Ongoing story about a morbidly obese woman

[perfectfit]

I just read this in my local newspaper.

http://www.thespec.com/go/journal/article/289979

[rightnow]

That's a sad article.

I'm getting so sick of seeing things where the media will say "yada yada caused by obesity." Obesity doesn't CAUSE anything but humiliation when it comes to major disease. Just another symptom.

They note that she tried the Atkins diet and others "but as soon as she went off it the weight came back."

No shit, sherlock. It's such a tragedy how destroyed peoples lives are by weight.

[SweetJenna]

Very sad...I am curious to know more about what happens with this story.

I was talking with a woman today who had Gastric Bypass 6 months ago and has lost 67 lbs. She was only a size 18 to begin with. In my opinion, that is not heavy enough to justify such a drastic surgery. But hey, that is only my opinion.

[perfectfit]

That's a sad article.

I'm getting so sick of seeing things where the media will say "yada yada caused by obesity." Obesity doesn't CAUSE anything but humiliation when it comes to major disease. Just another symptom.

They note that she tried the Atkins diet and others "but as soon as she went off it the weight came back."

No shit, sherlock. It's such a tragedy how destroyed peoples lives are by weight.

I agree. It is.

This whole paragraph got to me.....

"Yes, Cheryl does try to lose weight.
She tries the Cabbage Soup Diet. The Grapefruit Diet. The Atkins Diet. She introduces herself to vegetables. Especially green ones. She eats only one starch a day.
She still treats herself though.
Dark chocolate is her favourite indulgence. Though she isn't much of a drinker, she does enjoy a little Hot Sex from time to time -- it's a liqueur she likes.
She loses a little. But as soon as she goes off the diet, she gains it all back. And then some."

It is obvious that if she was still 'treating herself' then she was not doing the Atkins diet as written. That is not a crime as I have done that myself. It is how I regained my lost weight as well as more to go with it but there is no doubt that she was a carb addict like myself.

The lady lived in my city. She died in my city. After reading this I would like to find her place of rest and leave some flowers there for her.

[perfectfit]

Very sad...I am curious to know more about what happens with this story.


There is another installment coming on Monday. I can post the link when I see it.

I just had to add this comment. I was looking at the photos accompanying the story and one in particular struck me. In the photo where the doctor (who no longer is in Hamilton btw...he has since moved to Alberta) is showing her the food portions (pic #9) most of the foods are starchy ones...corn, peas, potatoes.

It is too late for her now but I think she should have been away from those starchy foods and that would have benefitted her greatly.

[Kary]

By the time I finished that article I was in tears. It just breaks my heart to read about this poor woman's painful struggle. If only medicine had treated the whole person instead of just her diseases. If only she had received the professional and unbiased information and support she needed years ago. If only...

[swingdance]

Oh, PLEASE post the continuation link when you get it..

Pretty Please?

How SAD

[perfectfit]

Oh, PLEASE post the continuation link when you get it..

Pretty Please?

How SAD

Oh I will post it for certain. :)

I found another link to a similiar story in which the lady in the main story is also featured and the so-called expert doctor on obesity is also in.

Personally I think the doctor needs to read Gary Taubes book.

[swingdance]

Thanks! I'll keep watching!

[Manna]

Oh my word, how horrible. And what a wake-up call to the rest of us, right?

Please continue to post the links, I want to read the rest of this story.

[perfectfit]

Chapter 2 link is up now. I just found out it is a 5 part story.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/290819

[perfectfit]

Chapter 3

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/291220

[pennink]

She was craving food we all eat on low carb!!!!

Man, I'm so happy I didn't do this.

[montanasun]

Wow! I cannot wait to read the other 2 parts of her story.

[Tish437]

I went back and read Parts 1 and 2. What a dreadful situation. The whole thing sounds ghastly. I admire the courage she had to try to tackle this in the only way she felt she could succeed, but oh lord, why why why.

[perfectfit]

She was craving food we all eat on low carb!!!!


You noticed that too, eh?

