An increase in obese patients

[Just Plain Ruff]

Somedic, you said what almost every veteran ems person has been thinking. I remember getting the proverbial 2am call to the local obese patient because they couldn't get up after falling(more like sitting) down. We'd go out, try with all our might to get them up. Then we'd call Fire and they'd come out and assist us and after the patient(can't really call em a patient) got back either in the easy chair they sat in all the time cause if they laid down they'd suffocate, the patient would thank us and then say as we went out the front door, See you in a few days cause invariably they'd repeat the scenario about once every 2-3 days.

I'm 302 and I will feel sorry for the medics and emt's who have to go get my sorry ass and transport and say a prayer for their backs.

I'm slowly losing the weight. SLOWLY i mean.

I know that i've gotten myself to this weight and I'm taking steps to get it off but those who do not take the steps to lose the weight and expect me or my co-workers to come out, do not for one second cry a river and say we were mean to you. Unless you have a bona fide medical condition that caused you to get that fat, it's your fault not mine. I've taken responsibility.

I had a new career ending back injury due to three land whales who drove their car into a ditch. It was me and my partner and all three complained of neck and back pain. No assistance from Fire due to no extrication needed. One of them broke the board as we tried to get them up the hill. We requested a 2nd unit but it was 30 minutes out.

We finally got assistance in the form of 3 bystanders who offered to help us get the 2nd and 3rd land whale up to the roadway and one decided they weren't hurt enough to go to the hospital, so they took off the collar that didn't fit em(no collar would) and walked back down to the car. He drove the car up out of the ditch and drove to the hospital and waited on his fellow buffet eaters.

Well lifting the 2nd patient onto the cot I felt a sharp tug and pull on my lower back and I couldn't straighten up. I had thrown my back out. So the 2nd ambulance crew one of them had to attend and I went back in the 2nd unit and was treated at the hospital.

By the way one patient was 390 pounds and 5 foot tall and the other patient tipped the scales at 430 pounds. Oh my achin back.

So unless you have a bonafide medical condition that causes you to get fat don't whine to me when my eyes betray me and show some level of dismay. If I see bags of chips and fast food items then it goes doubly.

rant off.

thanks somedic for lettin me vent along with you.

[EMS49393]

I'm frankly appalled to hear people that are in the business of taking care of the sick speak in such a derogatory manner about these patients. Not all obese people are lazy and victims of eating too much fast food. Both of my parents are greater then 300 lbs, and they both work, earning more money then several of us combined. They rarely eat out. My father is crippled from an accident and is unable to do the exercise we can do, and my mother spends her time doing the errands my father is unable to accomplish because he can't walk for any distance anymore. They also take care of a school aged grandchild, making sure he attends all the after school sports programs they have enrolled him in.

My father had an accident eight years ago while he was landscaping at his home. He broke his leg in several places and shattered his patella. He is a diabetic, and because of his advanced diabetes did not heal fast or well post surgery. He had an external fixator in place for three months. At the time of this accident I was working for a transport company, and I arranged and often picked him up for any orthopedic appointments he required. There were times when I was not working, and the crew getting my father did not know he was my dad. I heard the moans, groans, and belittling aimed at my dad and his size. I know he's not a small man at 6'2" and 360 lbs. However, with my brothers help, we set up his living room to be a bedroom, and he was able to transfer himself to the stretcher. The back porch had no rails and was the same height as the ambulance, enabling us to put the cot to the floor empty, let him move over, and wheel him the 10 feet to the porch, we then acted as though we were unloading him from an ambulance, the wheels fell off the porch putting him in a loading position. Virtually no lifting involved in this transport, yet EMT's still complained about how big he was and how they were going to go out on a back injury because of this call. All of this done in front of my father, my mother, and myself.

