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.
>>>So many of them DO occur here in Florida! I wonder why?
Yes. There is an interesting money trail in that state. I've traced it to my state.
This tends to happen to those who have very low serotonin levels. By boosting the serotonin the cravings, and especially the nightly grazing, is pretty much stopped. (I speak from experience.)
There is a doctor in Spokane, WA (Cheryl Hart)who has studied this extensively and has even created several compounds of dopamine, serotonin, and a mix of the two for weight loss. Let me see if I can find her website which explains better than I can and I will post it here for you to visit.
>>>compounds of dopamine, serotonin, and a mix of the two for weight loss
Isn't that phen/fen?
I watched the same show on Trio the other night. The 600+ woman was so damn obstinate about her problem I wanted to reach through the tv and just shake her. Oh well, if she doesn't care enough about herself to do something about her weight, so be it.
I was SHOCKED at her attitude. The woman is immobile without her electric powered chair and cant even dress herself, yet she REFUSES to lose weight becaue "everyone else has a problem" not her. I have never seen anything like it. When she strapped the oxygen mask to her face when she got into bed...I lost it.
Unbelievable.
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