Everyday Systems

This is so sad.

"Americans have gotten so fat that many cities are having to build bigger ambulances.

EMS Captain Jose A. Archila probably summarized the situation best when he said, “With a 300-pound patient, it’s not too bad, or even 400 pounds...but to be honest with you, with a 500-, 600-, 700-pound patient — it’s just too much for you.†His hometown of Boston was one of the first to take action in providing for its heftier passengers, spending $12,000 per bulked-up ambulance. They also are purchasing $8,000 stretchers that can support up to 850 pounds!

Fort Worth, TX is doing the same, spending $7,000 per ambulance modification and upping their stretcher capacity to 650 pounds because the 500-pound models were not enough. The only trouble with these precautions is that emergency medical personnel still have to bear the weight. One Worcester, MA paramedic even had to miss a month of work because he dislocated two vertebrae trying to carry a 400-pound woman!"

http://www.good.is/post/americans-are-n ... mbulances/

That's certainly a reminder of how large we're getting.

I can remember two specific patients from my nursing career: One was a man who was so large that they had to bolt two beds together for him. The other was a woman and when we changed her bed, we actually changed beds. It took about 10 of us to lift her from one bed to the other. She eventually had a cardiac arrest while in the bathroom and died. The staff couldn't get her out of the bathroom to work on her.

Somewhere inside of me the smart mouth wants to pop off with something witty.

But, in reality, this is heart breaking for many, and in many ways. I remember the movie "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" and the woman who plays Johnny Depp's and Leonardo DiCapprio's mother in the show dies. The coroner tells them they are going to have to get a crane and lift her out of the second story. So, Johnny Depp burns the house down instead.

Johnny Dep as Gilbert Grape. I remember that film well.

wosnes wrote:The other was a woman and when we changed her bed, we actually changed beds. It took about 10 of us to lift her from one bed to the other. She eventually had a cardiac arrest while in the bathroom and died. The staff couldn't get her out of the bathroom to work on her.

Wow.......that is so very sad.

Yes, I saw in the newspaper the other day too ... a story about CASKETS being larger now. They need bigger caskets because overweight people don't fit in the regular ones. The manufacturers were happy about that, charging more for the larger caskets of course.

Marc ;-(

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 202 Pounds