ProTourist

I have a question about the "where are they now" episode that was broadcast after last night's Kelly's Story. Was it a repeat of the Milla-and-Charity follow-up episode from 2017, or a new one? It's odd because: People were posting into the episode thread from 2017, but including details that sounded new. Usually the 'where are they now' episodes present people who have not previously been paired, not ones who have already been presented together on one episode. I cannot find any trace of a 2019 episode for Milla and Charity at any of the online sites I use for this program, including Amazon. Thanks in advance for any clarification.

This poor soul, was all I could think as I watched her stuck in that taxi outside the clinic, weeping for her. God bless Dr. Now for all he did to help her improve her health.

Maya is on vacation this week, touring Louisiana with her sister: This must be one of the children of her father's second marriage. Looks like they are having fun. 😀

I understand the inclination to disbelieve Maja, but if it makes any difference, she said that she had recently been promoted, which implies existing employment, and that she was running late to work one day, right after her promotion, due to an issue with the locks on her apartment door which was preventing her from opening it. She posted a video to show the issue with her front door, and a building maintenance worker climbing a ladder to enter through the balcony. 😊 I know we're not supposed to post links to Facebook pages here, but if you google her first and last names, it should come right up.

I haven't had taquitos in many years, but my favorite was with guacamole filling, no cheese needed. Two of them made for a nice appetizer to a mexican meal.

I think this is a great idea, sort of halfway between the controlled environment where the 1,200 calories-a-day meals can be enforced (if not sabotaged by visitors) and of patients trying to follow the diet at home. Since they are at home they could still cheat of course, but they should be able to avoid mistakes and misjudgements. I wonder if Dr. Now has considered this.

You know, I just can't believe that someone like Jeanne has become what she is due to simple vices like laziness, sloth, and gluttony taken to an extreme. I can't believe that someone would gradually put herself into such a state unless it were done as an expression of self-hatred and self-punishment. Unless perhaps it were caused by some form of insanity. No one with a healthy self-esteem and who is basically in their right mind would do this to themselves. Jeanne does seem to be in touch with reality -- although she may ignore some of it as much as she can. She does not seem to have any self-esteem, or even self-respect. So this makes me tend to believe her tales of childhood abuse, which does tend to put a person on the road to self-destructive behavior. Some people can overcome that kind of treatment, but some cannot. In Jeanne's case, I think she is probably too far gone by now to repair her broken spirit and body.

On her Facebook page, Maja posted that she is continuing to work with Lola on anger management. She also stated that she is working now, as a dispatcher. Maybe she'll be able to get herself together.

Yes, Christian's furniture was placed into storage before they left Houston, and he either gave up or sublet his apartment. The furniture in Houston was all new, but don't know who paid for it -- perhaps Maja's mother. Maja and Christian had been together 2-3 years before the move to Houston. Don't know what had caused him to be 'on the streets' if that meant he was homeless or what, or how long ago it had been. He's kind of a mystery man, and I for one am rather curious about him. ❓

This is a good question. These days I self-identify as rather weak, especially as compared to my younger self. In my case I think it comes from a sense of vulnerability, that I'm no longer equal to face many of life's challenges. I think that kind of vulnerability can have several sources, such as health issues and disabilities, financial issues, depression, and a sense of isolation. Immaturity can factor into this kind of weakness, and also exhaustion, where you feel as though you've been fighting something for many years and cannot fight it any longer. I'm sure there are other factors as well. Not a pretty picture from any angle, but some people do manage to rise above, if they have enough motivation.

Has anyone else noticed that the photos posted recently to her Facebook page, where visitors compliment her on noticeable weight loss, appear to be a much younger person? And so might be from an earlier time when she weighed less? 😋

I agree. Aaron certainly isn't a macho man. He's a more sensitive man, but that's doesn't mean he is gay, although he could be. I believed Aaron when he said the abuse he took at school and from his sister while growing up, was because of his size -- not because of sexual orientation. But there could have been more than one reason. The beatings from his father may have in part been because his father perceived Aaron as too soft, not tough or 'manly' enough. But here too there was probably more than one reason, especially since the beatings started when Aaron was so young (six). Aaron said he himself did not always know why he was being punished. Well, whatever his true orientation, I hope that as Aaron continues to lose weight, he'll be able to start dating the gender that is natural for him. 😊