I've been thinking about having gastric bypass but not now.

[perfectfit]

This is so cool.....

I emailed the reporter who wrote the story and she answered back.

My email to her.......

I have read your story about this lady and find it very touching. I have
even been sending the links to your story to a low carb forum that am a
member of and many members there have also found a great deal of interest inyour story.
We are looking forward to reading the final 2 parts.

I am very touched by this lady's story because I am in the same exact
situation as Cheryl was before she had her surgery and I also live here in
Hamilton. After reading her plight (so far) I have decided to go the low
carb/exercise route. I've done it before (successfully for 10 months and
lost 50 pounds) but never stuck with it (for reasons I am still trying to
figure out) so of course the weight piled back on and more problems came
with that weight gain. Depression, high blood pressure and lack of decent
mobility are 3 of them. There are more.

Anyway I just wanted to let you know that your story is being read with
great interest.

Also the PDF version of Chapter 1 is missing the second page. Perhaps you
can get someone to fix that.
I'd like to save her story and use it as inspiration for myself.
I'd love to lay some flowers at her place of rest but do not wish to bother
her family
so perhaps you can do that for those of us who are still struggling with our
weight.......and for Cheryl.

The reporters reply to me.....

Thanks Jaime for sharing this with me.

Good luck with your own weight loss and do take very good care of
yourself.

Thanks for pointing out the problem with the website. I'll pass that on.

Cheryl was cremated and her husband has not yet decided what to do with
her remains. The best tribute you could offer Cheryl is to be healthy.
She'd love that.

Cheers,
Susan

[pennink]

OMG... OMG... she died!

Must have skimmed that... OMG....

[Manna]

OMG... OMG... she died!

Must have skimmed that... OMG....

Me too!!!!

[joylorene]

My dads wife just had that surgery and she wasn't that obese - she is also 47 so maybe because of her age she was a good candidate?? I don't know her weight but I know she could still shop at JcPennys and I know she certainly wasn't in the 300's.

I hope she doesn't experience anything like this lady!!! How Awful!!!

My sister has just had the lap band procedure and I do know that she has had some issues with that thou - if they have it too tight she can't eat a thing so they have to go and release some of the fluid (I think) I really don't know the medical procedure for this.

I took the atkins route and so far I feel that I made the best choice. Even thou my dads wife has dropped like 72 lbs in a few months and my sister actually has only dropped about the same as myself - I still think I made the best choice.

I just hope everyone can live with their choices and make it a success

[Tish437]

Jaime, that was a very nice note you wrote her. I'm so glad you're going to go the diet/exercise route rather than surgery. Please keep posting the articles.

[montanasun]

Jaime, that was a very nice note you wrote her. I'm so glad you're going to go the diet/exercise route rather than surgery. Please keep posting the articles. I agree with Tish.

[OtherCher2]

Well, my name is Cheryl and this is almost my story...except that I lived. I feel so sad reading about this woman and all that she endured. I almost died also because I couldn't eat. I lost 175 lbs in one year and believe me that the stomach stapling is just as dreadful as it sounds.

[perfectfit]

Chapter 4

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/291736

[SweetJenna]

OMG...when she died she weighed what I do now...and she was not able to get herself off of the floor? That is scary! She must have been very immobile or paralyzed by fear.

So sad.

[joylorene]

Thanks - so sad

[Bat Spit]

"She would have died a premature death without it," he says. "She'd done spectacularly. She was right on target. But still she was morbidly obese when she died.

Can I just say how very angry this quote makes me?
What, she would have died anyway, so the fact that the surgery killed her isn't important? She was still fat, so that's what killed her, not side effects and poor follow up care after the surgery!

Argh.

Poor woman.

[rightnow]

I can't believe it took 5 people -- medical professionals no less -- to pick up a 267# woman. Two decent sized men should have been able to handle that.

I can't believe people do this shit to themselves. I can't believe that the medical field--a definite conflict of interest since they make good money on it--continues to promote this, with the media helping, as if it's the magic beans of weight loss.

