S03.E12: Charity's Story

[Armchair Critic]

After the first few minutes of this show and seeing those huge skin growths I actually got off my butt and did some light cleaning.

 

For goodness sakes, she couldn't have found a longer dress or something to cover her bottom region for the ambulance rides? I can't believe she just walked around with her whole bottom half hanging out.

 

What was with the young boyfriend, was he in it for a free ride?

 

If I were her daughter I would be seeing a preview of my future and be scared straight.

[Hero]

Throughout out the whole show, I was just thinking of all the poop and pee particles that she left behind when she sat down.

Also, I hate how they cooked her a hamburger and fries. She didn't need to eat that. She could've had vegetables and chicken.

Edited March 26, 2015 by Suzy123

[Galloway Cave]

How does a body grow butt wings?

 

I was wondering if the fiance was there for the daughter rather than Charity.

 

I was applauding Charity for doing the clean sweep of food during the first month home. But obviously some of the bad stuff made it back in, as we saw with the cheeseburger/french free mash-up. It kind of looked like Charity might not have had many teeth, so I was wondering how she was able to eat at all.

 

I guess since she couldn't exercise very much (walking), Dr. Now was a bit more lax with the weight loss requirements. 

[CouchTater]

Throughout out the whole show, I was just thinking of all the poop and pee particles that she left behind when she sat down.

 

The same thought did occur to me when she got off of the portable toilet seemingly without wiping, and sat down on the very same couch where she and her daughter seem to take all of their meals.  Oh.  My.  God. 

Edited March 26, 2015 by CouchTater

[Hero]

Oh God, Suzy. I need to find a way to "dislike" your post, because you just ruined my night!! LOL.

The same thought did occur to me, though, when she got off of the portable toilet seemingly without wiping, and sat down on the very same couch where she and her daughter seem to take all of their meals. Oh. My. God.

Lol! I'm sorry. Her not having any particle of clothing between her and wherever she sat was just so nasty.

[Guest]

What, in god's name, were those masses on her back? Were they part of her back or her butt?

Were they living in the same Houston apartment as some of the other people on this show? It looked familiar to me.

I love how she casually sat on the sofa shaving her beard.

And I am guessing next season we'll be seeing Charley's Story because...DAMN.

[Hero]

Her butt "wings" looked so painful. It looked as if they were ripping away from her body.

[Mrs. P.]

This one was really disturbing. I have never seen fat 'wings' like she had, and I couldn't really tell what was gone after the last surgery.

I really hope she continues to do well. And I hope her daughter takes a lesson from her mom. She has a perfect visual of what uncontrolled eating can lead to.

Also - did Charity have any teeth?

[CouchTater]

And her open, weeping sores looked horrific.  Poor thing.  Watching her try to walk around with the butt wings was very sad.

[Brooklynista]

I didn't see any teeth. Looked to me like she was gumming that pizza.

I need to see "fiance's" mother. Something tells me she's in a trailer somewhere coaching her son to stick it out for a share in Charity's gubmint check. He looked more that a little slow to me.

And it made me sad that through the journey Charity's daughter didn't seem to lose a bit of weight. Does she not see the same fate coming at her like a freight train?

[Cranky One]

How old was Charity? I kept thinking the fiance was her son. I,too, was baffled by the growths. And was grossed out by her wound.

I missed the very beginning, so I think I missed what Suzy was talking about,thankfully! Lol

[Galloway Cave]

She was 39.

[cheatincheetos]

I didn't see any teeth. Looked to me like she was gumming that pizza.

 

Yep. You could tell she had lost her teeth even before she opened her mouth because the lips looked sunken without teeth holding them up. Very sad premature aging.

Her butt "wings" looked so painful. It looked as if they were ripping away from her body.

Had the same thought. I've never seen skin on this show before that looked so close to tearing apart under the strain.

[Pixel]

I fail to comprehend how someone in the kind of shape she was in lands a boyfriend. It's not even a matter of attraction - why on earth would anyone sign on to date someone when they have to be a full time caregiver? How does that relationship even develop?

[Tinfoil Hat]

I wanted to know more about the fiancé. Charity never went out; how did they even meet? And he said his job was taking care of her, but I don't remember seeing him in any of the hospital scenes. What was his deal?

I was SO hoping Charity would somehow get to see her mom....even though she said she'd need to lose weight to travel and even though she said her mom's time was very short. I was still hoping.

[kh27]

At this point I am just disgusted at TLC for showing us these poor people bathing Every.Single.Week. It's so disrespectful. We don't need to see them naked and struggling to clean themselves. Can't we let them retain a little dignity? Maybe I should be more disgusted at myself for continuing to watch.

