Obese Ind. woman's body hauled away by wrecker

[book_worm]

I think this is sad. This woman probably had a very sad life. I know some people might say "well how else could they get her out?" or "She brought on her early death herself by getting so fat." but nobody wants to be 750 pounds and confined to a room and die at 47. This woman obviously had some problems that most of us can't even imagine.

INDIANAPOLIS - A 750-pound woman who died in her bed was covered with a carpet and pulled out of her apartment on the mattress in view of neighbors, then hoisted onto a flatbed wrecker to be taken to the county morgue. Marion County Coroner Frank Lloyd Jr. says he's investigating why a contractor with equipment capable of handling obese corpses was not used, and he has apologized to the family.

"It could have been handled in a better fashion, there's no question about that," he said Thursday.

Teresa Smith, 48, died Tuesday at her apartment, where she had been confined to bed because of her weight.

Lloyd said it wasn't clear why coroner's officials contacted a wrecker company to transport the corpse instead of using the regular body removal contractors who were at the scene. He said that the regular contractor is equipped to handle large corpses, and he was looking into why a different contractor hired more rarely was used.

"You know how you hoist a car on a flatbed with a chain? That's how they took her up there," Smith's boyfriend, David Johnson, told The Indianapolis Star.

Lloyd said that the carpet was the only suitable covering available but acknowledged it was not the best way to handle the situation given that Smith's body was visible to some apartment dwellers in a small courtyard between buildings.

"We cannot control what neighbors do on balconies," he said, adding that privacy was a key concern.

He said his office was considering purchasing a special cart for obese corpses.
http://enews.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20090522/4a162340_3ca6_1552620090522-532821263

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. :^( I would have been so distraught if this had been my mother treated that way.

[Silver Swan]

2. I read about this on another site

It made me cry.

[PCIntern]

3. Beyond all belief...

is there not a single shred of dignity left in this world?


I'm not picky but WOW...this is just disgusting.

[Cleita]

4. What I want to know is why these obese people who are confined to their

bed because they can't move can still get enough food to keep them obese? It seems this would be the ideal time for family and friends to cut down on the rations until they can move.

[DesertFlower]

6. good point. nt

[maxsolomon]

7. ask her boyfriend/caretaker/enabler

she likely needed upwards of 5000 calories/day.

"cutting down on the rations" is not something they're capable of, for whatever reason.

[dugaresa]

9. I have thought the same thing...if someone can not move from their bed

why not feed them a proper diet to help them lose weight?

Then I saw a program about some of these unfortunate folks and basically they have people around them that have problems as well and may even like the dependency. One woman was married to this fellow and she was bringing him junk food to his hospital. He was there to try and help him lose weight so he wouldn't die and she was bringing him junk. (he died in the end)

[8 track mind]

11. I remeber that program

That was really f-ed up......

[riverdeep]

25. You might be thinking of 'Inside Brookhave Obesity Clinic'.

The were having a marathon of that show last year or the year before, when I still had a TV. I watched most of the episodes. That was a mistake. Should have just watched one and left it at that. There's no non-offensive way to say it- I found them disgusting. There was one Black guy who had what looked like elephantitis of the leg, but it wasn't, it was something else related to his obesity, he was like 700 lbs. Another woman had an apron of skin that stretched from her stomach to her shin.

The heavier these people got, the harder the weight was to take off. Even walking down the hall was like running a marathon. I think I stuck with it because, occasionally, there would be someone who actually succeeded, and that was great to see. But most of the patients didn't really lose any weight or even gained. It looked like hell, being stuck in that kind of body.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

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[Jane Austin]

5. She had a boyfriend?

Wow. There really is someone for everyone.

[maxsolomon]

10. see my post above

you can't be bedridden and 750 pounds without someone that feeds you. almost every case like this there's an enabling partner.

[hfojvt]

12. for every female maybe

"Until I was thirty, I wanted terribly to fall in love. I didn't care so much about being loved; almost any woman can manage that if she cares to try. But I was eager for the experience, without which, all literature assured me, life missed its consummation. Once or twice I tried to compass it, but I couldn't ...And I confess that married life looks to me often as I watch it terribly impoverished for women." Vida Dutton Scudder "On Journey" pp 212-13

[csziggy]

8. Shades of "What's Eating Gilbert Grape"

When the mother died, the authorities wanted to remove her body with a crane.

[laylah]

14. My first thought...

may she rest in peace, bless her heart :cry:

[Bluebear]

17. And Johnny Depp set the house on fire to spare her that humiliation

My first thought as well.

[ccharles000]

23. That was such a sad movie

[Control-Z]

13. Too sad.

This poor woman must have suffered so in life. Now in death, a final humiliating blow.

Moments like this are forever remembered.

Her family (if she has any) will suffer.

[konnichi wa]

16. The bigger tragedy is that there are special 'contractors' to handle obese corpses.

Shameful.

[seabeyond]

18. to me, the bigger tagedy is that this story needed to be told for peoples sick

entertainment.

why cant we just respect our fellowman enough that even in death, leave a story like this untold.

it was her journey being that big, not mine to judge.
it was the officials challenge to get her out, no judgement on the right or wrong

but the nation didnt have to share in this story

[AndyTiedye]

19. What Would You Do With Them?

They called what seems to be a car removal service for this one,
and I don't think any of us finds that acceptable.

[konnichi wa]

22. I meant shameful that there actually are 700 pound people.

As far as what happens to a dead body, I'm pretty sanguine about that...they don't represent the former person to me so I don't much care what happens to them. I realize not everyone is equally dispassionate about corpses.

[MercutioATC]

20. Why is it "shameful"?

Most coroner's offices aren't equipped to move a 750-pound body.

[konnichi wa]

21. OH! No, I meant it's shameful that in the U.S. there is a NEED for such a service.

How can we even allow people to abuse themselves like that...or others to do it to them. Somebody had to be
bringing in those 6 pizzas a day...

:shrug:

[MercutioATC]

26. Ahh, gotcha.

Yes, it's a shame, but I guess our freedoms include the freedom to eat oneself to death...

[Mike 03]

24. There was a great talk show host in Los Angeles named John Swaney, and he was

also a skilled attorney, but he became an obese recluse and suffered heart problems. Once the fire department had to break a wall down in order to remove him from his apartment. It was really sad because this guy was one of the top two or three talk show hosts ever (and a great Liberal Dem, I might add).

Damn, I miss him. He died, eventually, from problems related to heart issues. It's sad to me that he is better remembered as the "guy the fire department had to break a wall down to rescue" than for his remarkable knowledge, intelligence and skill on the radio.