perfectly reflects his opinion during the shows.

[Nonsuch]

I've read some of Paxton's comments on the A&E message boards and he is very aware that the people he is dealing with are sick and not really in control of themselves. He also confessed to having been an out-of-control gambler at one time, so I think he gets what it's like to be at the mercy of an obsession. That said, he is willing to vent some of the frustration that the average viewer at home is feeling, unlike the therapists, who have to keep their cool. (I could never be a therapist, and certainly not a therapist working with compulsive hoarders.)

[StusBlues]

Originally Posted by Covered_In_Bees!

You guys never caught on during the episode Matt holds a certain disdain for these people? He's the cleaner, not the therapist and the tone of his voice combined with his choices of words perfectly reflects his opinion during the shows.

I've always thought that was heat-of-the-moment stuff, and that on reflection he realized that these were people who really needed help regardless of how frustrated he was when trying to haul the crap out of their house.

[Tom Tildrum]

I thought it was interesting that they made the decision that it was more economical to raze Shanna's house rather than rehab it. I've wondered that about a lot of these cases. Even after the cleanup, the house is still so filthy that I still couldn't imagine wanting to live and eat there.

[Guinastasia]

Originally Posted by Tom Tildrum

I thought it was interesting that they made the decision that it was more economical to raze Shanna's house rather than rehab it. I've wondered that about a lot of these cases. Even after the cleanup, the house is still so filthy that I still couldn't imagine wanting to live and eat there.

The ecoli and bacteria is probably so ingrained into the house you'll never get it out. Not to mention the stench. It'd take years to get rid of that -- if you ever could.

[Mahaloth]

Originally Posted by Tom Tildrum

I thought it was interesting that they made the decision that it was more economical to raze Shanna's house rather than rehab it. I've wondered that about a lot of these cases. Even after the cleanup, the house is still so filthy that I still couldn't imagine wanting to live and eat there.

Even if it was close, the only way to really guarantee a livable house would be to build one. I think it was almost exactly the same cost to fix and create a new one, so making the new one is definitely the good option.

[Kolga]

I used to consider Hoarders and Hoarding: Buried Alive as guilty pleasures, and to a certain extent, I still do. But I am put off by the extreme mental illness that they are starting to showcase. In earlier seasons/episodes, the people were relatively functional, and the hoarding obsessions and compulsions seemed to be the primary (or A primary) problem. These later seasons and episodes are showing people for whom the hoarding is CLEARLY a secondary symptom of some more severe mental illnesses or dementia processes. It makes me more uncomfortable to watch them.

[lisacurl]

Originally Posted by Tom Tildrum

I thought it was interesting that they made the decision that it was more economical to raze Shanna's house rather than rehab it. I've wondered that about a lot of these cases. Even after the cleanup, the house is still so filthy that I still couldn't imagine wanting to live and eat there.

That's one of the reasons why pet owners end up having to pay such large, usually non-refundable, deposits when renting. All it takes is one renter with a poorly housebroken dog or cats who go outside of the litterbox. The urine seeps into wood and can never be fully cleaned. At least you can pull out and replace carpet.

[Tom Tildrum]

Originally Posted by lisacurl

That's one of the reasons why pet owners end up having to pay such large, usually non-refundable, deposits when renting. All it takes is one renter with a poorly housebroken dog or cats who go outside of the litterbox. The urine seeps into wood and can never be fully cleaned. At least you can pull out and replace carpet.

But my 75 cats would never do anything like that!

[Seanette]

Originally Posted by Tom Tildrum

I thought it was interesting that they made the decision that it was more economical to raze Shanna's house rather than rehab it. I've wondered that about a lot of these cases. Even after the cleanup, the house is still so filthy that I still couldn't imagine wanting to live and eat there.

Even if it could have been cleaned, I think I recall significant structural damage.

[Bryan Ekers]

Originally Posted by lisacurl

That's one of the reasons why pet owners end up having to pay such large, usually non-refundable, deposits when renting. All it takes is one renter with a poorly housebroken dog or cats who go outside of the litterbox. The urine seeps into wood and can never be fully cleaned. At least you can pull out and replace carpet.

Well, I'd open the windows, but my pigeons would escape.