 

That said...Charity must have been in so much pain from those "wings" (I don't know what else to call them) and sores. I am so glad she was finally able to lose some weight and get her skin removal surgery. I couldn't figure out why her mouth looked so old for her age - as someone above said, she must not have had many teeth. She had such a sad back story, and with her mother dying, this really felt like one of the sadder episodes. I hope Charity, Charley, and the boyfriend have all made some positive changes in their lives and found some happiness.

[xls]

I fail to comprehend how someone in the kind of shape she was in lands a boyfriend. It's not even a matter of attraction - why on earth would anyone sign on to date someone when they have to be a full time caregiver? How does that relationship even develop?

I wonder if they are hired actors. A couple of them gave a gay vibe, to me.

 

TA about the bathing part, I'd rater see those minutes devoted to the after-progress.

Edited March 26, 2015 by xls

[auntjess]

 

I guess since she couldn't exercise very much (walking), Dr. Now was a bit more lax with the weight loss requirements.

I thought that might also be because she was really in danger of dying if he didn't help her soonest.

From something she said, about not seeing her mother since she moved, she must have moved to Houston at least a bit ago.  Maybe it was because of Dr. Now.

[cheatincheetos]

I fail to comprehend how someone in the kind of shape she was in lands a boyfriend. It's not even a matter of attraction - why on earth would anyone sign on to date someone when they have to be a full time caregiver? How does that relationship even develop?

Bettie Jo and Josh Pt 2...same resistance to ridding the pantry of junk, and that reaction he had to the doctor's announcement that a therapist was going to come help Charity work on the underlying issues. "Oh noes, she might stop being dependent on me!"

Edited March 26, 2015 by cheatincheetos

[Desert Rat]

Such a sad story. On the positive side, at least she wore shoes!

Why don't these people eat at a regular table with folks, knives, spoons and napkins? I have only rarely eaten on the couch and have NEVER eaten on the bed. Just gross and unsanitary. I think if this people had better eating routines, regular times at the table, they could better control eating habits.

Edited March 26, 2015 by Desert Rat

[aliya]

Random thoughts:

 

The daughter got a meal when Charity was in the hospital. She let the orderly bring her the tray instead of getting up and taking it. She wasn't in a restaurant, for pete's sake.  Also, when did they start bringing food to non-patients?  Add me to those who were a bit disappointed that the daughter didn't lose any weight along with mom.

 

It must be awful to know your mother is terminally ill, and because of what you've done to yourself, you can't see her before she dies.  

 

Gosh darn if this show doesn't how different people are. I have never seen a body shape like that. What a trial that must be.

 

Eating on the couch - almost every one of the people on 'Fat Doctor' and 'Secret Eaters' (a fun show) eats with their food on their lap or a tray. I thought it was only the people in the UK who ate like that. It's really sad to see kids eat their dinner on the couch with their plate on a pillow.

 

Can someone who's had the surgery tell me if a vegetarian diet is appropriate after the surgery? Is there too much fiber for the new plumbing to handle? You can get adequate protein from a veg diet, but I wonder if you'd have to eat too much food for the size of the pouch to do so. I was trying to figure out why they were concerned about the chili. Beans? Meat? Too large a portion? But the daughter seemed concerned as well so maybe there was some change in how they usually made it? I don't know. The families on this show just eat some gross stuff. I know someone must have taken some home ec nutrition somewhere along the line, jeez.

 

She's trying, but she's got a long way to go.

Edited March 26, 2015 by aliya

[mmecorday]

This episode made me incredibly sad. I can picture Charity's daughter thinking, "If I get as large as my Mom, I'll just stay with her. That way I won't miss out on seeing her before she passes away." Just so sad.

 

Charity seemed to be very sweet and I hope she stays motivated to remain mobile and healthy.

[swankie]

I wonder how they feel when they watch the show.  Are they having viewing parties?  I just can't imagine watching a show and seeing myself in that condition.  I know they basically sell their dignity because they are so desperate to get the surgery, but have they really seen themselves in full view beforehand?  I would be absolutely mortified to have the whole world and my family see me looking like that.  I really hope Charity continues to lose the weight.  She's probably in the worst shape of anyone I've seen on this show.  I'm like you KH27.  I'm starting to feel ashamed that I keep watching this show.

[Desert Rat]

That chili was so disgusting. Are beans okay to eat after the surgery? Seems like you would want to avoid gassy foods. I certainly did right after my c-sections.

