A good jolt on why it is important to lose weight
Tonight at work we get a EMS call out for a code blue. We are informed via the radio that the patient is a male in his early 60s and weighs in excess of 750 pounds. The local fire department will be on hand to assist getting him to the hospital.
He arrives wrapped in a heavy duty fire department tarp laying on the floor of the ambulance because he will not fit on a stretcher. CPR in progress. With the help of 9 fire men we manage to move him to the “big boy” bed and continue with CPR. We manage to revive him, intubate him and stablize him enough to transfer to our ICU. Normally someone this sick is transfered to Oahu were we have specialists. But he is too big for our air ambulance and too sick for the coast quard, so we must keep him. He is also too big for our CT scanner.
I had to call the fire department back when it was time to move him to ICU as we were unable to push the bed. Again our local boys came to the rescue…above and beyond….and helped us transfer him to the unit.
We needed four men to hold his pannas back (belly) using a sheet so that we could try and find his penis to put a catheter in him. We did not find it but our urologist was able to put in a subra public line. The smell was horrid. His panna alone is the size of a grown man…..did I mention the smell?
This man is going to die….he will die tonight. He has a son and family in the ICU waiting room crying and grieving. They love him dearly, he will not live to see his grand child grow up or his youngest son marry…he will die tonight. They want him cremated, we cannot..he is too big for our crematorium…
He will die tonight, and a family has lost a father and a grand father….
Because he weighs 750 pounds…excuse me while I go and throw away my stash of potato chips and text my son to tell him I love him…
Posted on February 16th, 2009 by islandgrl
Filed under: General
Such a tragedy. I feel for that man and his family. Sometimes, it seems like I don’t make much progress. Always worrying and trying to deal with an extra 40 or 50 pounds and then I see some poor, massive individual struggling to even walk and I think, “Yes, I am successful. If not, I’d be like that, too.”
I feel so bad for people like that. It’s so sad.
Oh my gosh. Imagine, too, all the limitations that weight put on his life - and now in death (presumably) there are limitations as well. I’ve never understood how people can get that big. I don’t understand how they can keep on breathing at weights like that. I feel tired all the time and groggy and my blood pressure goes up if I’m 20 -25 pounds over my normal weight. Back to Leslie - and high fiber/low calories for THIS old chick…
Glad that you’ll be getting reimbursed for the thievery - that’s why banks insure our deposits, after all. In the end it does soften the blow a bit, eh?
Hugs,
Z
Wow, what an incredible story. And so very sad… Especially for his family. Thanks for sharing.
Good to hear that you would be getting your money back. Very good to hear that, in fact.
Meanwhile I refuse to dwell on this man. No offense meant.
Love and hugs to my favorite blog friend,
iniya
It’s 30 degrees and snowing here. Think you could get in a run on the beach by proxy for me?
Thank you for sharing this story. My heart went out as I read it. I don’t understand why he allowed himself to get to such a weight. Where was his doctor? Where was his support to throw away the potato chips? It is sad. Thank you for the wake up that we need to take care of ourselves. And we need to tell those we love that we love them. I love you.
*oops* i put my reply on the wrong post somehow..when you read it, it goes here. Sorry :$
This is a powerful story, and I’ll remember it. Thank you so much for sharing it.
Sorry about the snafu with your dh’s atm card. Maybe they really will catch the person responsible. I think I would feel just as you do, on one hand knowing your dh feels like a schmuck, on another hand still being mad. Tell him he needs to do something to make right somehow. To restore both your and his faith in him.
Glad to see that you are still running.
Hope your boss figures out how to make a schedule!
Take Care,
RubyJean