Hmmm, you know, you're right. I think I had set the bar too low; Lola could have given him a lot more guidance to prepare Aaron mentally and give him tools of how to handle the situation depending on how his father would react. I suppose Aaron could have asked Lola point blank "how do I respond if my father says/does this/that/etc." It's understandable if those questions would not have occurred to Aaron, since he may not have thought about it before, and was so anxious about the prospect of this talk. Regarding Lola's often-made suggestion, I guess it's like the old saying: Even a broken clock is right twice a day. 😉

These are good points, and I agree. But as to the question: "Why don't most of them look for opportunities to get their lives better and to do more for themselves?" Besides the fear of pain, stress, and change that you've noted, I think one of the big reasons is why you didn't purposely break your own wrist? Because you have a sense of self-worth and you don't hate yourself. You feel you have the right to a good life. Many of these patients do not.

The one who picked on him in childhood is the one who helps him now -- Margaret. But there is a second sister, who did not appear and was not really spoken of. If one looks up Aaron's Facebook page, there are posts from her there.

Yes, agree with this. I got a bit of a Chay vibe and also a bit of a Joe Wexler vibe. But I like Aaron more than both of them combined. 😊

This is a good point. I've wondered why Aaron would make a lunch for his father of peanut butter and banana sandwich with side of grapes and glass of what appeared to be orange juice. He certainly knew that was a terrible meal for his father, whose complications of diabetes included a recent heart attack. Maybe a bit passive-agressive.

I thought of this too, but Aaron may have been following instructions from his sister, as to what to give them for meals and perhaps also to keep them indoors. She may not have trusted his ability to respond if one of kids ran out into the road or fell and was injured.

I think for Aaron, it was his mother's death that finally motivated him, although he did have one false start. I must admit I liked Aaron and his story very much. I'm so happy for him that he's remaking his life into something he can enjoy. During my second viewing tonight, I decided to make notes to aid myself in following and understanding. Figured I may as well share it here. If it's too long, please just skip over it and I apologize in advance. Agree with those in the live chat who said that Aaron should use the toilet prior to showering, and that he was unlikely to clean effectively by draping a wipe over the handle of his cane. There are special devices made for this purpose, which reach around the back and which a female patient was shown using a couple of seasons ago. For the grocery shopping, not sure why Aaron makes his father go into the store while he waits in the car. Since his father uses an electric cart in the store, it seems that Aaron could do that too, as other patients have. Aaron's father would discipline him more severely than he would his daughters, and would beat Aaron with a belt when he broke a rule. Aaron stated he did not always know what he had done wrong when he received these beatings. He lived in constant fear of his father. This is what caused him to turn to food for comfort, which started when he was six years old. Aaron dropped out of high school due to bullying and physical abuse received from other kids, due to his size. He was too embarrassed to tell anyone about it, so he walked away from it and went to work instead. His jobs in fast food restaurants contributed to his weight gain and declining health, due to all the meals he would eat there. Eventually he had to stop working when he no longer had the physical strength and stamina to complete a shift. During this time, his parents put on a lot of weight as well. His mother's weight climbed to over 300 pounds and his father's to over 400 pounds, and both were in their sixties. Aaron was around 550 at this time, but at twenty years of age was stronger than them and was able to become caregiver for both of them, moving back home in the process. Aaron's mother died when he was 27. She was over 400 pounds by that time. After watching his mother die, Aaron first realized that food could kill him, and made an attempt to lose weight. He was successful for a short time but could not maintain it, regained what he had lost, and continued to gain weight since then. Food became an addiction for him. Aaron's father lost a lot of weight some time before the episode began, and is no longer obese. He is 75 years old, frail, diabetic, and a Vietnam veteran. He suffered a heart attack, a complication of his diabetes, a week after Aaron's first appointment with Dr. Now. He recovered and was able to return home after a few weeks in hospital, during which time Aaron was unable to visit him. For Aaron's second appointment with Dr. Now, his sister Margaret could not go with him, so Aaron's father went. However, Aaron drove this time. His sister joined him again for the third visit, and Aaron drove again. He was walking without the cane this time. For the one-month follow-up appointment after surgery, Margaret drove, as she had the first time. Therapist Lola Clay gave Aaron a homework assignment of talking with his father about how his behavior toward Aaron shaped Aaron's life and contributed to the person that Aaron is now. It took Aaron a few weeks to work up the courage to have this conversation with his father -- missing a second post-surgery weight-loss goal motivated him. The conversation started out pretty well, although Aaron's fear was palpable and brought him to tears. Aaron's father told him he loved him and was proud of him. When Aaron tried to talk to his father about the severe punishments meted out to him during childhood, his father apologized for his past behavior, but refused to discuss it, became annoyed, said he was done and left the room. Although weeping at the conversation's failure, Aaron's regret at having upset his father moved him to follow him to the other room, where he explained that he wasn't looking to place blame on him, but just to release these emotions so he could stop turning to food for comfort; and that he wanted the two of them to have a better relationship. His father reiterated that the past should remain in the past, but gave his son a hug and some affectionate words. For Aaron's final office visit to Dr. Now, he made the trip all by himself; no family member accompanied him. He had hit his weight-loss goal and was back on track. At the close of the episode, Aaron and his father take an excursion to visit a local war memorial and an air force base, fulfilling the second homework assignment he had received from Lola. It was a meaningful shared experience for them. I must admit that I was proud of Lola's work with Aaron. Her advise was on target for his situation and really helped him.

