Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

S09.E11: Shannon's Journey


  • Reply
  • Start Topic

Recommended Posts

7 hours ago, sempervivum said:

So, Simon: can't drive, covered in tats, dressed like a teenaged soccer fan, and (apparently) hasn't had sex in 10 years. I was actually wondering if they were really married; Simon was definitely not wearing a ring.

I've seen a few of those scooter drivers who insist on using roadway, but I admit I've never seen one out AT NIGHT. I thought the whole 'go to the gym' thing was ridiculous, but I guess if you're Shannon, you can't just call up an Uber.

Her extreme lack of mobility makes her extremely likely not to survive for long, especially since she's also not likely to lose any weight on her own. I wonder if Simon will start looking around for another super-obese woman to latch onto once his current meal ticket expires.

That bears repeating!🙂

Yes. I am wondering if they are legally married because he may not qualify for caretaker pay as her husband. If so, I take care of my husband!! When can I expect my check? 

I wonder if the caretakers (who are not medical aides) go on to find another obese person or if it is a one-and-done thing. It seems like so much work for whatever they get paid. I think that Lupe's Gilbert is an outlier (AKA fame whore).

 

  • Love 3
Link to comment
12 minutes ago, Showthyme said:

Yes. I am wondering if they are legally married because he may not qualify for caretaker pay as her husband. If so, I take care of my husband!! When can I expect my check? 

In Arizona you can have a spouse as a paid caregiver. According to this site, they have a program called Self Directed Attendant Care (SDAC) wherein "Medicaid program hires spouse through an agency."

  • Useful 2
  • Love 1
Link to comment
(edited)
27 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

In Arizona you can have a spouse as a paid caregiver. According to this site, they have a program called Self Directed Attendant Care (SDAC) wherein "Medicaid program hires spouse through an agency."

I believe it varies state to state, who can be a caretaker, and how much they earn, and the number of hours they get paid for. 

I'm wondering if that grill last night was even turned on, none of the kebabs seemed to be cooking, and it would be very dangerous for Shannon to be pulling herself up with the walker facing a hot grill. 

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
  • Love 3
Link to comment
38 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

In Arizona you can have a spouse as a paid caregiver. According to this site, they have a program called Self Directed Attendant Care (SDAC) wherein "Medicaid program hires spouse through an agency."

What about Texas? If they are married, would his income be in danger if they moved there?

Link to comment
6 minutes ago, NeitherSparky said:

What about Texas? If they are married, would his income be in danger if they moved there?

for TX it says "Non-Medicaid program available statewide" (they're on a list titled "State Programs that Pay Spouses as Caregivers (updated April 2018)"; I just skimmed a bit of the link to the Texas program...it says you have to be a resident but doesn't consider length of residency, so as far as that goes I guess they would qualify right away if they moved. (Though they may or may not qualify under other criteria; no way of knowing from what we saw on the show.)

  • Love 2
Link to comment
1 hour ago, ilovebeaarthur said:

Yes! I couldn’t remember his name, but they do look alike. 

Minus the culinary skills. I was impressed that he could make that huge amount of eggs in the microwave.

  • Love 1
Link to comment
(edited)

I also have a recipe for caramel that made my dentist almost have a heart attack.

Almost pulling out a filling also paid for his vacation.

Edited by nokat
  • LOL 1
Link to comment
6 hours ago, Texasmom1970 said:

Wow, is she the biggest woman they have had on this show?

According to this list of the 10 heaviest (posted in 2020), no (not heaviest, at least...height and weight distribution may make her bigger, as far as physical space taken up, than someone who actually weighs more). They list three women around 800 (Roshanda, Marla, and Teretha) and three others in the 700s (Charity, Mercedes, and Joyce) but still heavier than Shannon (778, 770, and 750, respectively; Shannon was 739). (None of them were heavier than the top three men - Sean, Julius, and Robert, all well over 800.) (The other one on the list was Carlton, but they don't list his starting weight.)

