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600-Pound Woman Dies After Being Surgically Removed From Couch
wftv.com ^ | 5:09 pm EDT August 11, 2004 | wftv.com

Posted on 08/11/2004 2:49:06 PM PDT by Calpernia

STUART, Fla. -- A dramatic rescue ended tragically in Stuart, Florida, a rescue so difficult firefighters say they have never seen anything like it.

It happened late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning at the home of a 600-pound woman who was having trouble breathing. Rescuers went in not knowing how difficult it would be to get her out. 40-year-old Gail Grinds was literally stuck to her couch and had to be removed surgically at the hospital.

Authorities estimate she had been on the couch anywhere from two to five years.

Martin County Fire amd Rescue crews faced what seemed to be an impossible mission. Everyone going inside had to wear protective gear. The stench was so powerful they had to blast in fresh air.

They tried to cut out the front door, but at four-and-a-half feet wide, it wouldn't work. They had to cut plywood since a normal stretcher wouldn't do.

An ambulance was too small, so they brought in a trailer to get her out. While rescue crews came up with a back-door rescue plan, detectives secured what had become a crime scene, questioning family members about how it got so bad.

Using planks, they loaded the woman on to the trailer, still attached to the couch. Removing her would be too painful, since her body is grafted to the fabric. After years of staying put, her skin has literally become one with the sofa and it must be surgically removed.

Detectives are investigating whether they have a case of neglect, or if it is simply a very sad story.

Grinds was taken to the Martin Memorial hospital where doctors removed her from the couch, but she died in spite of all the attempts to save her life.


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: 600lb; areyouseries; cortislim; couch; couchpotato; firefighters; florida; floriduh; gailgrinds; gayle; gaylegrinds; gilbertgrape; grape; grinds; justdamn; leonardodicaprioflik; obesity; rescue; stuart; stuartfl; stuartfla; stuartflorida; stuck; whatiseatinggilbert; woman
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To: 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.


161 posted on 08/11/2004 10:11:02 PM PDT by GretchenM (A country is a terrible thing to waste. Vote Republican.)
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To: GretchenM

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".


162 posted on 08/11/2004 10:13:57 PM PDT by Calpernia ("People never like what they don't understand")
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To: SheLion

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.


163 posted on 08/11/2004 10:14:23 PM PDT by rwfromkansas (BYPASS FORCED WEB REGISTRATION! **** http://www.bugmenot.com ****)
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To: Libertina

"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".


164 posted on 08/12/2004 2:25:23 AM PDT by JockoManning
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To: Calpernia

'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.



165 posted on 08/12/2004 2:26:59 AM PDT by JockoManning
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To: Calpernia

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).


166 posted on 08/12/2004 2:28:58 AM PDT by JockoManning
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To: Calpernia

Looks like she lost 120 lbs. overnight.

480-Pound Woman Dies After Six Years On Couch

http://www.wftv.com/news/3643877/detail.html


167 posted on 08/12/2004 4:41:20 AM PDT by Captiva (Bond Ghoul)
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To: bikepacker67

Her husband is skinny!


168 posted on 08/12/2004 5:06:48 AM PDT by Melpomene
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To: SilentServiceCPOWife
I agree with you. Just because someone stops caring about themselves doesn't mean that you should stop caring about them. Even if they couldn't stop her from eating, they could have made sure that she was clean and comfortable. I'd rather die myself than let one of my sisters or my mother end up like that.

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.

169 posted on 08/12/2004 6:34:58 AM PDT by SheLion (The terrorist are here.......living among us. It's too late to close the borders.)
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To: rwfromkansas
How the heck can a person become molded with a couch anyway?

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!

170 posted on 08/12/2004 6:38:00 AM PDT by SheLion (The terrorist are here.......living among us. It's too late to close the borders.)
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To: GretchenM
For some, it can become an obsessive/compulsive disorder, and lethal.

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.

171 posted on 08/12/2004 7:25:06 AM PDT by najida ("Let me get this straight, Mr. Kerry....you injury was caused by rice in you butt?")
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To: Calpernia

172 posted on 08/12/2004 7:27:51 AM PDT by Area Freeper (PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN!!!)
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To: Calpernia

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.


173 posted on 08/12/2004 7:31:36 AM PDT by FeliciaCat
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To: Xenalyte
but everyone except her lost SOMETHING.

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...

174 posted on 08/12/2004 7:41:49 AM PDT by Chad Fairbanks (Liberals - The Other White Meat.)
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To: sweetliberty

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.


175 posted on 08/12/2004 7:44:00 AM PDT by Chad Fairbanks (Liberals - The Other White Meat.)
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To: GretchenM

Thanks. What scares me is, even though I was joking, it's so true, ya know? ;)


176 posted on 08/12/2004 7:45:06 AM PDT by Chad Fairbanks (Liberals - The Other White Meat.)
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To: Chad Fairbanks
ohhh. ohhh. Chad, stop it. You are going to make me an anorexic with these visuals.
177 posted on 08/12/2004 7:53:33 AM PDT by Calpernia ("People never like what they don't understand")
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To: Calpernia

Just doing my part for a healthier, happier America!


178 posted on 08/12/2004 8:06:30 AM PDT by Chad Fairbanks (Liberals - The Other White Meat.)
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To: SheLion

I agree. This is just plain wrong.


179 posted on 08/12/2004 8:09:05 AM PDT by rintense (Results matter.)
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To: rintense

cross linking follow up story:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1190170/posts


180 posted on 08/12/2004 8:10:29 AM PDT by Calpernia ("People never like what they don't understand")
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