700+ pound man sits in same chair for seven months, S.C. sheriff says

Sad story from Greenwood, S.C., where a 700-pound man died Wednesday. He apparently sat down in his recliner back in March, following knee surgery, and didn't get up once during that time. Only 33 years old, Tillmon Claude Daniel Webb was a former pastor who was embarrassed about going outdoors, the authorities say. When he finally needed to go to the hospital, emergency workers had to take the chair apart -- he was reportedly stuck to it. The local law enforcement won't press charges, but it's not clear if their social-services department will investigate the man's wife. She say that people had offered to help, but that her husband had refused.

Comments

[Searching]

Give me a break, if a 700lb man doesnt not want to get out of a chair.. you cant make him.
He's lucky she even stuck around.

[aqua]

good thing he got that knee surgery.

didn't the husband in Kansas get jail time for letting his wife "grow" to the toilet seat? She was embarrassed and did not want help either.

[Nemesis]

And just how is the wife supposed to move this man that doesn't want help? A forklift?

[k]

My guess is a 700 lb man was on some kind of government assistance for disability and possibly the cost of surgery. Why isn't the social services agency investigated for allowing his condition to deteriorate?

[Johns]

Gross question, but you see this often I've wondered...how do these people go to the bathroom when they're stuck to chairs or couches (question answered for the lady stuck to the toilet, of course)?

[Searching]

I was wondering the same thing johns.. but was too afraid of the answer.

[Get over it]

He shouldn't have been on any goverment disability plan as far as I'm concerned. Being fat is NOT a disability. It's a choice to be lazy and eat all the time. You can lose weight and ta da....... good to go. Or better yet, show some self control and don't let yourself get that fat. I really don't have sympathy for these people. And yes, the wife should be held somewhat accountable. I don't care if someone weighs 150 pounds or 700 pounds, if they sit in a chair for 7 months straight defecating and urinating on themselves, they need help. I bet she didn't hesitate to bring him food though.

[roxorz]

Johns, the story answers that. And Searching is defintitely right about him being lucky she stuck around. Ew. I don't think I love anyone quite THAT much -- not even my dog. :(

[Jellybean]

If I had a fat-A husband that wouldn't get out of his chair - He'd be on a veggie and fruit smoothie diet until he did.
Of course, that would make the "how does he use the bathroom" thing very important very quickly.

No... I think I would just move.

[spicolli]

"The local law enforcement won't press charges" the article said.
Who in the F--- would they press charges against?

[James Hart]

spicolli: A year or two ago, there was that case in Kansas where a woman spent a year sitting on a toilet. At one point, her boyfriend faced criminal charges because he didn't get her any help.

[SJ]

In that case though, James, wasn't the woman in question not considered to be fully competent?

[Sarah]

The wife obviously enabled this fat slob. Who brought him the food? And lots of it? Another aticle I read said he would just go to the bathroom in the chair and she would clean it! All in all, a sad story. I can't imagine doing this to yourself at 33 years old. Suicide by food.

[James Hart]

You're right, SJ. I think, in this case, the sheriff was trying to head off questions that people might have.

[cripjak]

I've seen some 700 pounders when I was in the nursing home after I got hurt. It's not a pretty sight. They have special lifts they could've used to get him out. Oh well, it's a moot point now.

[roxorz]

Suicide by food sounds like a crazy wonderful way to die, provided it was the right food. Unfortunately, I want to leave behind a decent-looking corpse.

[Blanket statements make me sick.]

To Get Over It. Taking so many drugs or being a drunk during your life time that you fry your brain shouldnt be considered a disability either but SSD pays out tons of money to those fools. Its not just being lazy and a choice to be heavy, sometimes there are medical reasons, they now have come up with genetics playing a large part in it. But Get Over It, you are probably one of those people who are by themselves and have no one so you have plenty of time to spend in the gym working on your wonderful body. Too bad your brain and mouth isnt as fit. And before you go saying...ah well the writer is fat...sorry to disappoint bud, I'm not, but people like you have no compassion for their fellow man..Karma is a b*tch.

[Get over it]

Medical condition or not, getting off the couch can go a long way towards not weighing 700 pounds. Sorry, think what you want about me. Still no reason for someone to weigh that much except flat out laziness. And, I also don't think people who have "addictions" should be paid for disability. It's a choice they make. If it's ruining your ability to work then get off the drugs. Personal responsibility can be a b*tch too but most people understand that. It's the cry babies who have a choice that wnat everyone else to help them that drive me nuts. Gotta help yourself before anyone else will.

[cripjak]

Should have sent him to Peru. They'd have thought they struck gold.

