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Six-Hundred-Pound Woman Surgically Removed From Her Couch
[font=helvetica,arial]PALM BEACH -- A 600-pound, 40 year-old woman was stuck to her couch at a home in Stuart, Wednesday.
Rescuers went in not knowing how difficult it would be to get her out. Authorities estimate that the had been there anywhere from 2-to-5 years.
"Family members are upset, it's a difficult position. We're trying to do the best we can to get the patient out safely," said Chris Wisniewski, from Martin County Fire & Rescue.
Fire rescue crews faced what seemed to be an impossible mission. Everyone that went inside had to wear protective gear. The stench was so powerful that officials had to blast in fresh air while they worked.
Officials say they had to cut a piece of plywood into a makeshift stretcher because a normal stretcher wouldnt do.
An ambulance was too small. Officials brought in a trailer to get the victim out.
While rescue crews came up with a back-door rescue plan, detectives secured the crime scene and questioned family members on how it got this bad.
Using the planks, they loaded the woman on to the trailer, still attached to the couch.
Removing her from the couch at that time would have been too painful, because her body was grafted to the fabric after years of staying put. Her skin had become one with the sofa and had to be surgically removed.
Detectives are investigating whether they have a case of neglect by the family or if this is simply a sad story.
The woman is still at an area hospital where doctors have removed her from the couch.
http://www2.wsvn.com/news/articles_p/local/C50275/
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[font=helvetica,arial]PALM BEACH -- A 600-pound, 40 year-old woman was stuck to her couch at a home in Stuart, Wednesday.
Rescuers went in not knowing how difficult it would be to get her out. Authorities estimate that the had been there anywhere from 2-to-5 years.
"Family members are upset, it's a difficult position. We're trying to do the best we can to get the patient out safely," said Chris Wisniewski, from Martin County Fire & Rescue.
Fire rescue crews faced what seemed to be an impossible mission. Everyone that went inside had to wear protective gear. The stench was so powerful that officials had to blast in fresh air while they worked.
Officials say they had to cut a piece of plywood into a makeshift stretcher because a normal stretcher wouldnt do.
An ambulance was too small. Officials brought in a trailer to get the victim out.
While rescue crews came up with a back-door rescue plan, detectives secured the crime scene and questioned family members on how it got this bad.
Using the planks, they loaded the woman on to the trailer, still attached to the couch.
Removing her from the couch at that time would have been too painful, because her body was grafted to the fabric after years of staying put. Her skin had become one with the sofa and had to be surgically removed.
Detectives are investigating whether they have a case of neglect by the family or if this is simply a sad story.
The woman is still at an area hospital where doctors have removed her from the couch.
http://www2.wsvn.com/news/articles_p/local/C50275/
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