Firemen called 4 times in 1 week to help obese man move

[Darth Wong]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jh ... fat122.xml

'Firemen's lift is not for a 41-stone man'

By Auslan Cramb, Scottish Correspondent
Last Updated: 10:31am GMT 22/02/2008

A crew of 10 firemen were called out four times in one week to lift a 41-stone man in his own home.

They travelled in two engines to Robert Marsden's council house and on one occasion were asked only to move him from one side of his bed to the other.

It led to a fire brigade union leader complaining yesterday that crews should not be dealing with obese people when they could be needed at real emergencies.
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The call-outs were made to Mr Marsden's ground floor flat in Grangemouth, Stirlingshire, last week, where he receives daily visits from carers.

Gordon McQuade, of the Fire Brigades Union, said: "On one of the occasions it was simply to assist the council's Mobile Emergency Care Service to move him across his bed. That is not a medical emergency. Firefighters will always attend to help out in medical emergencies. We have no problem with that.

"But when you tie up two fire engines and 10 firefighters to move someone two feet across a bed you have to ask, should we be doing that in case other incidents come in?

"We don't have any special equipment or portable hoists to lift people like this. Even with 10 firefighters, if you're pushing someone who is more than 40 stone, you can put your back out."

Mr Marsden, 40, who is unemployed and spends much of his day in bed, said he did not understand "what the fuss was about".

He added: "The firemen came here and got on with their job, and once they were finished they went on to their next job. Sometimes I slide to the floor in my living room, and it's hard to get back up.

"I try not to make a regular habit of ringing for help, but sometimes there is nothing I can do. Of course I'm grateful to the fire service. There are people up and down the country just like me.

"My weight isn't something I like to discuss. It comes up in every conversation I have. I am tired of talking about it." The FBU said that with morbid obesity becoming more common, the NHS should provide on-call assistance and hoists to allow firemen to concentrate on their real duties.

Mr McQuade added: "We are seeing a large increase in this type of call where obese patients require to be moved within their house, but there is actually nothing medically wrong with them."

And the most amazing thing is that this story does not come from Mississippi.

[Xisiqomelir]

"My weight isn't something I like to discuss. It comes up in every conversation I have. I am tired of talking about it."

Sorry brah, if you're consuming emergency services, then it's a valid topic that is going to be debated.

[FSTargetDrone]

For us ignorant Americans, 41 stone is, wait for it, 574 pounds. Holy fuck.

Anyway, they are obviously familiar with this particular guy, so why do they keep going out? Can't they simply ask if it's an "emergency"? If not, are they obligated to go anyway?

[Admiral Valdemar]

Yeah, we have beached whales too, what of it?

I recall one case in the US where a wall had to be knocked through to help shift some guy. Any bets on the first such incident here?

And silly Torygraph. Dontcha know it's "firefighters" now? They fight the fire for freedom.

[Mr Bean]

I've said it once I've said it again. It takes dedication to break 400 pounds. You have to be eating a minimum of two pounds of food a day for quite a long time.

[Aaron]

FFS, there's agency's that you can hire for this kind of thing. They may have to send half their staff but if you pay for it, then you'll get it.

[Darth Wong]

FFS, there's agency's that you can hire for this kind of thing. They may have to send half their staff but if you pay for it, then you'll get it.

The guy is unemployed.

[Crayz9000]

At 574 lbs, it's not like he couldn't just live on water (to prevent dehydration) until he drops down to a more normal weight. Unemployed or not, water isn't very expensive.

[Aaron]

The guy is unemployed.

If he's considered disabled due to his condition, the NHS or whoever pays the diability pensions in the UK would probably cover it. He'd half to apply for the pension and for the service of course.

[Darth Wong]

What's really amazing is the way the guy doesn't seem to feel any shame about his parasitic lifestyle and waste of government resources, judging by his nonchalant response to being interviewed in the article.

[Admiral Valdemar]

The NHS can deny chemo to people who won't benefit from it. They sure as shit can deny this guy aid until he loses a few humans worth of mass. I do NOT like my taxpayer's pounds going towards an unemployed oaf who requires heavy lifting equipment to turn over in bed.

Don't want to talk about your weight? I'll remember that when you're suffering an infarction and require emergency bypass surgery.

[Mayabird]

At 574 lbs, it's not like he couldn't just live on water (to prevent dehydration) until he drops down to a more normal weight. Unemployed or not, water isn't very expensive.

This is something I've often wondered myself. To get so big that someone can't move means that someone must be feeding them the obscene amounts of food necessary to maintain their weight. Why would somebody keep doing that? They can get three little bowls of oatmeal a day and a lot of water and start shedding those pounds. What are they going to do? Complain? Go get food themselves? ...actually, probably should keep the phone out of reach too, so they can't order pizza or anything.