[Rjs]

It's a bad visual but why do you think he was stuck to the chair...urine and defication

[Jerry]

I have read several articles about this man. All basically the same and all making sure to mention he didn't have health care or couldn't afford health care. The health care issue has no bearing on this. If the guy had health care he still would have been obese. Health care doesn't cure obesity.... stop eating so much and take care of your body. Everyone has problems and the self made ones are your own responsibility.

[Joe]

I can't help but think of the movie Seven, when the serial killer made that man essentially eat himself to death to symbolize gluttony.
I still feel for this guy, as a former 350 pounder (now 225) I know first hand the struggle of morbid obesity and the utter feeling of helplessness. I'm not really sure what led to this man to his decisions, but his wife certainly enabled him...unless she wanted him dead?

[roxorz]

Joe, actually, that was the picture I got too. I couldn't, in fact, picture him in an armchair because of that. >.<

[kybo61]

So many cruel comments, unbelievable. I am ashamed to share the planet with you morons. People who are obese, do not get that way because they are undisciplined and cannot put their fork down. They get that way through mental illness, genetic disorders, hormonal problems, alcoholism, and other problems.

Research has shown that some people (myself included) lack a gene that enables them to be able to tell when they are full; there is no way for me to know when I have had enough to eat unless I am in physical pain. This caused me to become extremely obese, over 350 pounds and I eventually was approved for gastric bypass surgery. APPROVED, it is not elective surgery. You have to be referred (by a regular physician), and then accepted into a program, then go through YEARS of tests and prove that you are a good candidate before getting the surgery. It was SIX years before I got mine once I was accepted in a program, and it saved my life, many more were turned away including my best friend who died at the age of 29 from complications of the flu due to her weight, she was almost 600 pounds when she died, a very beautiful person, maybe not physically to some of you who cannot see a person's soul, but to me she was the best kind of friend, sweet and loving to all who cared for her.

I still struggle with my weight every day, every single meal because I still cannot tell when I have had enough to eat. It is a genetic flaw, my mother apparently had it too, I have watched her eat an incredible amount of food and then feel very sick, not realizing how much she ate, she became extremely obese too. I have to measure my food and then eat it and then walk away when it is gone even though I don't think I am done eating. Imagine living like that, never being able to really enjoy food, never feeling like you've ever had enough to eat even though you know you have had plenty, you just can't feel it.

I'm glad this man had a wife who loved him and was willing to try and care for him. What a wonderful blessing that must have been. How many obese, homebound people are there in the KC metro, who live in isolation, who don't have anyone? How many are there who read your cruel words and shrink even further into the darkness of their shuttered homes? Shame on all of you who would ridicule this man and others like him.

[roxorz]

I hate to sound cruel, but you ARE doing what this guy wasn't and is therefore getting these comments. He DIDN'T (as far as we know) make the effort to get help, he didn't make the effort to control himself. And, yeah, it's tough, it requires a LOT of discipline, but from this, it doesn't sound like he even tried. You're proving yourself that it's possible to stop yourself and keep yourself healthy, and even if it's hard, it's working, right?

[Greg]

I knew someone was going to post "I am fat because of yadda yadda yadda". In what physical activities do you participate? So, the I am still hungry gene tells you to order more after eating a 3 course meal?---after knowing that you are overweight already. I am full of questions...I'll do some reading, but it seems to be an American thing. Glad I have the "I feel odd that I haven't broken a good sweat in awhile gene."

[Jellybean]

Wish I had that "Wanna break a good sweat gene". I've got the "Can't tell when I've had enough wine gene". Luckily, I also have the "Can't tell an expensive bottle of wine from a cheap box of wine" gene, so that helps. Still gives me a fat arse though.
Oh, and I did talk to my doctor about it. He just told me not to drink so much. Obviously, he's a quack.

[Teresa L. Fisher]

Everyone needs to stop judging James &/or his Wife.No one really knows the situation until you've been in it yourself.God will do his work to all.

[Leslie Metz]

I don't understand why there was no investigation. As soon as Mr. Webb got to the hospital, he was taken into protective custody in the hospital as a vulnerable adult. Why was there no inquiry into the mental state of a man who was basically embarrassed to death ? Yes, it was loyal of his wife to stay with him, but, it is decidedly strange that she did not make any effort to get him help despite himself. Does she need some assistance, too ? She lived with a man stuck to a chair - soiling himself - for months. Does this sound like the actions of a rational person?
As for those who made the cruel and ignorant comments - how sad that such people, burdened with such ignorance, still exist. A man is dead - a man who was as much a prisoner as anyone has ever been. He was fat - true. But, that does not mean that he lacked feelings, nor that he deserved ridicule. When I read such comments from adults - I am not surprised at the bullying and teasing that goes on among our young people. As the song from South Pacific says - "you have to be carefully taught to hate all the people your relatives hate". And, it would seem that there are still those that teach cruelty and narrow-mindedness.