Woman Weighing over 500 Pounds Found Molded to a Chair Hadn't moved in a Year

[Elainera]

New story out today about the house.

http://www.wtol.com/story/34577234/...an-found-molded-to-chair-unfit-for-habitation

OMG no running water. From your link:

The Health Department has placed notices on Foster's home with a list of things needed to be done, in order for it to be livable. One of those things is to restore running water to the home.

"It's a sad situation. There were a number of concerns, from human feces, things of that nature, a lot of conditions that make it difficult for a person to live within that house," said Samantha Eitniear, the acting director of Community Services and Environmental Health.

 

[Tricia]

This is a picture of the "Chair" she was molded to.

This is a couch.

Here is the story from CBS NC

http://wncn.com/2017/02/20/elderly-...r-becoming-molded-to-chair-for-nearly-a-year/

 

[myfewsense]

My opinion is the volunteers did not want to be responsible in the clean up and chose to ignore until her health became worse.Some church volunteers are older and may not be able to do more than bring food or simply do not have the time.Whatever the reason these volunteers could have notified the church or county's health dept.

IMO I don't want to place any fault on volunteers. They do an incredible job, and they're already volunteering their time. However, no excuse for the goddaughter. She is also this woman's neighbor. The goddaughter didn't see her for a long time. Living so close, it's hard to believe the goddaughter was too busy to stop by once in awhile just to say hello.

 

[cuffem]

IMO I don't want to place any fault on volunteers. They do an incredible job, and they're already volunteering their time. However, no excuse for the goddaughter. She is also this woman's neighbor. The goddaughter didn't see her for a long time. Living so close, it's hard to believe the goddaughter was too busy to stop by once in awhile just to say hello.

The reason I replied about the volunteers possibly elder church members and not able to physically tend to her needs was to take some of the blame off of them.Having said that there is no excuse to report this to the church or local authorities,that is part of their job as a volunteer delivering food,they are the ones to see the physical health of the person.A simple phone call.

 

[myfewsense]

The reason I replied about the volunteers possibly elder church members and not able to physically tend to her needs was to take some of the blame off of them.Having said that there is no excuse to report this to the church or local authorities,that is part of their job as a volunteer delivering food,they are the ones to see the physical health of the person.A simple phone call.

Your comment was fine.I was thinking about how those guilt-ridden workers must feel. They deliver meals to a few elderly people in my area. I think they are so special. What I see happen too often is a big news story results in tons of bureaucratic procedures and oversight. In the end, the caring person stops volunteering and the program suffers.

 

[LaborOfLobe]

Volunteer, neighbor, I don't care. How someone could know this was going on and not do anything is beyond me. I don't care if she was an ornery, demanding, horse's rear end who told me she didn't want help...too bad.

I have a neighbor who is a constant concern. He's also my best friend. Complicated guy who is disabled and has mental health and addiction issues. I don't preach to him about going to the doctor because he isn't going to go. All I can do is listen to him and provide some company, and in a stealthy way make sure he has food and necessities. His health is deteriorating rapidly and I know the day is going to come that I will HAVE to do something, like call Adult Protective Services. I've already come to terms with the fact that he's going to be mad as h-e-double hockey sticks, but my conscience would never be OK with doing nothing if I knew he wasn't safe or able to care for himself properly.

I think my biggest fear in the world is ending up alone in the world, in a situation like this. I hope that if that day ever comes someone gives enough of a darn about me to see to my well-being. JMO

ETA: Just a quick glance at the Elder Protection laws told me she would have fallen into the "neglect of self" category. If someone had just made the call...

 

[myfewsense]

Volunteer, neighbor, I don't care. How someone could know this was going on and not do anything is beyond me. I don't care if she was an ornery, demanding, horse's rear end who told me she didn't want help...too bad.

I have a neighbor who is a constant concern. He's also my best friend. Complicated guy who is disabled and has mental health and addiction issues. I don't preach to him about going to the doctor because he isn't going to go. All I can do is listen to him and provide some company, and in a stealthy way make sure he has food and necessities. His health is deteriorating rapidly and I know the day is going to come that I will HAVE to do something, like call Adult Protective Services. I've already come to terms with the fact that he's going to be mad as h-e-double hockey sticks, but my conscience would never be OK with doing nothing if I knew he wasn't safe or able to care for himself properly.