No wonder she was depressed and more. Who wouldn't be?

Cherylanne Harvey died four months and 10 days after having the gastric bypass surgery she hoped would save her life.

When she took her last breath, she had lost 120 pounds.
It actually made me cry. This woman started off significantly lighter than I did, went under the knife and now is DEAD.

But they think that's ok. Oh well. Shewouldadiedanyway. Eventually.

My god.

[Ciske]

It's a sad story. Poor women............

[reachup]

This is a very sad story and what makes it even more heartaching for me is that I think that it could potentially be me (or any of us). Why not? When I weighed 150, I never thought I would weigh 170 and when I weighed 170, I never thought I would weigh 200 and when I weighed 200, I thought that 220 or 250 was a distant impossibility. But on May 1 2007, I weighed 250 pounds. So the weight is slowly coming off - I've taken it off before (and put it back on again).

What makes now different? What makes me different from Cheryl? And would I helped her if I saw her lying on that sidewalk? I hope so. But I also know that I (along with a lot of other overweight people) look at those who are heavier with a mixture of fear and relief.

[Tish437]

Reachup, you spoke so clearly and truthfully. You don't think it could be you, but as the weight creeps up, it does become you. And I know the way I look at other overweight people is a complex issue, with a lot of fear (is that going to be me?).

[montanasun]

Very sad story. If she would have been able to take her meds instead of getting sick I think she would have made it.

My prayers are with the family and friends she left behind.

Thank you Perfectfit for sharing this story.

[pennink]

I wish they'd have forced her to move around more, or at least done physio right in bed. It's sad, and I feel bad that I feel a lot of this she brought on herself (as I'm responsible for my health problems).
And please, 267 and they couldn't get her up? Something's not right here. Morbidly obese label by medical charts, but excuse me... there are a lot of people functioning just fine at that weight. Something in the language there bugged me a lot.

[joylorene]

No kidding it took that many men to move her??? 267 is large but really that sounded as if she was gigantic!!!!

So is the conclusion that it was because she didn't move and a clot formed that she died not necessarily just because she had the surgery?? I know they get you moving right after and expect you to continue to move after any surgery so is it because she didn't walk that she died??

Just wondering

[perfectfit]

I wish they'd have forced her to move around more, or at least done physio right in bed. It's sad, and I feel bad that I feel a lot of this she brought on herself (as I'm responsible for my health problems).
And please, 267 and they couldn't get her up? Something's not right here.


From what I understand in reading the article twice she was at Hamilton General Hospital which is the WORST place you could possibly be in
if you need any sort of decent care. Trust me. I know that from experience.
I would not even send my cat there if he needed care and that is saying a LOT.

IMO she should have been getting care at McMaster or in Toronto where her surgery was performed. I thinking moving her back to the HGH was a HUGE mistake on the part of her care and she probably would have been alive today if she was not sent there.

What I don't understand is why it was so hard for her to be more mobile at the lower weight.

[pennink]

HGH is good for burns and something else.. can't remember... but with all the cuts in nursing staff, sounds like they just gave up trying to 'get through' to her.
I don't get why she didn't go back to Toronto either. (BTW, St Joe's is great, too... don't get me started about St Catharines General...)

[perfectfit]

HGH is good for burns

That is about it. Must be on account of all those fires downtown. :lol:

but with all the cuts in nursing staff, sounds like they just gave up trying to 'get through' to her.

If I were her family I would seriously be wanting to look at the hospital records (you know the notes the nurses take on all patients) just to see what was said about her during her care there.



I don't get why she didn't go back to Toronto either. (BTW, St Joe's is great, too... don't get me started about St Catharines General...)

My grandson was born at St. Joe's. Nice enough hospital from the little I saw of it but I was not too impressed with the maternity ward set up there.

Edited to add: I wonder why she had such a fear of falling. I'm huge myself (between 400 and 450 pounds I think) and while I do have a little fear of falling because my mobility is so bad right now, it is not to the point where hers was.
I also don't know why she could not get herself up after falling. I can get myself up if I have to. It is a heck of a struggle to do so but I manage it.