  • Useful 3
Link to comment

When Shannon had her meltdown in the van and was barking, “Simon, SIMON,” I kept hearing Maya (Maja?) bleating “Christian, Chrisshun!” over and over. Same tone, same snarl, and same ungrateful attitude from them both. 

  • Useful 1
  • LOL 2
  • Love 10
Link to comment
(edited)

The Supersized of this episode is Thursday 7 to 9 p.m. Central, on 11 March.     I'm not sure I can watch this one again.    Unless a Bonus Scene is the tailgate coming up, and her bouncing down the highway while the husband and father make their escape.  (The long uphill stretch to the border patrol stop on top of the hill at Sierra Blanca would be perfect for this).   

The doorways at Dr. Now's, just like the waiting room and exam room chairs are oversized.   The doorways are already as wide as the hospital doorways.    

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
  • LOL 6
  • Love 2
Link to comment
34 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The Supersized of this episode is Thursday 7 to 9 p.m. Central, on 11 March.     I'm not sure I can watch this one again.    Unless a Bonus Scene is the tailgate coming up, and her bouncing down the highway while the husband and father make their escape. 

You are definitely sitting on the bus next to me.

  • LOL 2
  • Love 2
Link to comment
On 3/3/2021 at 10:59 PM, Mothra said:

What is wrong with her husband that he would keep giving her the food she wanted after Dr. Now made it clear that she was at death's door because of her weight?  Why, indeed, don't these folks and their caregivers take the situation seriously? 

Watching this now; they're back home from Houston.
You'd think that caregivers would realize that you have to keep the person alive to continue being the caregiver.  Otherwise  you'll be out of a job.

 

  • Useful 4
  • Love 4
Link to comment
1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The Supersized of this episode is Thursday 7 to 9 p.m. Central, on 11 March.     I'm not sure I can watch this one again.    Unless a Bonus Scene is the tailgate coming up, and her bouncing down the highway while the husband and father make their escape. 

I was kind of hoping they would leave her on the side of the road.  After that tantrum in the van, I can totally understand why Simon caves in.  I'd throw food at her to shut her up too if she wails like a 3 year old when she doesn't get her way.

  • Love 5
Link to comment
21 hours ago, CringeWatcher said:

I’m re-watching because I paid more attention to the chat than the show last night, as usual. I missed the part where she can’t fit on the scale. WTH? Have we ever seen someone who actually was in the doctor’s office but could not FIT on the scale? You know, the BARIATRIC one? BTW I typed “scale” wrong the first time and it autocorrected to “eclair” 🤣 

but even weight watches has a scale that accommodates wheelchairs, I think Dr Now is giving them a dose of reality by not making the doorways wider, different scale etc.

  • Love 9
Link to comment
On 3/4/2021 at 5:11 AM, winsomeone said:

I was wondering the same thing. Why aren't the doors wider at his office, and why no automatic door openers? Not very user friendly. I think expecting this woman to stand on a scale borders on punitive.

Years ago, I got very sick with a rare illness, and came home after 4 months in the hospital, still paralyzed from my waist, down, so was still in a wheelchair. All 3 drugstores in town were not user friendly for wheelchairs, narrow doorways, double doors that you had to open yourself, and you would think that a drug store, of all places, would be wheelchair friendly! It was shocking to me. But Dr. Now should definitely know better!

  • Love 5
Link to comment

So many of these people throw tantrums like toddlers the second they're uncomfortable. When she cried saying "it huuurrrrttts!", sounded like a child who fell off their bike and scraped their knee.

  • LOL 2
  • Love 7
Link to comment
10 hours ago, sara1025 said:

So many of these people throw tantrums like toddlers the second they're uncomfortable. When she cried saying "it huuurrrrttts!", sounded like a child who fell off their bike and scraped their knee.

I wish that just once a person in her situation would accept responsibility for having put themselves in that situation.  When you can't get into a car and sit normally, you can't walk more than 10 feet (and that only if you're forced to), you can't fit through doorways into an obesity doctor's office, that's because of YOUR choices.  You need to look in the mirror and whine at THAT person if you're in pain.