[ChicksDigScars]

This lady has to be a record, as far as the size of the women they've shown, right? And the odd growths! OMG. How painful they looked. 

 

And yeah, I get that there are men with chubby fetishes (Gareth, the Chubby Chasin' Douchebag being the prime example of one), but I was dumbfounded when he was listed as Charity's fiancee. At first I thought he was her son. Then I thought that he was Charlie's (the daughter's) fiancee. And did you notice, that when they showed the fiancee and Charlie waiting in the hospital lounge during Charity's mass removal surgery, they were practically on opposite sides of the room from each other? I wonder if Charlie realizes that this "fiancee" is a freeloader more than anything.

[cheatincheetos]

This lady has to be a record, as far as the size of the women they've shown, right? And the odd growths! OMG. How painful they looked. 

My FF button got a workout. This is starting to feel like the later episodes of Hoarders, where they went into a spiral of depending on increasingly shocking grossout footage.

[non sequitur]

This was awful and the first ten minutes were very exploitative of Charity's situation.  The daughter was horrible, and didn't seem to want anything to change.  The fiancee/ boyfriend made zero sense.  In one scene I think he was laughing off to the side. 

[purpleflowers]

Wow...just wow. This episode was just so grotesque and depressing. I totally agree with the others that feel some of the scenes filmed are exploitative and just too much. I understand that some of the raw, harsh reality might need to be shown for  people to realize the seriousness of morbid obesity, but there is no need to see people getting on and off toilets. Charity must have been suffering enough dealing with those awful masses of flesh and skin; exploiting that on tv is the last thing she needs. I don't know if she has a specific condition, but the description for this episode from Dish mentions that she has flesh-eating bacteria. 

I thought overall Charity seemed to have a good mindset on dealing with her issues and seemed self-aware of her situation and how it's affected her daughter too.

 

I couldn't make any sense out of the fiancé situation.

 

The daughter got a meal when Charity was in the hospital. She let the orderly bring her the tray instead of getting up and taking it. She wasn't in a restaurant, for pete's sake.  Also, when did they start bringing food to non-patients?  Add me to those who were a bit disappointed that the daughter didn't lose any weight along with mom.

Yes, I noticed this about the daughter. I was surprised she was given a meal too.  And if I'm not mistaken, there was a big slice of cake on her tray! So much for Dr. Now's warning to her and the fiancé about eating those kinds of foods away from Charity. 

Edited March 26, 2015 by purpleflowers

[brandyelf]

Well, this puts some things in perspective, I guess.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/29/charity-pierce-lose-weight-get-married_n_5228733.html

And another one... TLC didn't mention the GoFundMe campaign that helped her move to Texas from Iowa.

http://popdust.com/2014/05/02/worlds-fattest-woman-photos-videos-weight-surgery-gastric-fundraiser-charity-pierce-600lb-life/#slide1

Edited March 26, 2015 by brandyelf

[purpleflowers]

Well, this puts some things in perspective, I guess.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/29/charity-pierce-lose-weight-get-married_n_5228733.html

OMG!  So the fiancé is Charly's uncle!? Mind blown. 

Edited March 26, 2015 by purpleflowers

[QueBueno]

So her boyfriend's brother is Charly's father, and if they get married her father will be her uncle? Yikes.

[non sequitur]

Well this seems like a really healthy family dynamic. 

[ChicagoCita]

So she was the World's Heaviest Woman?  Wow.

[Hero]

"Sauer first met Pierce when he was 8 and she was 25. They reconnected at a party three years ago."

That just sounds weird.

[mnfe]

The same thought did occur to me when she got off of the portable toilet seemingly without wiping, and sat down on the very same couch where she and her daughter seem to take all of their meals.  Oh.  My.  God. 

 

The fiancé was standing behind her with a cloth when she got up, and it looked like he was moving forward to wipe her.  I'm assuming (or maybe just hopeful?) that he did and they just didn't show the actual act.

[Micks Picks]

I missed it but it will probably repeat next week.  I'm horrified by what I hear.  Problems on so many levels and disgusting at so many levels that it leaves me aghast.  What I was doing was looking for an important paper that I absolutely have to obtain and pay.  I had it in my hand yesterday, and can't find it today.  I probably did not carry it around for more than 15 feet and it is gone.  No matter what, I usually find it some time later and after I've spent hours on the phone or taken a trip to an office some place to plead my case, and then come home and find it in the usual spot--IN PLAIN SIGHT.     Grrrrr   poor me 

[jacksgirl]

This whole episode was so disturbing. Do these people put themselves through the humiliation of naked butt wings and toileting on camera so they can have free surgery? Agree with all up thread, but at the end I had hope when Charity and Charly were excited for Charity to try on new clothes. That blue top was so pretty on her. This is one where I hope we get a positive update, I am really rooting for Charity.

