KateHearts

I worked at a large teaching hospital where all of the uninusred residents of our area are treated. There are special "indigent care" programs in place, as well as a certain amount of care that is written off by the hospital that is not expected to be collected. There are also physicians who do "pro bono" type work (i.e., plastic surgeons who do reconstructive work free of charge, etc) and I suspect that the patients selected for this program are not charged.

As I posted earlier, heart failure is sometimes reversible, but if it isn't it can be managed with medications, diet and fluid monitoring. There are various causes and many different ways to treat/manage it.

Where would you hear about financial trouble? The only things that this family release are fictitious tales of their lives.

It's hard to view someone who appears to live in voluntary squalor as having a true sickness, but that woman did. Just because Kelly had measurable parameters of illness (reduced heart function, diabetes, etc) doesn't make her any more deserving of help for her illness. Sadly,someone like Linda is much more difficult to treat and a lot harder for us "normally thinking" people to understand

I think you reinforced my point. Many people can manage HF for a long time; others can have the onset be sudden and recover; others never do. Not to make light of any of it, but isn't life kind of a death sentence? And in the end, even those who were relatively healthy and live to be ripe old ages, the cause of death would be listed as "cardiopulmonary arrest." In other words, the heart and lungs stopped working. It could be to old age, disease, or any other number of contributing factors.

This was a very different episode in terms of how detailed they got in describing her medical conditions and Dr. Now's explicit instructions after her first visit (education, dietary details, detailed plan for the next several months) and even his checking on her in the waiting room as she headed out of his office. Even after surgery she was short of breath just standing up to get weighed; I can imagine as a physician he saw plenty of warning signs that, although she was obese and needed his help, her more pressing problems were her severe comorbidities. The editing was the worst I'd ever heard on this show- choppy voices in varying tones and inflections, obvious cuts between phrases. I could see how that happened as far as Kelly's voiceovers (although, as someone else said, the show had probably been completed before her death), but Dr. Now's narrations were just horrible. And I noted that his description of the surgery ("we remove 90 per cent of stomaaach to leave what looks like a sleeve") is the same one used every single week, just with the weekly subject's name plugged in ("today we are attempting to perform gastric sleeve on [different voice] KELLY...") I realize he is busy and they probably tape a lot of these voice overs all at once but it makes for very repetitive TV. Although Kelly's cousin was painted very negatively ("he threw me out"), I would bet that he and his family did not have the means, education or ability to be able to care for a very ill, morbidly obese relative as she recovered from surgery and tried to rehabilitate. That's a huge undertaking, especially if he needs to work and support his own family. Given the outcome, it's too bad they couldn't edit that to make him seem like less of a villain. Her best friend who accompanied her to Houston originally just faded off in the distance. As did her Dad.

CHF isn't a death sentence; many people live with it for many years but it has to be carefully managed with medications, close medical supervision, fluid management, etc. Some people go on to have pumps placed to help with their circulation, or get transplants if they are eligible. It's hard to know how bad Kelly's situation was and whether or not she was "safe" for surgery. But obviously they had managed her to the point that they felt the sleeve surgery was worth the risk so that she could lose more weight to help her heart.

I am funny about certain workout venues (like forced partner things) and I sure as heck wouldn't go to a class where the instructor yells, "WHO FIT?" and we had to respond "WE FIT!!" over and over again. That said, I don't see why AJ pitched a fit from minute one about how much he would hurt, how he hated the class, blah blah. There is a very distinct difference between gracefully acknowledging that something isn't your jam and having an adult tantrum and stomping off for show. That would have been a huge turnoff for me. And I sure as heck wouldn't have gone running off after him- which is exactly what AJ wanted.

She tried and what does AJ do at dinner in the middle of her speaking? Interrupts to ask her if he can scavenge her plate. I can't even look at his goofy animated face; I can't imagine dealing with the swings between acting hugely immature and losing his shit over having to work out at a gym or navigate to the airport. Kate is like a poor kicked puppy who forgets five minutes after it's kicked and gets excited to be given a treat. Her face when he threw her a scrap of a semi-compliment was pathetic. I become infuriated when he gives her his condescending, fake smile during their conversations, but she reeks of desperation at this point so I don't have much sympathy left to eke out. I have very little to say about Jasmine and Will because, as people, neither one is horrible but as a match they are not meshing. Petty aside: Jasmine uses the word "feelings" or "feel" (pronounced "fillings" or "fill") way too much and because of her weird pronunciation I've become hyperaware of it. K/K are cute and I think he's working hard to become more responsible and adult-like, which is appealing. I think they'll stick it out and she is hemming and hawing for plot excitement.

