ProTourist

Found this brief exchange with Justin on another message board. Thought it might be worth sharing here, if permitted:

As far as I know Senior and Justin own the whole house, as they are the only owners of record for that property. I don't know if they rent out any part of the house, but I would doubt it. They do have a spare bedroom since Junior left, but I'm sure they would want their privacy, and who would want to live with them? Although Senior's hourly wage was relatively low, he said in a news interview back in 2015 that he worked ten to eleven hour days, which would have meant overtime pay for him. For the cigarettes, he may purchase them on an indian reservation, such as of the Narragansett nation, where the prices are generally lower due to no (or lower) taxes charged. [I have some relatives who do that.] Edit to add: Yes, the house is 1.75 floors. I would guess that the upstairs rooms are not full height, that they have lower ceilings. My grandparents had a house like that in nearby Massachusetts. You could stand up straight, but could reach up and touch the ceiling.

Yes, I agree completely.

Yes, I understand what you mean. The problem, I think, is lack of self-discipline and self-control, along with food addiction issues in some cases. The people can't stop over-eating and overdoing the starches and sugars on their own. They think the gastric surgery will prevent them from over-eating, but the reality is that it will only do so for the first few months. After that, little by little they can go back to over-eating and will stop making progress, and will regain what they lost. Gastric surgery cannot correct personality disorder. When you think of it, it really isn't much of a tool if it can be defeated by lack of self-discipline within a few months. I'm surprised that it helps as many people as it does. I seem to have a rather negative outlook today, but that's point-of-view I have on WLS right now.

"You're like a person falling off the cliff. And we're throwing rope for you, and you're screaming that we're not helping you. Because you don't want to do the work to climb up. You want someone else to do it for you and to make excuses." --Dr. Now to Jeanne Covey

That is true, but those few who can get themselves from 600+ pounds to 300-400 pounds with diet and exercise alone, could probably just continue on the rest of the way without surgery, as did our CatherineM above. Dr. Now's patients usually have to lose only 50-100 pounds on their own in order to qualify for surgery, so it's less of a struggle for them. The rest of their weight loss occurs with benefit of the gastric surgery.

Fyi everyone, Aaron's father passed away earlier this month. This article at Starcasm contains links to the obituary and to Aaron's announcement on his FB fan page. I'm sure we all hope that Aaron will stay strong as he must now undergo many changes in his life, in addition to grieving. Rest In Peace Eugene Washer.

It seems that most hospitals cannot accommodate patients above 350-400 pounds, as they do not have beds nor operating tables that will hold them. Dr. Now explains it toward the beginning of this video: Granted he is referring to the earlier days of his practice, so it's possible there is more availability these days. I doubt that most 600+ pound people would be able to get down to 350-400 pounds with just diet and exercise, without the surgery. Some do take it off, and more, and keep it off, but then they manage the whole process without surgery.

I posted this farther up in this discussion, but Justin denies that his father purchased the dog for him; that his father's voice over in that scene is false. He says he purchased the dog himself. I don't think there's any proof either way, so I suppose it is a personal choice as to which person to believe. I would just add that Justin's 'tantrums' were a response to his father's deplorable behavior toward him, where he was pushed beyond endurance.

Amber Rachdi was in a similar situation with her legs. As far as I know she never had any skin removal surgery at all, because she could not afford it and opted out of a follow-up episode on the show where it might have been covered for her. Anyway, back in 2016 she posted the following in her own episode's thread here on this site: These days she refers to it as having "fluffy legs." Amber is active on Facebook and Twitter, posts occasional updates and photos, and even answers an occasional (polite) question.

I don't think her identity is any secret -- the reference is right on Senior's (Steven Veillette) FB page -- her name is Channa Palumbo and she has her own FB page. You may like to check it out. She has photos and videos posted of herself with Senior, including of a recent trip the two of them made to Atlantic City. I must admit they look to be very happy together.