I am overweight.  At one point in my life, I weighed over 100 pounds more than I do now.  I never thought it was anyone's job other than my own to get it under control.  I never yelled at other people for any of my weight-related problems.  

I really don't "get" these people (or their enablers).  What could be harder about losing weight than the hard life they are already living every day (pain, inability to enjoy activities, etc.)?

  • Love 12
Link to comment
22 hours ago, LeesburgLee said:

When Shannon had her meltdown in the van and was barking, “Simon, SIMON,” I kept hearing Maya (Maja?) bleating “Christian, Chrisshun!” over and over. Same tone, same snarl, and same ungrateful attitude from them both. 

The meltdown over Chriss-shun has to be my #2 favorite moment on this show.  I highly doubt anyone will EVER beat Nicole's rolling hotel bed & porch shower.  Throw in the police raiding the rented house too.  Like Cousin Eddie said to Clark about the Jelly of the Month Club.....it's the gift that keeps on giving.

  • Love 7
Link to comment
On 3/5/2021 at 1:55 AM, Texasmom1970 said:

Wow, is she the biggest woman they have had on this show?

I also thought her husband was carrying a plate of food for her and one for himself. When he put them both down in front of her I was actually shocked.

I've seen zookeepers on the various zoo shows carry platters/buckets of food to feed the hippos and it was not as much as Shannon inhaled.  Also the hippos were eating heads of lettuce, not a 5-foot pile of cinnamon buns.

Casey Webb of "Man vs Food" cringes at that scene.

  • Love 4
Link to comment

You would think with all the money that Dr Now has made over these past few years on TLC he would invest in his business, move to a nicer office that's not in a strip mall, pimp out the doors and chairs and scales. Also, does anyone know what those rainbow things are over the exam room doors?

  • Useful 1
Link to comment
1 hour ago, AZChristian said:

I really don't "get" these people (or their enablers).  What could be harder about losing weight than the hard life they are already living every day (pain, inability to enjoy activities, etc.)?

They live their lives in pain. The only way they feel better is with more food. I don't know how that doesn't set off a bulb in their heads that one is the cause of the other. I really don't like it when they say they have nothing other than food, and there is someone taking care of you like you're a baby, or children. Can you imagine being a child of someone who says there is nothing in their life they love?

  • Love 5
Link to comment
(edited)
3 minutes ago, nokat said:

They live their lives in pain. The only way they feel better is with more food. I don't know how that doesn't set off a bulb in their heads that one is the cause of the other. I really don't like it when they say they have nothing other than food, and there is someone taking care of you like you're a baby, or children. Can you imagine being a child of someone who says there is nothing in their life they love?

Or a spouse (who waits on them hand and foot and literally wipes their ass for them) when the 600+ person says, "Nothing makes me feel loved and comforted except food."  These folks are SO wrapped up in themselves that it's no wonder the package is so big.

Edited by AZChristian
  • Love 7
Link to comment
(edited)

I doubt Dr. Now's practice will ever move.   The office is ground level, there's plenty of regular and handicapped parking, the doorways are wide, and the office and exam rooms are arranged correctly for the size of the office staff and patients.    

Shannon is growing beyond the size where Dr. Now can help her.  If she keeps losing, and gaining, her butt wings will just get wider, and she won't even fit in the back of a van, or through any doorways, so she should decide if she's going to follow Dr. Now's program, or just quit and stay in Tucson.     She can barely fit between the outside wall of the apartment, and the stairway, so she's going to be trapped soon.  Or she'll go between the outside apartment wall and the stairway, and rip off a few inches of butt wing.    The next time going to Houston, dad should rent a moving truck, throw a mattress in the back, and load her up.    Then they won't have to stop or hear her yelling at him and the husband.   

I think the little colored flags are to indicate who should see the patient, either Dr. Now, or lab tests from the lab tech or nurse, or other reasons.  

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
  • Love 6
Link to comment
2 hours ago, Emma C said:

You would think with all the money that Dr Now has made over these past few years on TLC he would invest in his business, move to a nicer office that's not in a strip mall, pimp out the doors and chairs and scales. Also, does anyone know what those rainbow things are over the exam room doors?

