Posted on 08/11/2004 2:49:06 PM PDT by Calpernia
Or face and resolve the traumas that created the OCD.
As others have said, it's a very sad situation. My guess is that the family which would stand by and enable this to get so far off the charts isn't too healthy itself.
The family didn't seem very healthy. The husband was on a news clip and Libertina said it best, he seemed to be of "diminished capacity".
How the heck can a person become molded with a couch anyway?
She literally had to be there the entire time....going to the bathroom there......not moving at all..for that to even remotely be something that is conceivable.
How incredibly sad.
My word. That poor woman.
"WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE" -- yes, diCaprio was very convincing in the role as a "slow learner"
... then when he starred in "Titanic" and probably other movies, he convinces all that he's bright and even brighter since ten years ago he did such a convincing job in "WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE".
'Her husband is the one that had been feeding her and he called 911 when she wasn't able to breath right any longer.'
Thanks for this info.
the assumption being that the children were the obese woman's grandchildren or nieces and nephews (unless it's a six-year-old drinking from a baby bottle).
Looks like she lost 120 lbs. overnight.
480-Pound Woman Dies After Six Years On Couch
http://www.wftv.com/news/3643877/detail.html
Her husband is skinny!
I realize that she let herself get into that condition, but after she reached that 300lb mark, and just stopped existing, I can't believe she had no one in her family that even cared enough to get help for her.
It's like someone came by every day and just 'threw food into her.' How sick is this?!
The authorities probably had to burn down that dwelling she was living in. I can't imagine enough bug spray and disinfect to ever clean it out.
Just pitiful.
If the couch material is kinda fuzzy, it will stick into the skin. The skin cells just grow around the couch material.
She literally had to be there the entire time....going to the bathroom there......not moving at all..for that to even remotely be something that is conceivable.
The firemen said the stench was so bad that had to pump fresh air into the dwelling so they could breath and get her out of there. Was this in Florida? Holy Moses. Can you imagine the heat and the humidity? This is really gory.
How incredibly sad.
My word. That poor woman.
Sure makes MY life seem like HEAVEN!
You are soooo on the money! It is an eating disorder, just like anorexia. And heartbreaking. While this woman and those like her are the butt of jokes, I just feel a tremendous sadness for her and her family.
on the same note....
http://www.triotv.com/texas_supersized/fat_city/index.html
Watched this last night. They interviewed a woman who weighed 625lbs. She flat out said she liked her size, and was never going to lose weight. She LIVES in mobile chair (electric powered) because she is unable to walk..even around her own home. She had a live-in helper because she is unable to take care of herself, including dresssing hereself or putting on her own shoes. At night she sleeps with a OXYGEN MASK...her family bought her stomach surgery for her birthday and she declined it and was insulted they did. As far as she is concerned there is NOTHING wrong with her life. The kicker: she showed pictures of herself in lingerie..she thinks she is attractive and describles herself as a "good" and "beautiful" person.
It was one of the most disturbing things I have ever watched.
Oh, I'm sure she lost a lot - and if someone would just lift up the various folds, it would all come tumbling out. The Remote, a hairbrush or two, an old melted moldy candy bar, spare change...
STUART, Fla. -- A 480-pound Martin County woman has died after emergency workers tried to remove her from the couch where she had remained for about six years.
Gayle Laverne Grinds, 40, died Wednesday, after a failed six-hour effort to dislodge her from the couch in her home. Workers say the home was filthy, and Grinds was too large to get up from the couch to even use the bathroom.
Everyone going inside the home had to wear protective gear. The stench was so powerful they had to blast in fresh air.
A preliminary autopsy on the the four-foot, ten-inch woman lists the cause of death as "morbid obesity." But officials want to know more about the circumstances inside the home.
Investigators say Grinds lived with a man named Herman Thomas, who says he tried to take care of her the best he could. He has told them he tried repeatedly to get her up, but simply couldn't. No charges have been filed, but officials are looking into negligence issues.
Emergency workers had to remove some sliding glass doors and lift the couch, with Grinds still on it, to a trailer behind a pickup truck. Removing her from the couch would be too painful, since her body was grafted to the fabric. After years of staying put, her skin had literally become one with the sofa and had to be surgically removed.
She died at Martin Memorial Hospital South, still attached to the couch.
Neighbors say they had no idea Grinds lived at the duplex, though they had seen Thomas and some children outside.
Thanks. What scares me is, even though I was joking, it's so true, ya know? ;)
Just doing my part for a healthier, happier America!
I agree. This is just plain wrong.
cross linking follow up story:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1190170/posts
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.