Comments on: Love Them to Death http://joscafe.com/2006/03/15/love-them-to-death Live, Laugh, Love Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:28:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Jerry Meadows, RN http://joscafe.com/2006/03/15/love-them-to-death/comment-page-1#comment-235305 Jerry Meadows, RN Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:17:40 +0000 http://joscafe.com/2006/03/15/morbid-obesity/#comment-235305 Jo, Your frankness is refreshing to someone who is a health care provider who sometimes spends a great deal of time teaching people about their health problems. Some patients don't comply and are those who have frequent visits to the ER or the hospital for the same problem many times. It can be frustrating. As for family dynamics and illness, food is tied up with so many issues. I work in hospice after working ICU for several years. Even when someone is dying, if a patient is receiving enteral feeding (tube feeding) it is difficult for the family to stop it. Food is mixed with love, care, compassion. We do live in a society where food is equated with many other things besides it's true purpose, fueling the body. I saw the same episode as you and watched in many respects. My twin sister died of complications related to her morbid obesity. After telling her for many years to do something as she was killing herself, it finally happened. I can relate to the families and knowing how frustrating it can be to deal with someone who has a serious food problem. Being a nurse, it was tough when I knew what was happening and giving my sister the best information possible. She was not bedbound and could make her own choices. It was frustrating. Sometimes after talking to her for hours and knowing what she was going to do, I had to act like an alcoholic's loved one and let it go. I agree that bringing morbidly obese patients food is not smart, but imagine withholding food from your loved one. It's what the patient/family perception what food is, not what others think. Trying to change their thinking is the toughest job of all. And as a Democrat, feel free to support anything you wish. Jo,
Your frankness is refreshing to someone who is a health care provider who sometimes spends a great deal of time teaching people about their health problems. Some patients don’t comply and are those who have frequent visits to the ER or the hospital for the same problem many times. It can be frustrating.

As for family dynamics and illness, food is tied up with so many issues. I work in hospice after working ICU for several years. Even when someone is dying, if a patient is receiving enteral feeding (tube feeding) it is difficult for the family to stop it. Food is mixed with love, care, compassion. We do live in a society where food is equated with many other things besides it’s true purpose, fueling the body.

I saw the same episode as you and watched in many respects. My twin sister died of complications related to her morbid obesity. After telling her for many years to do something as she was killing herself, it finally happened. I can relate to the families and knowing how frustrating it can be to deal with someone who has a serious food problem. Being a nurse, it was tough when I knew what was happening and giving my sister the best information possible. She was not bedbound and could make her own choices. It was frustrating. Sometimes after talking to her for hours and knowing what she was going to do, I had to act like an alcoholic’s loved one and let it go. I agree that bringing morbidly obese patients food is not smart, but imagine withholding food from your loved one. It’s what the patient/family perception what food is, not what others think. Trying to change their thinking is the toughest job of all.

And as a Democrat, feel free to support anything you wish.

]]> By: Jo http://joscafe.com/2006/03/15/love-them-to-death/comment-page-1#comment-13062 Jo Thu, 30 Mar 2006 03:32:49 +0000 http://joscafe.com/2006/03/15/morbid-obesity/#comment-13062 He's in a good spot to get help. You, as a friend, must refuse to bring him stuff you know he shouldn't eat. He's very possibly a diabetic, so no candy, no chips, no oranges. No starchs. It sounds boring, but it's that or die. My mother in law's brother had diabetes and was in a nursing home and his daughter would bring him cases of honey buns ... He’s in a good spot to get help. You, as a friend, must refuse to bring him stuff you know he shouldn’t eat. He’s very possibly a diabetic, so no candy, no chips, no oranges. No starchs. It sounds boring, but it’s that or die. My mother in law’s brother had diabetes and was in a nursing home and his daughter would bring him cases of honey buns …

]]> By: Jamie http://joscafe.com/2006/03/15/love-them-to-death/comment-page-1#comment-13059 Jamie Thu, 30 Mar 2006 03:20:46 +0000 http://joscafe.com/2006/03/15/morbid-obesity/#comment-13059 I have a life long friend who is twenty eight years old that was put in intensive care today because he stopped breathing. He has always been over very over weight and he probably weigh around 400 pounds. He has done drugs and smokes and has sleep apnea and I was wondering if he makes it out of the hospital alive if you can help him. Please save my friend. I have a life long friend who is twenty eight years old that was put in intensive care today because he stopped breathing. He has always been over very over weight and he probably weigh around 400 pounds. He has done drugs and smokes and has sleep apnea and I was wondering if he makes it out of the hospital alive if you can help him. Please save my friend.

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