Are you talking about those little colored flags near each door?

Link to comment
18 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I doubt Dr. Now's practice will ever move.   The office is ground level, there's plenty of regular and handicapped parking, the doorways are wide, and the office and exam rooms are arranged correctly for the size of the office staff and patients.      There's a rerun at 1 today (Megan) so I'll see if I can find out what the markings are above the doors.      

Shannon is growing beyond the size where Dr. Now can help her.  If she keeps losing, and gaining, her butt wings will just get wider, and she won't even fit in the back of a van, or through any doorways, so she should decide if she's going to follow Dr. Now's program, or just quit and stay in Tucson.     She can barely fit between the outside wall of the apartment, and the stairway, so she's going to be trapped soon. 

 

I'm pretty sure Shannon is at the size that requires heavy equipment.

  • LOL 2
Link to comment
1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Shannon is growing beyond the size where Dr. Now can help her.  If she keeps losing, and gaining, her butt wings will just get wider, and she won't even fit in the back of a van, or through any doorways, so she should decide if she's going to follow Dr. Now's program, or just quit and stay in Tucson.     She can barely fit between the outside wall of the apartment, and the stairway, so she's going to be trapped soon. 

I am ALL FOR making public buildings accessible.  BUT . . . There is a point where a service provider should not HAVE to do structural changes to accommodate someone who weighs FOUR TIMES+ what they should weigh.  If a person allows themselves to weigh that much, they need to deal with the consequences of their choice.  And - even if they have 1,000,000 excuses for why they are so heavy, it is still a daily choice to maintain that size or even gain. 

That's why psychotherapy can be important.  If there truly is emotional damage that triggered the weight gain, a person needs to figure out the problem and learn how to work past it.  Continuing to wallow (literally and figuratively) is NOT a good choice.

  • Love 7
Link to comment
4 hours ago, Emma C said:

Also, does anyone know what those rainbow things are over the exam room doors?

If you're referring to what I think you're referring to, they are color-coded flags.  Red likely means "room occupied"; green means "this patient next."  It's how the staff signals to each other and the doctor what the status of the patient is in each room.  You can get them from most medical supply stores.

  • Useful 5
  • Love 3
Link to comment
(edited)
11 hours ago, ams1001 said:
 

Also, does anyone know what those rainbow things are over the exam room doors?

They are color-coded for the doctor. For example, so he knows knows which patient is next, which one has been weighed, which one has had blood drawn, etc.

I can’t see Dr. Now doing major renovations on his office or moving to a new one...he is past retirement age.

These big ladies who insist on wearing little hair ornaments and kitty cat headbands...remind me of Aunt Pittypat in Gone With The Wind, LOL

Edited by GrammyPammy
  • LOL 3
Link to comment

I finally got to see the wee, delicate lass that is Shannon.  Now I understand why people were saying they hated her five minutes into the episode.  Her whining was incessant.  Then the shrieking in the van.  They're lucky it could haul her weight.  They should have stripped her naked, put plastic under her and simply hosed her down like Juggalo Nicole on the porch.  I'm surprised we didn't see her father and husband wearing airport quality ear protection to ride in the van with her.  Fortunately they could get her mass quantities of fried food to calm her down. There is no way she will ever successfully lose weight.  She has no desire to.  We saw her with her bucket of meds and that is not enough to convince her she needs to make a change.  

  • LOL 3
  • Love 6
Link to comment
On 3/4/2021 at 11:22 AM, sempervivum said:

So, Simon: can't drive, covered in tats, dressed like a teenaged soccer fan, and (apparently) hasn't had sex in 10 years. I was actually wondering if they were really married; Simon was definitely not wearing a ring.

I've seen a few of those scooter drivers who insist on using roadway, but I admit I've never seen one out AT NIGHT. I thought the whole 'go to the gym' thing was ridiculous, but I guess if you're Shannon, you can't just call up an Uber.

Her extreme lack of mobility makes her extremely likely not to survive for long, especially since she's also not likely to lose any weight on her own. I wonder if Simon will start looking around for another super-obese woman to latch onto once his current meal ticket expires.