I think my biggest fear in the world is ending up alone in the world, in a situation like this. I hope that if that day ever comes someone gives enough of a darn about me to see to my well-being. JMO

ETA: Just a quick glance at the Elder Protection laws told me she would have fallen into the "neglect of self" category. If someone had just made the call...

The world needs more caring, selfless people like you.

 

[LaborOfLobe]

The world needs more caring, selfless people like you.

That's very kind of you, thanks. I've taken care of elderly/disabled people my entire adult life and stories like this just break my heart.

 

[PositiveLight]

Okay I can tell you I completely agree with LD! I can give you some idea actually. I had a elderly patient I took care of in the hospital during my clinical rotation years and years ago that had fallen in her home and broken both hips. She had a double hip replacement. VERY SWEET lady. This was in November. She was dismissed with her family to her home. Christmas holidays came and went and about mid February I noticed her name on the list of patients in the hospital again and I requested to have her again because I had grown to care for her. When I entered her room.... Good Lord. She hadn't spoken since re admission.
She was so frail and close to death. The smell was horrid. I cried and she cried and she finally spoke after the third day. She told me what happened.
Her family dropped her off at the house in a wheel chair and just left her there. Sitting in the wheel chair. She couldn't walk but could barely get herself to the sink to drink water. She sat in her wheelchair the whole time by the sink. Occasionally a family member would bring her by a plate of food but refused to help her clean up, move, anything. Of course they would always stop by to make sure she signed her SSI check so they could cash it. She finally made her way to a phone by dragging herself. Called 911.
They were arrested for abuse and other charges. She was covered in bed sores so deep you could see bone. Sepsis the whole nine yards just as LD stated. Her hips had fused basically and after a few days stabilizing her she was sent off to a specialty rehab and actually survived. She ended up losing both legs though sadly. I saw her a year later and she was so happy to see me! I couldn't believe she even remembered me! She was doing well and only in the hospital for routine blood work.
Now there HAD to be others aware of this woman's situation.
Who was paying her bills? Did she have electricity and running water?
Someone was deliberately ignoring this woman. Someone had to be getting her water at least. Her weight staying at that amount is horrid!
She definitely wasn't getting up though on her own if her bones were breaking when they moved her. There had to be someone else helping this poor soul. There was a story not long ago about a lady's son being found dead in her home and had been there for a while unnoticed due to her hoarding. It's truly heartbreaking.
I can bet someone was cashing her checks too.
Makes me so sad thinking about what people are capable of. How can you turn your eyes away when someone is like that?
I honestly don't think it was as long as they are saying. She would have passed already due to congestive heart failure or a blood clot if not sepsis. JMOO

 

[LayzeeDayzee]

My guess would be she lost a leg due to a severe infection somewhere in it, wound became necrotic or gangrenous and it couldn't be saved.

My God what a sad and bizarre story!

Although both articles linked previously say she apparently was in that chair since last July, so it would be 'only' 7 or 8 months, not a year, I agree with what LayzeeDayzee said above. Something just can't be right about this scenario, she should have succumbed to a number of health problems much earlier if she really had not moved at all for so long. But she did lose her leg, could that be from blood clots?



Just sad and bizarre.

Hope she recovers!

 

[LayzeeDayzee]

I do blame anyone (volunteer included) who had regular contact with her, who saw first-hand the conditions she was living in, and didn't do anything sooner. It doesn't matter if someone in her situation refuses EMS assistance, there comes a point where one's home or living conditions pose a direct health risk......which would include, being immobile and spending day and night sitting in one's waste. There comes a point where one's mental health, judgment and ability to make sound decisions for themselves would be questioned if their living conditions put them at risk of harm/death. There comes a point where a home is considered 'condemned' by public health and is deem unfit for habitation. I would think that sitting piles of urine and excrement month after month would apply.

Neighbors had to have smelled the horrid stench yet they did nothing. In one article it said that EMS workers could smell the horrid stench from the front sidewalk.

