Catching Idle Butterflies

Addictions

There are some things in this life I don’t understand, and I don’t think I ever want to.

It began when I saw two shows on TLC on Sunday. One was called "Half Ton Man” and “627lb Woman: Jackie’s story”.

In watching these shows I couldn’t help but think of Dave’s uncle who must weigh at least 450 lbs. He’s only 60, and because he weighs so much, he can barely walk. He now can’t do all the things he loved to do such as hunting and fishing. With diabetes, gout, and other health problems, I can’t help but be concerned about how many years he has left.

But the worst part is the lack of sympathy for his situation he receives from his friends and family, me included. We’ve all talked about how much better he’d feel if he would only lose the weight, “And have you noticed how much he talks about food?”

The most interesting thing “One Ton Man” showed was the brain scans of morbidly obese people when compared to the brain scans of alcoholics and heroin addicts. They were the same.

It also showed how many of morbidly obese many times regain their weight even after extreme measures such as gastric bypass surgery. One man they interviewed who had lost something like 500 lbs, only to regain it years later said (paraphrased), “It’s an addiction, much like that of the heroin addict and the alcoholic. But the difference is, what if in order to beat their addiction the heroin addict had to have a fix every day, or an alcoholic had to have one drink a day? Food addicts can’t stop eating, so it’s no wonder we fail.”

They also interviewed Rosalie Bradford who made the Guiness Book of World Records twice. This excerpt is from her website http://www.rosaliebradford.com/about.html :

Two-time Guinness Book Record Holder Rosalie Bradford Speaks Out
Heaviest Woman in history talks about her record weight loss

Auburndale, FL – (8/11/04) – Rosalie Bradford, 60, holds two amazing Guinness Book records – one for the heaviest woman in history in excess of 1,200 pounds (1995), but most importantly one for the largest weight loss is the largest ever recorded by anybody, 917 pounds.

Her journey has not been easy, as she has come close to dying so many times that she’s lost count. “It seems I was being told I had two weeks to live, “ said Bradford with a grin.

Bradford was diagnosed in (1960) with a case of morbid obesity, but now she has been reinvigorated to share her story in an effort to inspire others (whose weights have climbed into often-fatal zones) that there is a way out. She said, “There was no one on earth that felt more hopeless and worthless than I did,” if I can lose the weight, anyone can.”

After attempting suicide in (1989), one of Rosalie’s friends contacted health specialist Richard Simmons. Simmons called her and said, “God doesn’t make junk and you are worth the effort.” He sent her a diet plan, and after reluctance in opening the box, she committed to his plan. Slowly, the weight began coming off.

At 650 pounds, a therapist helped her to confront the feelings of abandonment that plagued her since her childhood. He also reintroduced her to the deep religious faith of her childhood.

Rosalie Bradford’s journey includes:
• In 1943, as a 6-month infant her mother abandoned her at a babysitter’s home in Pennsylvania.
• At the age of eight, her biological mother showed up to claim her. “She literally marched into the yard and tried to pull me out of the sandbox,” said Bradford. “ I screamed in terror.”
• She’s blocked out many memories of those custody periods, recalling primarily that they were “horrible” and that she was particularly terrified of her stepfather.
• Though she was chubby as a young child, it was during the 18-month period that she bounced back and forth between families her weight began its precipitous climb.
• Her biological mother eventually abandoned her claim on her daughter AGAIN, but the lingering insecurity bred what Bradford calls “food addiction.” At age 14, she weighed 202 pounds. At 15, she weighed 309.
• Ten years after college, the 5’ 7” Rosalie (now married with one child) developed a “blood infection” which left her immobile for the next 8 years of her life. Her husband, (Robert) stood beside her through those dramatic years as the weight gain increased.
• She attempted suicide at an estimated 1200 pounds, and was placed on pure oxygen. According to Dr. Alfred Vasta, after years of exhorting her to control her eating he has simply gave up. He said, “It really seemed to me that she was committing suicide with her fork. There was nothing more that could be done for her.”
• In (1989), Richard Simmons phone call came and changed her life.
• Today, Rosalie lives in (Auburndale), Florida. Her witty and strong personality has allowed her to counsel obese individuals who have the same food addiction she has worked to overcome.
• She still has many daily challenges. During one of the five operations to remove excess skin, the surgeon accidentally severed the lymphatic system in her legs.

Rosalie Bradford wants everyone, within the reach of her voice, to know the real causes of overeating – it’s not necessarily a matter of a weak will, it’s a change of heart and lifestyle. “You do NOT have to face this battle alone,” said Bradford.

What brought me to tears was Jackie’s Story. Speaking into the camera and doing her best not to break down she said, “I don’t know exactly when it happened, but there came a point when I didn’t feel like a woman any more. I don’t feel human, and I really want to feel human again.”

But even more heartbreaking was the panic she felt just trying to get into a minivan for the drive to the hospital to have gastric bypass surgery. After not leaving her house in over a year and carrying so much weight, she had to get back in her wheelchair sitting near the van, convinced she would hurt herself. But she had two friends who prayed over her and convinced her she had no choice. It was either get or go back inside and wait for death.

A question then occurred to me: Who sets out to weigh so much a person can no longer walk, leave their own home for years, even become bed ridden sometimes for decades? No one intends to live such a life, so under what extreme circumstances causes this to happen? That’s why I need to be less judgmental and more sympathetic to not just Dave’s uncle, but anyone who suffers from any kind of addiction.

Segue: You might want to read jspinelli's blog entry "Invalid Entry"  about surprising, yet nonetheless destructive addictions, both to the addicted person, and his/her family and friends.

I don’t offer any wisdom or solutions to addiction, no matter what the form. I’ve never been there. The closest I’ve come was seeing my mother almost destroy herself with alcohol (now sober 22 years). But she was forced into it when she got cirrhosis of the liver. It was either quit drinking or die. With two teenage daughters, she decided she needed to live, for our sakes if for no other reason.