That bears repeating!🙂

I got seriously uncomfortable watching him watch her eat. It was freaking lascivious. I’m surprised he didn’t tell the camera people to bounce so he could jerk off. He’s an obvious feeder. 

I teared up when her dad talked about her mother leaving her in the hospital. It boggles my mind that there are people so awful in this world. I miss my 2 year old all day and wept when they took him away at the hospital for his first little bath. I’m a Pisces, so ymmv. 🤪

  • Love 8
Link to comment
29 minutes ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

her bucket of meds

I think she had as many bottles of pills as both my grandparents combined. They would visit for a week or so a few times a year and they each had a shoebox on top of the fridge for their meds.

  • Love 5
Link to comment
2 hours ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

I finally got to see the wee, delicate lass that is Shannon.  Now I understand why people were saying they hated her five minutes into the episode.  Her whining was incessant.  Then the shrieking in the van.  They're lucky it could haul her weight.  They should have stripped her naked, put plastic under her and simply hosed her down like Juggalo Nicole on the porch.  I'm surprised we didn't see her father and husband wearing airport quality ear protection to ride in the van with her.  Fortunately they could get her mass quantities of fried food to calm her down. There is no way she will ever successfully lose weight.  She has no desire to.  We saw her with her bucket of meds and that is not enough to convince her she needs to make a change.  

This will probably get me a ride in the basket to hell, BUT-if I had to take care of someone as bitchy as Shannon, who demanded I bring her the food that will kill her, I would play the catch-it-in-your-mouth game. Open your mouth and try to catch the bad food Shannon, everything you can catch and chew down is what you get for that meal. Would be so much fun, she would have a real reason to bitch, moan and complain, and lose weight while doing it! I will see myself out now.

  • LOL 6
  • Love 1
Link to comment
1 hour ago, mittsigirl said:

This will probably get me a ride in the basket to hell, BUT-if I had to take care of someone as bitchy as Shannon, who demanded I bring her the food that will kill her, I would play the catch-it-in-your-mouth game. Open your mouth and try to catch the bad food Shannon, everything you can catch and chew down is what you get for that meal. Would be so much fun, she would have a real reason to bitch, moan and complain, and lose weight while doing it! I will see myself out now.

And how good/bad is your aim? 😉 

  • LOL 4
  • Love 1
Link to comment
(edited)

Calling this epic story of failure "Shannon's Journey" was so accurate.    Her trips to and from Houston, and her epic drive to and from the gym was truly a journey.     

You would think the fact that everyone in her life but Simon, her enabler, had cut ties with her, and ending up in assisted living by 22, should have told her she needed to change.    She will never change either.     

I was really hoping Shannon would be our first rented moving truck with a mattress in the back with her rolling back and forth, but alas that didn't happen.  

One part of effective psychotherapy is the patient wants to get better.    Very few of the poundticipants do want to get better, or do anything to change.    

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
  • Love 3
Link to comment
On 3/6/2021 at 10:08 AM, nokat said:

They live their lives in pain. The only way they feel better is with more food. I don't know how that doesn't set off a bulb in their heads that one is the cause of the other. 

Many do make the connection...I think it was Shannon or the person before her, that specifically said it.  But there's so much justifying, delusion, and entitlement that it doesn't lead to any change in behavior.  Even if the poundticipants were not to give any food up, the vast majority of them could still be far more active, whether it's within their own house or a small radius outside of their house...even if they are on the couch or in a bed, they could be doing simple exercises, but they almost never do.

9 hours ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

There is no way she will ever successfully lose weight.  She has no desire to.  

Yes, that was interesting.  She said at the beginning, that her father is the one who wanted her to get the surgery and he asked that she at least talk to Dr. Now...and then she told Dr. Now that she had wanted the surgery all her life.

  • Love 3
Link to comment

 

On 3/4/2021 at 11:22 AM, sempervivum said:

I've seen a few of those scooter drivers who insist on using roadway, but I admit I've never seen one out AT NIGHT. I thought the whole 'go to the gym' thing was ridiculous, but I guess if you're Shannon, you can't just call up an Uber.