I know that 360 lbs is not 800 lbs, however we are in the business of taking care of patients, not berating them over their conditions. Have you ever stopped to wonder why some of these people end up weighing 800 lbs? Do you think they're happy? Do you think they might be putting on a front so they don't feel so badly about their situation? Do you think that you might be one of the few people in the world that could be nice to them? A majority of the patients I transport are between 250 and 400 lbs. I've learned to get creative about moving them without getting injured. I am also able to lift over 150 lbs, which is required before I was hired for my current job and verified in a lift test.

You have a choice on every call you run. You can chose to be a low-life provider better suited to flip burgers in the back of a greasy spoon where you have no human contact, or you can chose to treat your patients with respect and dignity. You may be the only person in a great while that has been nice to the patient you're treating. What does your conscious tell you?

[Just Plain Ruff]

I'm sorry that this has touched a nerve. That was not the intention.

There is no way that you can come here and tell us that you have never (not once) thought the same about a large patient you have transported. (If you can tell me that you've never thought that way even in a glance or similar then I will get down on my knees and beg your forgiveness but I don't think you can say that. He who has not sin can cast the first stone)

I assure you that the patient gets the same level of compassion and top of the line treatment that every one of my patients gets. No more, no less. Each patient I treat is treated like they are my parents or immediate family. I've never deviated from that.

There is no one on this site that has not groaned or complained because they have had to go transport Earl or Jim or Bob who weighs over 500 pounds. They are probably thinking how am I going to get this person out of the house. they are also probably wondering to themselves how they got that big. It's human nature to Judge.

quote: I know that 360 lbs is not 800 lbs, however we are in the business of taking care of patients, not berating them over their conditions. - I have never berated a patient over their weight. As I have never berated a patient on their being drunk and stupid or homeless.

Do you think they're happy? NO I don't

Do you think they might be putting on a front so they don't feel so badly about their situation? Yes I do

Do you think that you might be one of the few people in the world that could be nice to them? I always am nice to them. They are treated just like I treat any other patient or I would treat my family members

A majority of the patients I transport are between 250 and 400 lbs. I've learned to get creative about moving them without getting injured. I am also able to lift over 150 lbs, which is required before I was hired for my current job and verified in a lift test. I can lift well over 150 pounds but you apparantly didn't read my post about the patients who nearly cause my career to end. You can see that we used bystanders to lift the patients so don't assume that I didn't use creative means to lift these patients.

You have a choice on every call you run. You can chose to be a low-life provider better suited to flip burgers in the back of a greasy spoon where you have no human contact, or you can chose to treat your patients with respect and dignity. You may be the only person in a great while that has been nice to the patient you're treating. What does your conscious tell you? I won't respond to this one, as it needs no response as I agree with you. If you berate a patient no matter what then you need to be corrected but don't lump me in to the same group of people.

Like I said, if you have never ever ever not even once thought ill of a heavy patient then go ahead and cast the first stone. If you have never thought ill or negative towards the homeless person or the drug addict who overdosed or the psych patient who is having a breakdown then I will stand in front of the nearest hospital and let you stone me but until you can tell me in all honesty that you have never thought less of or negatively towards the above population then you have no room nor any right to criticize me or any one who posts their feelings on this population of patients.

We've all been there, we've all felt that way and you can deny it nor dispute it. If you can I'll nominate you for the Mother Theresa award.

[MedicNorth]

EMS49393

My point was primarily the trend towards increased numbers of obese patients. I understand that there are going to be patients who are unable to control their weight due to medical conditions. I also understand that all people deserve compassion while being treated. My complaint is that there are more and more people who quite simply have made the decision that they will sit around and be inactive, while consuming copious amounts of fattening foods.

That it is having an effect on what we do is undenyable. You yourself said that the majority of the patients you transport are overweight. This was not always so, and by the look of it, is only going to get worse.

I don't buy the argument that they have no choice or do not know the effects of the Big Macs and the Tater Tots. I don't buy the "Poor me, I'm depressed!" excuse either. There is a huge amount of information made available to everyone in all media, and one would have to live in a cave not to have been exposed to it.

It is time for people to take responsibility for their own health and wellness as it relates to their lifestyles. We as health care providers will continue to do the best we can in the most compassionate ways we can, but our ability to do the job well is

being reduced because of the sheer number of overweight people we have to deal with.