Interestingly, the only thing they have fun doing together is mocking him. His hypocrisy is stunning: talk about the "sacred bed" in front of your future son-in-law, dance around in a kilt suggesting that your man bits are swinging free under there, and talk about how you need soundproofed bedrooms in a communal house because, well, you know. But heaven forbid your kid flosses (and no, Meri, it's not "the move of 2018,") or your wife talks about it, and you get that beady-eyed, stern, "you are a bad girl" face on.

Vegas is HOT, like opening your oven door every time you walk out. But muggy? No, it's insanely dry. I'm in VA, which is definitely muggy in the summer- 98 degrees, 85% humidity. I prefer neither.

As I recall, Dr. Camp is the real physician/surgeon who probably thinks they are insane trying to get Ysabel's problem fixed with crazy braces and weights. They got all that junk from some visit to a "center" in Pennsylvania, I believe.

Kody's meeting with the architect was laughable. "They need to feel like each has her own castle and keep." Pointing very exaggeratedly at each woman's name: "The bedrooms can't be NEAR EACH OTHER," describing with barely contained braggadocio: "When you're with one wife, she needs to feel like she's the ONLY WOMAN IN THE WORLD," nudge/wink. So he's going to have kitchens above/below bedrooms, soundproof walls, various square footages, in-law suites and god knows what else? Wait... yet he's saying that they won't be able to pay their bills in the current situation (four houses in Vegas; a newly bought house by Christine- er- THE single woman; a giant 7000 square foot mansion that Robyn prayed fervently for; two more rentals; and mortgages on their Coyote Pass dream land)? And in the meantime, although the finances are perilous, they are able to throw a party for Aspyn and Mitch on the heels of their rather expensive looking wedding, with food enough to feed another 100 or so guests? They drive 6 or more late-model SUVs? They can toot off to Seattle for a girls' hat-weekend or take numerous cars to drive to Flagstaff multiple times? Something isn't sitting right. Poor little Truely broke my heart. "It will take me years to get over it." Honey, someday you'll realize that your dad and moms are all buffoons who just continually run away from their responsibilities. (The scene of them fleeing Utah in the night- with the superimposed sirens sounding over the hubbub- was a joke. The only thing I found interesting in that scene was that Meri's complexion looked normal in hue. Robyn feels she is DROWNDING in Kody's rush to move to Flagstaff. She's forgotten that she initiated it. Kody's condescending tone with Christine bemoaning her "single woman" status: "You have this conversation once; I have to have it FOUR TIMES." Suck it up, Mr. King Kody. You chose this life, so now you aren't entitled to gripe about all the estrogen surrounding you.

"If you don't work hard, we aren't goin' to heppa you."

"I can't give up food, so I hope Dr. Nowzardan can help me." REALLY, dude?

"I'm starving." NO YOU ARE NOT. They all say this!!!

More irony: the "thin," "normal weight" family member is someone who probably could stand to lose a good 50 lbs themselves. But in comparison to the subject of the show, they are entitled to eat the burgers and fries. You know, because they are "thin" (to read: able to walk and wear shoes."

His sister is interrogating him about a grocery trip. "Who. Drove?" Here's another weekly line, "all I want to do is eat." "I know I'm going to die if I don't change."

The obligatory teeny tiny dog to juxtapose the mountain of a human. The house is fairly clean... until you go into his bedroom.

Why do the cameramen insist on interviewing the subject from the floor, angling up into the giant abdominal apron?

He won't let Dad help him in the bathroom, yet he allows millions of viewers to observe him shitting and subsequently wiping himself with his cane. "I hate my body." "food is my best friend." "I'm in so much pain." "By the time I was eight, I weighed almost 200 lbs..." they need a new scriptwriter.

Interesting way to think about it. It does seem as if maybe Luke isn't being forthcoming on camera (he said a few times, "if you really want to discuss this on camera..." because it could be damaging to her (even further). Hard to believe a guy would be shady and weird about having sex with an attractive woman who is interested- and after all, he DID sign up for all of this. That said, his super condescending look (like a father getting ready to chide his toddler) whenever she wants to discuss a serious topic just turns my stomach. They are both dancing around their real issues (which, to me, are that they are not compatible, he's not attracted to her and she is thinking that his reluctant acceptance of sex is some sort of signal that they are compatible) is just tiresome and has them spinning in circles. It's time to talk frankly, in private, and either fish or cut bait.

I'm only about 10 minutes in, but this caught my attention: Kody: "Finally, this is the nail in the coffin." Apparently he has a poor understanding of idioms. Why am I not surprised?

I recall Jeanne narrating early on that her parents never married (when describing her childhood). So perhaps they did much later, after they all reunited.

If Barbara was 16 when she had Jeanne, that makes her 55. If that's true, she is a very, very old looking 55. I had her pegged at close to 70.