[edwards_beard]

Originally Posted by Ferret Herder

Matt also reveals it was the show's producers/the network who wanted him to sleep in the house.

Oh man, he's got spoilers for the season finale almost immediately after that, too - typing them here in case you can't listen right now:

SPOILER:

The season finale involves something to the effect of "fridge full of liquified cats" (250+ in separate ziplocs) and how he left the house only in his underwear because of the stench and/or spillage.

He also mentions one of the team discovered a dead human body in one episode, though I don't know what season that was/will be in - one hoarder had wrapped up her husband (apparently natural death) in a shower curtain and stashed him in the house.

And the cat episode mentioned in the spoiler above aired this week. I watched it curled up with my cat. Horrified.

[kirk1168]

I liked how Dr. Robin recoiled in horror when she opened the fridge. You rarely see such unguarded moments in Hoarding shows. Of course, opening a refrigerator to see a dead eyeless cat looking at you at eye-level must have been a bit startling.

[SeaDragonTattoo]

I'm glad Matt spoiled that one and I was sort of prepared for it. It was the ones in the closet and not at least refrigerated that got to me, though. Man! I hope therapy helped her.

[Seanette]

I lasted a minute or so on the dead cat collection. I could cope with the corpses, but the live ones so obviously sick and suffering, I just couldn't deal with it.

[Voluble]

Originally Posted by Seanette

Seems to me more a case of "hoarder finds he/she has tight deadline before loss of home or jail time ensues, cleaning is on emergency crisis basis without the luxury of months of pre-care because hoarder just would not deal with situation until it hit emergency status".

I also wonder if the producers don't call the authorities in advance to set up the deadline so as to get good TV on a more predictable schedule. I could also see loved ones or neighbors precipitating a crisis and then calling the producers just to move things along.

One of the posts above mentions that these people "perceive" that their stuff is being stolen. This is because it is being stolen in many of these cases. Whatever other problems they may have, there is nothing faulty about their perception in that regard.

It doesn't matter that we can't see the value in what is being taken. They do and that is what matters. I find the theft and bullying much harder to stomach than some of the messes that don't involve bodily fluids or vermin.

When their problem poses a health hazard to the outside world then I could see something being done against their wishes. But when they only put themselves at risk, or create an eyesore, it falls into the category of "none of my business." As these shows have matured the cases have gotten progressively worse so intervention is more justified. But some of the early ones just made me mad that these people were being harassed. I still don't like it when they are ill-treated.

I remember one guy who was dying of cancer and here all of these people were forcing him to spend his final hours on this earth tidying up his lot when he was perfectly happy with it the way it was. That was just all kinds of wrong.

I will stop there before I get too worked up.

[Ferret Herder]

Well, it's extremely rare that any hoarding situation does not involve others. Even if there are no animals being hoarded or others being hurt, most hoarders' homes are havens for vermin of all kinds that will surely not be satisfied with only one house to run rampant in. And at the very least, even a (near-mythical) non-infested but full home will pose a hazard to any firefighter or EMT who needs to gain access.

[StusBlues]

Originally Posted by edwards_beard

And the cat episode mentioned in the spoiler above aired this week. I watched it curled up with my cat. Horrified.

I saw that one online last week. Honestly, the horder's retention of the dead cats in the freezer was weird, but not nearly as bothersome as the dozens of sick animals in the house. How can anyone who cares for animals at all do that?

Then again, I started this thread describing someone retaining barrels of urine and feces in their house. Obviously some horders perceive reality differently than most people.

[BMalion]

I cannot watch these shows. Mom is a hoarder, my brother is a hoarder, they live together in a rotting, garbage-filled house. I tried for years to clean the house, it never worked. I finally just figuratively (and litteraly) washed my hands of the whole mess.

I haven't heard from them since June, pity.

[Guinastasia]

Originally Posted by Voluble

I remember one guy who was dying of cancer and here all of these people were forcing him to spend his final hours on this earth tidying up his lot when he was perfectly happy with it the way it was. That was just all kinds of wrong.

I will stop there before I get too worked up.

Are you thinking of the guy with the brain tumor, whose daughter was trying to get him to leave? He was using his gas stove burner for heat, while hoarding books and papers. To ignore something like that would be "all kinds of wrong."


BMalion, I'm so sorry.