Yes, I was thinking of that too. Am looking forward to Janine's update! Also, has anyone here watched the latest update on June, Chad, and Pauline that has been available on the TLC website (and To Go) app, since the 15th? It's not yet on TLC's published broadcast schedule, and I for one cannot unlock it for playback. Would be interested in any highlights that might be worth mentioning, especially regarding Pauline. 😊

Senior did have a certain amount of complicity, certainly for the later years, but much of Justin's abuse occurred when both boys were living with their mother, who wasn't around much. I understand what you mean about the way a man might use the word 'grabbed', and you may be right unfortunately. I still think it possible it was non-genital grabbing. To use your example, if Justin were female as you said but the sibling who was doing the grabbing were a sister rather than a brother, and she said "she was always grabbing me," I wouldn't assume that her sister was grabbing her down there or grabbing her breasts. I don't know, I'm probably being naive again, but Justin could mean that Junior was grabbing him while he was online or building a model and causing him to mess up, interrupting him, etc. It could be that Junior was grabbing his glasses, grabbing his arm when he was trying to eat, etc. But knowing Junior as we do, it was probably the worst behavior imaginable. <sigh> That may even be the main reason why he wanted Justin to move to Houston and to reconcile with him -- so he could return to his 'old ways' with Justin.

One question I have regarding Junior's surgery. Toward the end of episode three, Dr. Now mentions that he and the hospital were providing their services pro bono for Steven's sleeve gastrectomy, and I've wondered why. Could it be because Steven was such a high risk patient, and that their liability might be limited, if something went wrong, if they provided their services free of charge? Although I've always understood that the weight loss surgery is provided at no charge to the poundticipants anyway, so -- anyone have an idea about that? Also wondering why Justin had sleeve gastrectomy rather than gastric bypass as had been Dr. Now's original plan for him. Perhaps Justin opted out of the more aggressive procedure because it would have meant a longer recovery time and staying longer in Houston, and he did want to leave asap. [I know Dr. Now doesn't do many bypasses these days, but he had been planning it for both Steven and Justin. Ultimately he opted for the sleeve for Steven because the bypass would have been too risky for the condition Steven was in when surgery was finally performed, but Justin should have been able to tolerate the bypass.]

Dad's girlfriend in New Jersey is a professional clairvoyant, who charges five dollars a minute for telephone consultations. Yes, really. And she is considering moving up to Rhode Island. She and Dad have been dating since February 2018. She is the same age as Dad. When Justin mentioned giving his father 'rent' I figured he meant board money, to contribute toward household expenses such as utilities, groceries, etc. [I don't know if the house has a mortgage.] But from the way this guy talks, I find his claim of a 160 IQ difficult to believe. If he were that smart I think he'd be a lot more articulate, even without the formal education. About the show contract, he mentioned that it was going to expire the following month (November 2018) but that it had a clause, in the fine print, that they could renew it indefinitely, and that they were going to renew it. He said he should have read the fine print before signing. Yeah, genius. But it's hard to believe that a contract can be renewed legally against the will of one of the parties, on an indefinite basis. I know nothing of contract law, but sounds fishy to me. About the photographic restrictions, he could have been shown above the shoulders only, but given that he's so shy he probably didn't want to be seen on video. Speaking of shyness, he mentioned that his social anxiety was so bad when he first opened up the shop that he couldn't speak to the customers; but that he has since got better and is okay talking to customers now. In fact, he has social events at the store some evening, where they come in to build models and he serves snacks. He said that sometimes when kids come in to the store with their parents, and their parents don't want to buy them something, Justin gives it to the kid for free. I suppose that's nice, but not at all a good business practice. Justin also mentioned that his father retired last year from the window cleaning business, and that after over thirty years with the same company he was still only paid fifteen dollars an hour, which is one of the reasons Justin likes being his own boss. But dad is driving Uber these days, to keep busy, and then hangs out at the shop. Justin mentioned too some of the things he does on the days his shop is closed (is only open Wed - Sat) such as attending auctions to purchase merchandise for the store. I suppose Justin is getting along well enough with his father these days, since Junior has been out of the picture, that moving out is no longer a priority to him. But when he first left Houston, after all the stunts his father had pulled regarding Junior, it had been foremost in his mind. In fact, the show even filmed him looking at apartments back in Rhode Island, according to info Justin posted on another board. I do wish them all well, all of them.

