She wasn’t morbidly obese-- just somewhat overweight. I personally feel that it was irresponsible of the surgeon to do the procedure on her. Her problem was that she simply lacked the willpower to stick to a diet and exercize program. In a sense, she took the lazy way out by getting the surgery.
Of course she had other issues, but this was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back-- at least that’s what she said in her suicide note.
And I think that’s exactly what happened to her. She pictured herself slim and probably everything else that was said to her went in one ear and out the other.
Now, I do think that there was something a bit fishy about the whole thing, since she was not morbidly obese and as I’ve heard, there are supposed to be some sort of regulations about how overweight you have to be before you can get this procedure, so possibly she wasn’t counselled as much as she should have been, either.
I also presume that they could use the same medical appliances and aids that people who are paraplegics, suffering from motor neurone diseases, etc. would need to use. It’s a sad paradox - these people immobilised by obesity might recover mobility given time and proper nutrition and physical therapy, whereas someone who is paralysed never will (at the present time, but here’s hoping that medical research makes a few giant leaps forward).
xbuckeye, there was a sad case a few years ago about a 13 year old girl who died from heart failure due to obesity. (Although in this case, she suffered from Prader-Willis). They found her lying naked on the floor of her home, with just a dirty sheet on her. Her skin was covered with sores, feces and urine were caked on her skin, she had insects eating her flesh, it was horrible. I believe her mother was charged with neglect.
Yeah, that’s pretty much what I was afraid of. I just can’t imagine getting that heavy without noticing/caring that it is impacting your life profoundly. Although a kid should have better parenting than that. I found a website that suggested locking the kitchen to keep a kid with Prader-Willis from overeating. Prader-Willis…yet another reason I am glad for the DNA I inherited from my parents.
Jeez, I think there was a story this week about an LA producer and his daughter who were found dead, and authorities suspected foul play at first. But it turns out the guy was so fat that when he suffered his massive heart attack and died, he fell on his preteen daughter who was unable to escape from under his bulk and suffocated to death.
According to the imdB - Darlene Cates is not dead. She hasn’t had an acting credit since 2001. I hope she’s well - WEGG is one of my favorite movies, and when Mama leaves the house to go get her boy from the police station, well - it always makes me cry. Hard.
If it’s germane to this discussion at all, I had gastric bypass surgery in November of last year. I’d be happy to answer any questions anyone might have.
My take on the doctor in question - absolutely he had the professional right and duty to inform his patient of the statistical risks of obesity.
He did not have the right to pontificate on her attractiveness to the available dating pool.
Neither did either of the above warrant a complaint to the medical board, nor this long dragged-out brouhaha.
At 6’2" and in the neighborhood of 330, my BMI is around 41. I’m trying to lose weight and had thought about getting surgery to help but after reading up on the bariatric process, I knew that it wasn’t for me. I also looked up the Optifast and Medifast plans and was put off by the cost. I’ll continue with the SlimFast, thanks. If I ever do go for surgery, it’ll be the lap band, which is reversible.
I would assume that with Prader-Willi, you may not have time to notice or care about anything but finding food, anywhere. Parents would have to lock up all sources of food, constantly monitor where the kid is going, warn their schoolmates not to give them food, etc. The parents on the TLC show on Prader-Willi were exhausted and discouraged about not being able to eat like a normal family (the sick child would eat all his food and then constantly ask family members for some of their food) and having to watch every moment.
This isn’t to excuse parents who didn’t seek out treatment, but just to say that Prader-Willi could be devastating to the sick person and their caregivers, to the point where they give up.
On the subject of gastric bypasses and being very, very fat, Eric Burns posted this on his weblog today. A while back, he also posted this on the effects of ice patches on the morbidly obese. Interesting and pretty moving stuff.
After her death, there was alot of speculation that reports of the condition of the girl’s body were greatly exaggerated and sensationalized (i.e. there were no bugs or bedsores) - but cites to back up that assertion are few and far between