 

I was shocked that she did that on her own, and that Simon let her. It was very dangerous. Imagine if she tipped over or even just fell off. It would be a disaster. I also thought the trainer at the gym was probably unqualified to be working with her. Starting out by handing two 12 lb to a person who is as bad off as her was ridiculous. I really think any trainer who works with super morbidly obese people should have to be certified to do so. Who knows, maybe she was, but I didn't get that impression.

On 3/4/2021 at 7:27 PM, ams1001 said:

In Arizona you can have a spouse as a paid caregiver. According to this site, they have a program called Self Directed Attendant Care (SDAC) wherein "Medicaid program hires spouse through an agency."

When she and Dr. Now had their video call, he asked her about Simon's role and she said that he is her "paid caregiver." Then Dr. Now asked if he would lose his "job" if she gets better, and she said probably. Then he talked about the dynamics of paid family caregivers and the obvious conflicts of that situation. So yeah, that's an issue. And he proved that after 1 year and 2 months of no progress, he had no intention of being a helpful part of the food process for her. So whether it's a job thing or a fetish thing, I don't know, but this guy is not what she needs.

On 3/6/2021 at 1:28 PM, AZChristian said:

That's why psychotherapy can be important.  If there truly is emotional damage that triggered the weight gain, a person needs to figure out the problem and learn how to work past it.  Continuing to wallow (literally and figuratively) is NOT a good choice.

I think that after all the time they wasted with her making zero progress, it's shocking that Dr. Now never had her do any kind of psychotherapy. Especially knowing her backstory. 

Also, I couldn't believe that the people who kept going to all that trouble to help her get to Houston were still so nice about it after finding out that she was putting zero effort into losing weight. It must have been so disheartening to get her down there time after time, only to find that she was in the same boat as the first trip. You really didn't need a scale to see that she hadn't lost any weight. And speaking of that, I call BS on that last weigh-in. She couldn't even stand up straight. She was heavily leaning on the hand rails for support the whole time she was being weighed. So no, I don't think she lost anything. In fact, it looked like she gained, because she seemed to have actually outgrown her wheelchair. I was surprised that the nurse let that her get away with that.

 

  • Love 5
Link to comment
(edited)
On 3/5/2021 at 6:11 PM, mittsigirl said:

Years ago, I got very sick with a rare illness, and came home after 4 months in the hospital, still paralyzed from my waist, down, so was still in a wheelchair. All 3 drugstores in town were not user friendly for wheelchairs, narrow doorways, double doors that you had to open yourself, and you would think that a drug store, of all places, would be wheelchair friendly! It was shocking to me. But Dr. Now should definitely know better!

I wish I had noticed this previously. I don't need a wheelchair, but I use a rollator. I have relied on the kindness of strangers to open doors for me. A drugstore is a place you would expect to have doors that would open automatically.  Most places are "required" to be wheelchair friendly but they really aren't. You can find the ramp or the parking space not occupied by a SUV.

 

I park on the far side of the parking lot so I don't get a car so close to me I can't get in. That has happened to me and some nice man had to back my car out so I could get in with my back brace on.

That should probably be in Small Talk. I don't know how to move it.

Edited by nokat
  • Love 4
Link to comment

The only way I know to move it is to copy the post and paste it in small talk.  Then come back here and edit your post to say I have moved this comment to small talk.

I have to look away when Simon talks because his teeth are so bad. 

I miss a lot during the live chat because I find it impossible to type and look at the tv screen at the same time.  I usually go back and watch the parts I missed, but so far I have not been able to get past the halfway point with Shannon or the two poundticipants who preceded her. 

  • Useful 1
  • Love 2
Link to comment

Simon was pretty sketchy. An adult living in the suburbs and is otherwise able who doesn’t drive suggests he’s is banned from driving due to DUIs. The bad teeth and tattoos suggest a low class upbringing. Feeding her to death suggests he’s either an idiot or a psychopath. Why would he marry a ridiculously fat woman anyway? There’s more to Simon than Simon says.

  • Love 3
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...