[OtherCher2]

I wonder why she had such a fear of falling. I'm huge myself (between 400 and 450 pounds I think) and while I do have a little fear of falling because my mobility is so bad right now, it is not to the point where hers was.
I also don't know why she could not get herself up after falling. I can get myself up if I have to. It is a heck of a struggle to do so but I manage it.
Cherylann had fallen a couple of times and couldn't get up, so she developed a fear of falling and at one point wouldn't leave the house.


I don't really want to get into the pointing the finger and blaming, BUT I also do not understand WHY if a woman is foaming at the mouth SOMEBODY didn't DO something. Seems like she was very ill at home and nobody was taking her in for rechecks. The article does say that the family just thought this was normal in gastric bypass. OMG! Sad to say that many Doctors who are caring for obese patients do actually think that "they was going to die anyway".

[swingdance]

How sad! I read it and just felt so bad for her poor husband.

It took a very special man to stand by her with all those medical issues..poor guy!

And a stupid little CLOT! horrible

[perfectfit]

I just noticed this on the Spectator's website. If you go to the front page and look under 'Featured Multimedia' there are 2 videos regarding Cheryl.

One is called....'Dr. Greg Curnew talks about obesity' and the other one is called '421 pounds;Cheryl Harvey's story'. That last one is the 5th link down and is the video with commentary from the reporter regarding Cheryl as you view photos of Cheryl.

I was in tears with the last one.

[perfectfit]

How sad! I read it and just felt so bad for her poor husband.

It took a very special man to stand by her with all those medical issues..poor guy!

And a stupid little CLOT! horrible

I feel bad for her husband too and I have this overwhelming urge to send flowers with a note so he will know that what she had gone through was not in vain.

[swingdance]

I feel bad for her husband too and I have this overwhelming urge to send flowers with a note so he will know that what she had gone through was not in vain.

Exactly! Those of us who UNDERSTAND the embarrassment, fear and humiliation of being overweight can definitely relate.

I am glad she has someone special to be with her!

[LacyOkey]

wow a very heart wrenching story.Poor woman !What an excellent husband she had too stay with her through everything

[vegaskelly]

I wonder why she had such a fear of falling. I'm huge myself (between 400 and 450 pounds I think) and while I do have a little fear of falling because my mobility is so bad right now, it is not to the point where hers was.


I'm not so sure it had anything to do with her size. This is a fear that I have as well and have had for several years. I honestly didn't know anyone else experienced this until I read this article. For me, it stems from anxiety. I've gotten better over the years by quitting a stressful job and increasing my dosage of meds but I still get it from time to time. Usually when I am out in a wide open space. It is completely irrational and I know there is no reason I would fall just standing there or walking, but I think it anyway.
It used to be so bad that just walking from my office to my car in the parking lot would send me into a full scale panic attack if there were no cars around me to "break my fall" if I were to fall.
It is very hard for me to put this feeling into words, I'm just glad I hardly get it anymore.
The article said that she had a lifelong fear of falling...given that she had fallen several times and not been able to get up coupled with the exsisting fear of falling, AND the fact that she couldn't keep her meds down (when I forget to take mine the fear increases), I can easily see how she refused to so much as stand up.

I never had the fear when I was heavier though.

This is a very sad story, I was crying when I read the 4th article.

[Nae]

Ive thought about the surgery inumerous times,A neighbor of mine went in weighing 600 lbs and is losing weight and fine, but then another neighbor of mine who was smaller by far probably only 60-80 lbs overweight died 2 weeks after her surgery. Its a scary thing to think that. her sister overheard me talking about surgery with my roomate at the time and came up and told us the heart rending story and begged me to try another approach, other than the bypass. So here i am.

[Raeven]

"She has a very, very serious panic attack. She thought she would never get up," says Don. "We had to call the ambulance. It took five men to get her up. There are no handles on people."

Cheryl weighs 267 pounds.