[Shroom Man 777]

I wash myself with a rag on a stick

I fucking love morbidly obese slug-men. They're so wrong.

[FSTargetDrone]

I recall one case in the US where a wall had to be knocked through to help shift some guy. Any bets on the first such incident here?

There was a woman who weighed 318 kilograms removed from a home after firefighters cut open a wall (and removed the toilet, and the radiator) in 2007.

More bizarrely, there was a 900 pound/401 kilo man taken out of his home with a forklift in September 2007, also after firefighters cut into the house. The man apparently had Prader-Willi Syndrome (a genetic condition which makes one feel constantly hungry, among other things).

It's almost hard to see how someone so large doesn't simply die from being crushed under his own weight before gettign anywhere near 900 pounds. I imagine the life expectancy isn't very high. Just think of the stress on the heart.

[Darth Lucifer]

What I think about when I see articles like this is that fact that people like Marsden are more than likely sitting in puddles of urine and piles of their own feces.

[Broomstick]

More bizarrely, there was a 900 pound/401 kilo man taken out of his home with a forklift in September 2007, also after firefighters cut into the house. The man apparently had Prader-Willi Syndrome (a genetic condition which makes one feel constantly hungry, among other things).

I feel sorry for the Prader-Willi people, being dealt an insatiable hunger along with a slower-than-normal metabolism is just hideous. On the other hand, most people with PW don't balloon up quite that bad (they do need someone else to control their food intake, however).

MOST of these people, however, don't have Prader-Willi and don't have weird, exotic diseases. They just eat too damn much and move too damn little.

It's almost hard to see how someone so large doesn't simply die from being crushed under his own weight before gettign anywhere near 900 pounds. I imagine the life expectancy isn't very high. Just think of the stress on the heart.

Actually, if such people lie down wrong they actually CAN suffocate.

[FSTargetDrone]

I feel sorry for the Prader-Willi people, being dealt an insatiable hunger along with a slower-than-normal metabolism is just hideous. On the other hand, most people with PW don't balloon up quite that bad (they do need someone else to control their food intake, however).

I wasn't aware of the symptoms of the condition until I ran across the 900 lb. man story, but according to the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association:

Q: What is Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS)?

A: PWS is a complex genetic disorder that typically causes low muscle tone, short stature, incomplete sexual development, cognitive disabilities, problem behaviors, and a chronic feeling of hunger that can lead to excessive eating and life-threatening obesity.

That's a pretty rough hand to be dealt. I guess it's somewhat easier to see how someone can have a difficult time controlling his or her food intake if they are also suffering from cognitive disability and such.

MOST of these people, however, don't have Prader-Willi and don't have weird, exotic diseases. They just eat too damn much and move too damn little.

Yeah. At least someone with a severe genetic condition can have an excuse or sorts. But even the OP mentions how morbid obesity is becoming "more common" in the UK. That cannot be due to freakish genetic problems.

[Broomstick]

I wasn't aware of the symptoms of the condition until I ran across the 900 lb. man story, but according to the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association:

Q: What is Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS)?

A: PWS is a complex genetic disorder that typically causes low muscle tone, short stature, incomplete sexual development, cognitive disabilities, problem behaviors, and a chronic feeling of hunger that can lead to excessive eating and life-threatening obesity.

That's a pretty rough hand to be dealt. I guess it's somewhat easier to see how someone can have a difficult time controlling his or her food intake if they are also suffering from cognitive disability and such.

Indeed. Especially since one of the disabilities is that the part of the brain that registers "I'm full" is nonfunctional - these folks are always ravenously hungry. Even so, this problem is treatable and it's becoming more and more common for people with PW to maintain near-normal weight as well to be intellectually functional and able to hold jobs.

See, that's one thing that pisses me off about some of the super-fatties - there really are people with physical problems that contribute to weight gain yet most of them manage to avoid breaking 400 lbs. I'm not aware of any metabolic problem of that sort which is truly untreatable. I've got a sister with thyroid problems that promote weight gain but at least when she ballooned up during her divorce she didn't sit on her ass and shrug and blame this that and the other thing - she admits she let things get out of hand and started exercising like a maniac. She'll never be fashionably thin but she got most of the excess weight off and down to something that's not fucking with her health.

MOST of these people, however, don't have Prader-Willi and don't have weird, exotic diseases. They just eat too damn much and move too damn little.

Yeah. At least someone with a severe genetic condition can have an excuse or sorts. But even the OP mentions how morbid obesity is becoming "more common" in the UK. That cannot be due to freakish genetic problems.

If anything, morbid obesity due to genetic/physical conditions is becoming less common due to more effective medical treatment and better understanding of syndromes like Prader-Willi. I fully encourage anyone who is trying to lose weight, and I know it can be very difficult, but a fatty has to admit that he or she is responsible for dealing with his or her shit and do the hard work.