[EMS49393]

Ruff, I appreciate your kind words. It's difficult to understand me without knowing me. I'm very passionate about people. The events in my life have all worked together to make me the paramedic I am today. I'm a firm believer that most of what we see are symptoms of underlying diseases. Just as chest pain may be the symptom of a heart attack, being over-weight can be a symptom of depression, or of a metabolic disorder, etc. Alcoholism, homelessness, all of these are symptoms of underlying problems with these patients. Do you take time to talk to these patients and hear them tell you, "I don't like my life, but I don't think I'm strong enough to change." Some people are just not as strong as others.

In reference to the argument that people have access to information and they know these foods are bad, so why would they keep eating them, and so on... Imagine you're a large person, with large parents that essentially taught you how to eat. Now you're being told by the TV that carbs are bad. You might have average intelligence and actually know what carbs are. You stop eating carbs. New report, carbs are okay, now it's all about transfat being bad. There are so many different stories about what is good for you and what is bad for you out there it's nearly impossible for some people to understand.

Do I judge patients? No, I do not. I can't recall ever judging a patient. I'm the paramedic most people hate because I like to point out the fact that these people need us. For whatever reason, these people need help. We may not be able to provide the help they need, but we can certainly be kind, offer words of encouragement, and attempt to turn them over to someone that can help them. Think I'm fibbing about judging patients, ask my coworkers. They'll verify how much I annoy them with my compassion.

[somedic]

EMS49393: I some how see how you could irritate your co-workers and earn the title of "the medic no one wants to ride with". No one has said in this post that EMS should abuse or mistreat fat asses. I agree with you to some extent about underlying problems in patients,but it does not change the fact that tater hogs are a occupational hazard to be encountered on a regular basis.

Heed some advice: Stop wearing your heart on your sleeve.

Somedic

[EMS49393]

Somedic, I do not wear my heart on my sleeve, and I don't particularly need nor want advice from you. People are annoyed because I chose to go the extra mile for my patients rather then shortchange them because I'm lazy or burnt out. I won't engage in berating patients on public forums or in person.

Obviously, we wouldn't be good partners. I prefer EMT's with compassion.

Remember what you post on a public forum. You leave yourself open for an obese person to see you calling obese patients "tater hogs" and "fat assess." Very professional. I prefer to build up my occupation as a profession, not tear it down by publicly referring to overweight patients in a derogatory fashion. :roll:

You either want to do this and take the best care of your patients you can, or you don't. I'd advise you to apply at your local taco bell if you feel you are too delicate to move an obese patient. There is very little lifting in making a burrito.

[Connie31079]

EMS49393:

In replying to somedic, I think you're doing this....... ](*,)

But I applaud you anyway! =D>

He has no compassion or empathy what-so-ever for any of his patients, if he'd refer to obese patients as "fat asses" & "tater hogs". Just read some of his other posts in here, you'll see what I'm talking about.

Keep up the good work! We need more compassionate and caring medics out there, rather than those with the "you call, we haul" attitude.

Connie

[somedic]

Connie: Was that you following me around the Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002 , 2003 and 2005? Were you with me last month when I was deployed again to that other hot spot?

If that was you Im sure you would have a different oppinion of my compassion. In fact some of the guys on my team think Im too soft and "motherlike" with them and the locals we work with

I must have hit a nerve with you personally. Instead of expecting people like me to condone an ever increasing world of lard asses, get out there and make yourself less and less of one every day that you have. Simple exercise like walking is great and easy to do.

Make fast food, and junk food you arch enemies. You owe it to yourself, your family and your patients.

My comments about Tater hogs, Fat asses, land whales, Jabba the Huts etc are applauded by many members on the Forum.

Move out! Break a sweat!

Somedic

[Connie31079]

Is that the best you can do, somedic?

Awwww, I had such high hopes for you....

I'm actually sitting here laughing my fat ass off at you, you're funny!

Connie