It is not only about the weight. I have ridden on an abulance for about 6 years now. I have helped to lift many people. I have seen it take 3 strong men to lift a 160 lb woman. She had slid out of her wheelchair and was afaid that the abulance crew was going to drop her as they lifted her into her bed.

Because of her emotional state at the time, Cherylann may have been afaid to stand up, been afraid of falling again or being dropped by the men, and thus been of no assistance in standing up and dead weight. Trying to help a 267 lb woman stand it alot different then just lifting 267 lbs.

Also, Cherylann had lost 120 lbs in 4 months. Doubtless she had alot of excess skin on her limbs. Imagine trying to hold someone by the upper arm to help lift them and having the bone and muscles inside just roll within all that loose skin.

[OtherCher2]

Ive thought about the surgery inumerous times,A neighbor of mine went in weighing 600 lbs and is losing weight and fine, but then another neighbor of mine who was smaller by far probably only 60-80 lbs overweight died 2 weeks after her surgery. Its a scary thing to think that. her sister overheard me talking about surgery with my roomate at the time and came up and told us the heart rending story and begged me to try another approach, other than the bypass. So here i am.

So glad you're here! I had gastric bypass in 1981 and almost died. 26 years later I still have health issues created by the surgery. This is my second time to lose over 100 lbs. This time I've learned how to keep it off.

[Nae]

wow! your second time at 100, you have got to tell me how you could do something so amazing, the most ive lost is 50 lbs and i gained half back

[MyraS]

Edited to add: I wonder why she had such a fear of falling. I'm huge myself (between 400 and 450 pounds I think) and while I do have a little fear of falling because my mobility is so bad right now, it is not to the point where hers was.

As someone who, like poor Cherylann, has panic disorder, I think I can answer you - she was most likely suffering from bouts of vertigo. I've sometimes had attacks of it, and when they occur, I can't tell where the floor is. It's very scary and makes walking across open spaces almost impossible. They occur more often when anxiety levels are up, and since she couldn't keep down her meds, she was probably having extreme attacks.

[Tish437]

Myra, I am quite impressed with your statistics. Did you lose all that low carbing?

[elreydelos]

OH MY GOD! I can't believe she died. What a sad story. It should serve as a real eye opener for those of us that have considered gastric surgery. I myself started on Atkins in order to lose 10% of my body weight in order to qualify for the surgery. I lost that first 38 lbs. so easily I stayed on Atkins and decided not to do the surgery. Thank God I did.

I haven't been around in a while and it's nice to come back around to catch up on everyone's progress. I have pretty much been in a stall for the last couple of months and have been bouncing between 290 and 297. Oh well, better that than the 385 I was at and consiidering surgery! :wave:

[MyraS]

Myra, I am quite impressed with your statistics. Did you lose all that low carbing?

Yep, all low carbing. But it hasn't been quick - I've been low carbing since 1998.

Thanks for asking!

[SweetJenna]

Was that the end of the story? Seems like there should be more somehow. :(

[perfectfit]

Was that the end of the story? Seems like there should be more somehow. :(

This was the final follow-up story but it did not say Part 5 which is probably why I missed it until just now.

http://www.thespec.com/Local/article/291716

[SweetJenna]

Thanks! I appreciate you sharing this story with us all!

[MizKitty]

From Chapter 4:
Cheryl's death is not officially considered a surgical mortality. To qualify for that statistical category, she would have had to die within 30 days of her gastric bypass.

From Chapter 5:
1 in 200 die after gastric bypass, during which a small pouch is stapled off from the rest of the stomach that is then connected to the small intestine. This forces food to bypass the lower stomach and parts of the small intestine.

Scary huh? Cheryl's not being counted in that number. I wonder how many others aren't either.

[rightnow]

"It's sad that someone in the prime of her life passes away with a disease we can treat," says Sharma.

I see gastric bypass as the equivalent of the Eye Of Newt remedies. I think someday we're going to look back at this and truly just be speechless that in this age of alleged intellect and technology, we thought it was a good idea.

