At 700lbs, 49-year-old Terri Smith finds herself in an urgent situation. In need of an MRI for her brain, she is unable to move, stand or roll on her own.
To make matters worse, even if she does manage to escape the confines of her Ohio home, she is far too big to fit in an MRI machine. They even considered using the MRI at the Cleveland Zoo, but the zoo doesn't have the appropriate accreditation to conduct MRI's on humans.
Terri's husband and daughter do everything for her from feeding, bathing and dressing her in bed. Says Smith,
My husband is my guardian angel. He's stuck by me through everything. Most men would have left a long time ago, and who could blame them -- but Myron is a living saint.
Bed-ridden for the past 3 years, Terri has been heavy all of her life. Says Terri of her weight,
It's awful how it creeps up on you. Once you cannot exercise it doesn't matter how healthily you eat, the weight just sticks. You're not burning off a single calorie.
Hmmmmm......
If I were to be completely honest, I sometimes have a high tolerance for other peoples' pain. I really do hope Terri gets the help she needs to give herself a chance to live. This is a sad, sad situation. However, it is also a largely preventable one.
And husband and daughter do sound like saints, but are they more enablers?
Weight certainly can creep up on people, but restricting calories works, and it works very well. The expenditure side of the ledger matters very little at this point until Smith can achieve some ambulation, and even then it will be a minimal contributor.
I wish her all the best and hope we can read a story of triumph in the next year or so.
What are your thoughts on this situation?
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