The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[LuzInIt]

This has been a sad week for us. A good friend of mine's son died this week from sleep apnea. He had worked a double 12-hour shift (24 hours straight), and I guess he was just too deep in sleep to wake up when he stopped breathing. He was 29, and I've known him since he was 4. A friend found his body at his home on Monday when he didn't report for work. His family had been away for Labor Day weekend; his father was still at their beach house and got the call that Bubba had died. His mother Liz and brother Brian were already on their way home and got the call from her husband when she was about an hour away. A year and a half ago, Liz weighed nearly 500 pounds; following bypass surgery, she is now around 200. Brian also used to be heavy, but was able to diet off 100 pounds. I don't know exactly how much Bubba weighed, but I would guess around 400 pounds (he had recently put on a lot, depressed over his heaviness and lack of love life). He had told his Mom he wanted surgery, too. She told him he needed to have health insurance and about 4 months ago, he found a new job with benefits in anticipation of being covered after 6 months on the job. This is the second obese young man I know to die from sleep apnea. It just makes me so sad. Liz used to suffer from apnea as well, but no longer. I don't want anyone I care about to be fat anymore. Wish I could turn the whole heavy world onto Medifast. The funeral is tomorrow, and as a volunteer firefighter for 10 years, Bubba will be carried to the burial site on a fire truck, the same vehicle that carried him to his senior prom .

[gr8bnme]

I am very sorry for your loss and theirs. Its so sad when a young person dies. It's very hard to handle. I lost my own brother when he was only 18 and it devastated our entire family.

I'll keep you and your friends in my prayers.

[sprgrammy]

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. Please know that you and your friends family are in my thoughts and prayers. Blessings, Carol

[Lisa Renee]

Linda, I am so so so sorry! Your story touched me especially because I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea back in May--70 episodes and hour of me not breathing the doctor said. Since I started Medifast, I stopped using my machine at night, I had gotten so frustrated with my mask etc. I figured that because I was loosing weight I wouldn't need it anymore. After reading your story, I have decided to start using my machine again until I get doctor's clearence that I am okay to get off it. Did Bubba have a CPAP machine at night? How did you know he had apnea, did a doctor treat him for it, and did he die while on the machine? Again, I am so very sorry.

Lisa

[LuzInIt]

Thank you all for your kind words. Strawberry, by all means, stay on your machine until you are cleared. Liz was cleared by her doc several months ago. I know she had a machine, but don't know if Bubba used it. I do know he was not on it at the time he died. He was sleeping on the couch in the family room, as was his habit when coming in after an overnight shift. The family figures he just walked in and laid down. I haven't asked too many questions; there were some gruesome aspects to his story that kept me from discussing things too deeply with the family. Suffice it to say, he'll have to have a closed coffin funeral - animals alone in the house with him after he died. The medical examiner told the family cause of death was apnea.

For those of us who have dealt with extreme morbid obesity, I thought of something interesting about the family after reading my original post. Everyone in this family was huge (at some point) - everyone except for the four adopted sons who came to live with them as young boys. They were children of a prostitute who died of a drug overdose - 4 different fathers. They were highlighted as a group available for adoption in our local newspaper, and Charlie & Liz answered the call. These boys were raised with Liz's two natural sons; same lifestyle, same food. And yet they all were, and still are, slim. Makes me wonder about a "fat gene". I know Liz's slim mom well, and she told me of her six children, Liz was the only one who grew large - and was probably the one who ate the least growing up. She told me Liz's dad was a very large man (he died when the children were still young), and Liz was the only one in the family who looks like him (in every way). Having met all her siblings at the viewing this evening, I can tell you, they are all downright skinny.

Sorry to ramble on so - guess I just needed an outlet today for all this emotion. Thanks for listening guys.

[Mommy2girls]

Oh, I'm so sorry for this young man, who's life was cut too short. My prayers are with his entire family and everyone who's life was touched by his.

Your thoughts are interesting about the whole "fat gene" and how some people are affected by obesity while others in the same family or situation are not. There was an Oprah show about this recently and my heart broke as she profiled 2 twin sisters ...one weighed 120lbs and one weighed 320 (or was it 420?...I think it was the higher number). Then she talked to a young woman who was the youngest of 4 children and the only one overweight. It was really very interesting. One thing that Oprah said that stayed in my head was that instead of asking somone obese what they were eating, ask instead "what is eating YOU?" Very important stuff.

Again, I'm so sorry to hear of this and extend my thoughts and prayers...

[Lisa Renee]

Interesting. I was adopted into a family of 9 children, me being the youngest. My adoptive mother is a health nut and raised me with absolutely no sugar in the house with the best eating habits a child could have. She is a saint and the best mother I could have ever had. When I was 20 or so, I met my biological mother. SHe had entrusted me with my adoptive mom since I was 1 day old. She asked her to adopt me because she was ill and already had to many problems. Well, I met a half sister that was 4 years older than I, and saw many pictures of the family. ALL OVERWEIGHT. I was the only child in my adoptive family who was overweight. I ate healthy all my life, yet I continued to gain and gain and gain. And YES, there were times I overate, but after being on this earth 32 years, I am starting to see that even skinny people overeat quite often. I don't think that was the sole cause of my obesity. I would sit side by side with skinny people who would out eat me all day long and not gain and ounce. Obesity is not all environment. However, God is bigger than obesity and every other illness. I know that if I trust in Him, I don't have to surrender to any illness because He's got it covered.

Again, I am so very sorry about Bubba. I have had some horrific things happen in my life with people I cared for, so it doesn't surprise me that it's hard for the family to really discuss the details. Some things just shouldn't happen.

Lisa