[PS Diva]

I think someday we're going to look back at this and truly just be speechless that in this age of alleged intellect and technology, we thought it was a good idea.
And that we are doing it to teenagers, besides!!

[rightnow]

Um, it's far worse than that. On this thread
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=357785
"The AAP now recommends a staged, progressive approach leading to a last stage with drugs and gastric surgery for kids as young as 6 when they don't get BMI within normal."
link to article is in that thread.

[PS Diva]

I am speechless!!

[j13]

Very sad. :(

As to lifting the woman - have you lifted a person before? It's very, very hard, much harder than lifting the equivalent weight in a typical solid object. I mean, I'm pretty strong and I really don't think I could split carrying a person of that weight with just one or two people.

Gastric bypass is definitely, imo, going to be looked upon one day as a barbaric procedure in light of the alternatives. I'm really, really hoping that the Gary Taubes book finally starts hacking away at the currently-accepted dietary views. I don't judge anyone who undergoes the procedure - I understand the desperation that drives that decision, and for some people it works without major problems. But the rate of complications is so high, and the consequences of those consequences so severe, that I just honestly think that it's not the best option, particularly in light of all the emerging science regarding the mechanisms of carbohydrate metabolism and the effectiveness of carbohydrate restriction.

It is a testament to just how awful it is to be severely obese, however, that people even consider the procedure. I know that I did. I knew about the complications and their remarkably high rate of incidence, yet if low-carbing didn't work for me I'd likely have taken that path. It is just so unspeakably awful to be super-morbidly obese. It hinders everything you do, both spatially because you don't physically fit into the real world, and socially because everyone just plain treats you so badly, AND health-wise because you're not physically able to do a lot of the things you'd like to do. It's just so terrible, it's a self-contained prison. Rather than continue on that path I honestly would have taken the risk, because nothing (until low carb) ever worked for me, and life at that weight was not worth living. I wasn't living, I was just existing. God, it was so terrible.

You can all do this. Get your mind to accept that. Follow the plan, don't make excuses or exceptions. Read your books, listen to the people who know better than you. Even though I'm still overweight, my life is so unspeakably better than it was before, I can not describe it.

-j.

[perfectfit]

Scary huh? Cheryl's not being counted in that number. I wonder how many others aren't either.

My guess is ...a lot more then we are told of.

[perfectfit]

Very sad. :(

As to lifting the woman - have you lifted a person before? It's very, very hard, much harder than lifting the equivalent weight in a typical solid object. I mean, I'm pretty strong and I really don't think I could split carrying a person of that weight with just one or two people.

Gastric bypass is definitely, imo, going to be looked upon one day as a barbaric procedure in light of the alternatives. I'm really, really hoping that the Gary Taubes book finally starts hacking away at the currently-accepted dietary views. I don't judge anyone who undergoes the procedure - I understand the desperation that drives that decision, and for some people it works without major problems. But the rate of complications is so high, and the consequences of those consequences so severe, that I just honestly think that it's not the best option, particularly in light of all the emerging science regarding the mechanisms of carbohydrate metabolism and the effectiveness of carbohydrate restriction.

It is a testament to just how awful it is to be severely obese, however, that people even consider the procedure. I know that I did. I knew about the complications and their remarkably high rate of incidence, yet if low-carbing didn't work for me I'd likely have taken that path. It is just so unspeakably awful to be super-morbidly obese. It hinders everything you do, both spatially because you don't physically fit into the real world, and socially because everyone just plain treats you so badly, AND health-wise because you're not physically able to do a lot of the things you'd like to do. It's just so terrible, it's a self-contained prison. Rather than continue on that path I honestly would have taken the risk, because nothing (until low carb) ever worked for me, and life at that weight was not worth living. I wasn't living, I was just existing. God, it was so terrible.

You can all do this. Get your mind to accept that. Follow the plan, don't make excuses or exceptions. Read your books, listen to the people who know better than you. Even though I'm still overweight, my life is so unspeakably better than it was before, I can not describe it.