To me, that video from Junior is useful only for the information, which is good to know; the rest I ignore. But since we know that Junior has moved on and that Houston is long behind him, I would doubt he'd have any further interest in Dr. Now by this time anyway.

I think this discussion could use a good laugh. Here is Senior dressed as a jackass last Halloween:

A couple of videos for those who may be interested: Here Steven informs that he has been dropped by Dr. Now: Here is an interview with Justin from this past fall, audio only on Justin's side. It's long and fairly dull, but there are some tidbits from Justin here and there -- your choice as to what you believe. I for one am doubtful that he has a genius-level IQ.

This is certainly possible, but as heart-breaking as the prospect is, there are other forms of grabbing. Grab by the arm and twist it, grab by the neck and choke the person. When I was kid, another kid at school whom I had accused of cheating at a game in gym class, grabbed me by the fingers and twisted them in a specific way. I was as startled by the pain as I was that another kid my own age would know how to do such a thing. That taught me more than one lesson.

Well, the episode is part of the "Where Are They Now?" series, but it's true that the footage is all a couple of years old, so not really 'now' at all, but just a continuation from where part three left off. Totally agree with the comparison of Steven vs. Angie J. According to Justin there was some more-recent footage that they did not use, from after he returned home to Rhode Island. If the producers are thinking of saving that for a part five, then it may be a Justin-only episode, because according to one of Steven's videos, Dr. Now officially dropped Steven from the program, sending him a certified letter to advise him that he is no longer Steven's primary care physician nor his surgeon, shortly after part four would have ended (summer of 2017). I would guess the doctor's decision was prompted by Steven's theft of Justin's post-surgery pain medication.

The supersized version of this episode is scheduled for broadcast next Thursday evening, at 8PM. If anyone has the courage to watch it, please consider sharing info on the bonus scenes here, for those of us who do not have television or otherwise cannot tune in. Thanks in advance. 😊

Well, constant beatings would be bad enough. But if worse happened, and he is able to remember it -- meaning that he has not repressed those memories -- I for one would agree with his choice not to reveal it in the television program. The world doesn't need to know about that. For what it's worth, on that other message board Justin mentioned that he has PTSD from his years of abuse from Steven, and that a producer on the show was fired when he/she refused to trigger Justin's PTSD during his filmed session with Dr. Paradise. Which may be why the footage was not used. I do hope that Justin gets additional/better psychological counseling back home. I've been wondering too why we haven't seen Dr. Paradise this season, except for this one episode that was filmed back in 2017.

Yes, the record does indeed include the street address, so I will not post the link. Thank you.

1) According to the local government record I found and mentioned in my previous post, the only co-owner of the house is Justin. No idea how that came about, or if there is a mortgage. If anyone else knows, please chime in. 2) I don't know what 'demands' Justin might be able to make of his father regarding ownership of the house, but I'm sure he wouldn't do anything that's not in his own best interest. 3) No, Senior did not set up Justin financially in the hobby store, although he did provide other assistance such as driving Justin around and physically setting up the shop. Senior was providing at least some financial (and other) support to Junior for quite a while, as we have seen on the show, but at least not for the past year, since Junior moved to Iowa and got married. 4) I don't know if the boys receive any kind of public assistance, perhaps due to disability, such as Medicare/Medicaid, SSI or SSD, sorry. Since Justin has a business I would guess that he does not, although he may have in the past. I believe Junior has received in the past, according to videos he has posted online, and might currently receive unless he might be supported by his wife these days.

I've found a local government record that shows that Steven M. Veillette and Justin Assanti are co-owners of their house in Cranston, but it might be against the board rules to post it. If a moderator is checking in, can you give a go/no go?