The past two days have been super hot and muggy. Actual temperature about 97 degrees with tropical humidity levels. It's enough to wear you out. It certainly isn't weather a sick person should sit out in, much less exert energy in....unless they really really want a snack (keep reading).
One of the residents at the nursing home died today. He was 56 years old. He ate himself to death. He was 5 ft 11 inches tall and weighed 428 lbs. His medical charts were all about edema (fluid retention) and his diet was supposed to be no added salt, no gravies, sauces etc. If you recall my post "What's a little salt?" it focused primarily on this individual.
He was on oxygen constantly because the fluid around his lungs constricted his breathing.He could no longer walk much on his own. He was mobile because of his scooter. Yesterday I saw him at the local convenience store. He rode his scooter chair there, all the way, about 3 miles (one way) in blistering heat and humidity. When I saw him at the store I asked him what he was doing there, his reply "I felt like a snack and a Dr. Pepper". I reminded him of his diet and told him I thought we should call for the nursing home van to come and get him. Of course he declined and said he knew he needed to quit eating the junk food but it was his vice.
That vice killed him and so did his family. His family members would bring him his favorite foods all the time (cheeseburgers, nachos, chicken fried steak, potato chips, cookies), knowing how dangerous this was for his health. Today his heart gave out. The fluid built up around his heart and squeezed it until it stopped working. He was in tremendous pain the last 4 hours of his life. Death mercifully took over at about 10:30 a.m. this morning.
Knowing how young he was and what killed him sure makes me want to change my family's menus. I've seen death, but this is the first time I have seen death by eating.
Malicious Extrapolation
9 years ago
Posts
What is truly sad is that his addiction is what killed him, not the food. He knew what he was putting in his body was essentially poison to him but the addiction was more important than his life. True for so many people.
ReplyDeleteFor so many certain foods bring comfort; usually bad for you foods. When isolated, depressed, or hurt, we reach for the things that have brought us happiness or peace in the past and pack on a few more pounds.
ReplyDeleteSelf medicating ourselves to death.
I'm sorry he passed. But this should solidy the importance of your new job. What these people eat can really mean the difference between life and death.