-j.

Awesome post!! Thanks! :)

[Kary]

Um, it's far worse than that. On this thread
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=357785
"The AAP now recommends a staged, progressive approach leading to a last stage with drugs and gastric surgery for kids as young as 6 when they don't get BMI within normal."
link to article is in that thread.

What? WHAT? I am actually sputtering in disbelieve. As a nurse I cannot fathom who in their right mind would subject a child to elective surgery. And that is what gastric bypass is, an elective procedure. It is one thing for an adult to go and roll the dice on this surgery, it is totally different to have a child be more or less forced to endure it. I mean where is this 6 or 8 year old getting all the food to allow them to be morbidly obese enough to consider surgery? Is the kid working a job, getting a paycheck and driving themselves to the store to buy the vast quantities of junky food necessary to reach and maintain that weight? If not, then someone would rather risk the kid dying in surgery then to control their food intake. And if their food intake is controlled then there must be something else wrong for which surgery would also not be the answer.
I was a fat kid and let me tell you it was no fun. There were times I was truly miserable. But being a fat kid beats the hell out of being a dead kid.

[montanasun]

What? WHAT? I am actually sputtering in disbelieve. As a nurse I cannot fathom who in their right mind would subject a child to elective surgery. And that is what gastric bypass is, an elective procedure. It is one thing for an adult to go and roll the dice on this surgery, it is totally different to have a child be more or less forced to endure it. I mean where is this 6 or 8 year old getting all the food to allow them to be morbidly obese enough to consider surgery? Is the kid working a job, getting a paycheck and driving themselves to the store to buy the vast quantities of junky food necessary to reach and maintain that weight? If not, then someone would rather risk the kid dying in surgery then to control their food intake. And if their food intake is controlled then there must be something else wrong for which surgery would also not be the answer.
I was a fat kid and let me tell you it was no fun. There were times I was truly miserable. But being a fat kid beats the hell out of being a dead kid. I agree with you. I also was a fat kid and felt the same way.

[Misa]

What? WHAT? I am actually sputtering in disbelieve. As a nurse I cannot fathom who in their right mind would subject a child to elective surgery. And that is what gastric bypass is, an elective procedure. It is one thing for an adult to go and roll the dice on this surgery, it is totally different to have a child be more or less forced to endure it. I mean where is this 6 or 8 year old getting all the food to allow them to be morbidly obese enough to consider surgery? Is the kid working a job, getting a paycheck and driving themselves to the store to buy the vast quantities of junky food necessary to reach and maintain that weight? If not, then someone would rather risk the kid dying in surgery then to control their food intake. And if their food intake is controlled then there must be something else wrong for which surgery would also not be the answer.
I was a fat kid and let me tell you it was no fun. There were times I was truly miserable. But being a fat kid beats the hell out of being a dead kid.

Yes. I completely agree with you.

In the past, there have been a few cases of kids being taken away from their parents due to their weight problems. I don't think that should generally be the case, but if a kid is MORBIDLY obese (in one of the cases, two of the children had to be helped out of bed because they were so large they couldn't do it without injuring themselves), maybe it's not such a bad idea (for children whose lives are in danger because of their weight or for kids who parents would do gastric surgery on them). This is something that will affect kids for their whole lives. Furthermore, the kids could injure themselves from the surgery because, really, what kid who has LOVED treats in the past is going to NEVER again drink soda, for instance? What kid like that is never going to have five too many oreos? They could do serious damage to themselves if they do that and have had gastric bypass. And, frankly, unless it is because of a medical reason (and then the surgery wouldn't really help ANYWAY), a parent who lets their six year old get so heavy that she is considering giving the kid gastric surgery isn't going to be the kind of parent who carefully monitors the kids' food intake.

It's child abuse. Loving your kids to death.

[pennink]

but they will regain it... they won't be learning anything--really stupid idea.

Licenses for having kids... starting to look more feasible.

[Misa]

Not only that, they don't learn any positive habits. I know that a lot of my negative food habits were started during childhood.