Who was paying her bills monthly? Someone had to be ensuring her utilities and taxes and insurance were being paid, obviously she couldn't do it if she was immobile for months?

As someone else said, too, it doesn't make sense, the volunteer's claim that they'd grown so accustomed to the stench that they didn't notice it anymore. If this volunteer dropped by every few days or once a week, that stench would hit them like a freight train the minute they opened the door. They would only grow accustomed to it if they became desensitized to it from being there daily for many hours at a time. Think about if you've ever gone to visit a loved one in a nursing home. Even if you go there daily to visit them, chances are good when you step thru the door the smell of urine/ammonia will hit you (many old folks homes, sadly, smell like urine)...even if you spend hours there, you go back the next day and the smell will hit you.

 

[LayzeeDayzee]

Interesting comments in this article that mentions her so-called "god-daughter" (who lived right next door to her): http://nbc4i.com/2017/02/18/elderly...r-becoming-molded-to-chair-for-nearly-a-year/

 

[PositiveLight]

My guess would be she lost a leg due to a severe infection somewhere in it, wound became necrotic or gangrenous and it couldn't be saved.

Completely agree!
Plus the bones could have shattered under the weight.
I still feel like someone was bringing her more food than just the volunteers. She had an enabler.

 

[PositiveLight]

Interesting comments in this article that mentions her so-called "god-daughter" (who lived right next door to her): http://nbc4i.com/2017/02/18/elderly...r-becoming-molded-to-chair-for-nearly-a-year/

Wonder if she was handling the "bills"
and getting those SSI checks cashed every month.
Disgusting. There is no excuse.

 

[PositiveLight]

I can't help but wonder when she washed her hands for the last time...... Ugh the nurse in me just wants to burst out on this!

 

[Deltucky]

Another idea concerning the obesity/mobility issue. She may have been even heavier when she was first abandoned by the goddaughter, and lost weight due to restricted intake. I suspect she has mental health or dementia issues at this point and that's what the writer meant by "the volunteer noticed she wasn't acting herself". Sad story. I hope she gets the proper care live out her life happily.

 

[PositiveLight]

Another idea concerning the obesity/mobility issue. She may have been even heavier when she was first abandoned by the goddaughter, and lost weight due to restricted intake. I suspect she has mental health or dementia issues at this point and that's what the writer meant by "the volunteer noticed she wasn't acting herself". Sad story. I hope she gets the proper care live out her life happily.

Very true!
I do hope she is cared for properly from here on out

 

[rsd1200]

http://www.elpasoproud.com/news/woman-found-molded-to-chair/660966100



Dear god. I'm just sick over this story!! Sick and angry as ****. Bless this woman's heart, mine is aching for her.

The guy in the video said they had been helping her and cleaning up somewhat until the church folks started coming. He then thought everything was copacetic. He said that the church even brought her communion. Why would someone not want her to get out of that chair and get help? Just wondering if there were any monetary incentives for the other folks to bring her food and such. Those may have stopped if she had to go to a senior citizen's home. Just a thought. (I'm not bashing churches or Christians. I'm a follower of Christ myself, however there are folks of all walks of life/beliefs who will take advantage of others when money comes into play.)

 

[killarney rose]

I watch My 600 lb Life every week. Some of these people cannot be reasoned with. They become bed bound in the way this woman appeared to be chair bound. They refuse to get up or leave the house. In most instances they aren't able. They lie on waterproof pads that their caregivers change out for them and don't even get up to use the bathroom. I suspect this woman was doing that. From the picture of the chair in the driveway, I can't see mounds of fecal matter on it but I'm sure it was filthy and horrible smelling. I have a feeling this woman could not be reasoned with and finally a volunteer took matters into their own hands and called 911.

 

[Elainera]

Another idea concerning the obesity/mobility issue. She may have been even heavier when she was first abandoned by the goddaughter, and lost weight due to restricted intake. I suspect she has mental health or dementia issues at this point and that's what the writer meant by "the volunteer noticed she wasn't acting herself". Sad story. I hope she gets the proper care live out her life happily.

Could also be due to toxins from low level infections building up in her blood.