I re-watched Robert's episode tonight. It seemed to me that he was in good spirits and was handling the tapering off of his pain meds okay. The turning point seemed to come after his surgery to remove the lymphedema on his right hip. Dr. Now increased his pain medication for a while after the surgery, but then once enough time had passed, he lowered it again. But Robert felt he was still in constant pain, and wanted the meds increased again. Dr. Now would not do so, explaining to Robert that he's not really in pain any longer, that it's the addiction that is making him think he is in pain, and that he would need to ride it out. I think this is what might have changed Robert's personality and made him give up; that he couldn't take this 'phantom' pain caused by the addiction and likely triggered by the surgery, since he didn't have that 'phantom' pain prior to the surgery. Dr. Now felt that it had just been too late for Robert to regain his health; that if someone had really tried to help him several years prior, he might have made it. But it seems to me that it was the lymphedema surgery, where a forty pound mass was removed from his side, that precipitated Robert's downfall. Maybe that major surgery was just too much for him.

I think some of them, at least, may have never watched the program. Jeanne's home appeared to have no television, and she probably could not afford the data usage or rental fee to watch it on her phone, such as purchasing episodes from Amazon. M600PL has a Facebook page used for casting. Anyone with a smartphone and a Facebook account could contact the production company via that page.

Yes, it may be more recent. And I don't know if they all receive the included housing -- maybe only those who wait until after they have been approved for surgery. Those who move down sooner may have to find, and pay for, their own apartment. Usually skin removal surgery does not occur during the first year. If a patient is invited to do a second-year follow-up episode, then the skin surgery would be included if they are ready by then. But I think if a patient needed some other type of surgery during the first year, such as an emergency procedure, that Dr. Now would take care of it, if it were something he could do himself. As far as Barbara's surgery goes, unless she had Medicaid or something else that would cover it, I figure Dr. Now would have done it pro bono. The medical transport to take them home after Larry died may have been provided pro bono as well, or covered by a local social service. And someone who works for the hospital or for the production company may have volunteered to drive Barbara's car home for her.

You know, looking at the payment (linked above) that the poundticipants receive for their year-long association, the free weight-loss surgery is their main compensation. So I can understand why some of them would become angry when they don't receive it. It may be that when they are signing their contracts, they are not told that they will not receive the surgery unless they first lose xx pounds, according to doctor's instructions, via traditional methods. This may be what was meant when some of the patients have said that no one told them they would have to lose weight -- meaning before they would receive their surgery. If it's not spelled out in their contracts, then they may think it won't apply to them. Hmmmm.

Yes, very much appreciated -- thank you! 😎

Someone posted farther up thread that Barbara is currently 63, which means she would have been about 24 when she had Jeanne. Larry was a couple of years younger than her. I think Barbara looks her age, maybe a few years older.