[notyrmomma]

Can someone who's had the surgery tell me if a vegetarian diet is appropriate after the surgery? Is there too much fiber for the new plumbing to handle? You can get adequate protein from a veg diet, but I wonder if you'd have to eat too much food for the size of the pouch to do so. I was trying to figure out why they were concerned about the chili. Beans? Meat? Too large a portion? But the daughter seemed concerned as well so maybe there was some change in how they usually made it? I don't know. The families on this show just eat some gross stuff. I know someone must have taken some home ec nutrition somewhere along the line, jeez.

You can be a veg after surgery, but you have to be careful to eat protein first as you can't eat much in terms of volume.  I'm not a veg, but I have found that the meatless protein options, mostly beans or Boca Burgers (I can't eat straight Tofu) are a little better on my tummy than chicken.  I can't eat more than a couple bites of leafy greens in a sitting now.

 

More Random Thoughts....

 

Again, as last week with the HUGE plate of eggs - I screamed when she ate that burger (WITH BREAD!) with the fries in it...whose stomach did she borrow?  I silently thanked my surgeon again for making my stomach too small to handle even two bites of that mess she was eating.

 

I probably weighed 50 pounds less than Charlie before I got my surgery...just sayin'

[poeticlicensed]

That episode gave me nightmares. I woke in the middle of the night thinking I had grown fat wings on my butt. Scary.

 

So basically, we got to see Charity naked the entire show. Everytime she sat, stood, laid down, pooped (gag) we got a shot of I don't know what. For love the love of all that's holy,they couldn't find or make something for her to wear that covered her? 

 

What was the deal with the "fiance"? Charity's daughter already had a huge sagging belly. She's not far behind her mom. 

 

Dr. Now seemed to give her a pass on just about everything. When she was in the hospital, she lost 50 pounds, and the removal of the masses was almost another hundred, so she really only lost 120 pounds on her own, which sounds like a a lot, but if you are nearly 800 to start, you would think that just cutting back would make you lose way more than that, considering that Dr Now keeps saying that it takes 5-7000 worth of calories to maintain that body weight. Even if she went to 3000, you would think there would be more dramatic loss in a year. Something tells me she is not embracing the change in diet. 

 

Again, as last week with the HUGE plate of eggs - I screamed when she ate that burger (WITH BREAD!) with the fries in it...whose stomach did she borrow?  I silently thanked my surgeon again for making my stomach too small to handle even two bites of that mess she was eating.

 

Thanks to all the posters who have been schooling us on weight loss surgery, before this show I had no clue. How the hell did she eat that burger? And not only did she eat it, she was devouring it. I thought eating that much food would make her ill.   

Edited March 26, 2015 by poeticlicensed

[Momof2boyz]

Well, this puts some things in perspective, I guess.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/29/charity-pierce-lose-weight-get-married_n_5228733.html

And another one... TLC didn't mention the GoFundMe campaign that helped her move to Texas from Iowa.

http://popdust.com/2014/05/02/worlds-fattest-woman-photos-videos-weight-surgery-gastric-fundraiser-charity-pierce-600lb-life/#slide1

Wow. Just wow.  So sick about the fiance too.  21 years old and his brother is Charly's father.  That is just gross.  He is three years older than her daughter.  And I was really disturbed by the short dresses that exposed her whole bottom.

Edited March 26, 2015 by Momof2boyz

[Pepper Mostly]

The whole bunch of them skeeved me right out. Charity pooping in her living room, Charly looking like she was on a fast train to the 700 pound mark, and the strange, not-quite-present "fiance". I'm not usually one for armchair diagnoses, but I took one look at him and thought "Fetal Alcohol Syndrome". Must have been his eyes, and his weird spaced out demeanor. And heaven help me, the only thing I could think every time they showed that apartment was "dear god it must smell horrific in there". They were cleaning Charity with baby wipes! The whole crew looked so unhealthy, sitting like bumps on a log, wordlessly devouring cheeseburgers. Awful. No snark. Just so sad and depressing.

[Momof2boyz]

OK one more thing about the fiance.  In that Huff Post article it says that in the early days of their "courtship" (I guess that's one way to put it), they were having sex up to four times a day.  Where was this happening?  In that bed in the living room?  Where was Charly during all this?

[RedKoolAide]

So, they couldn't use an actual washcloth and bed pan with soapy water to clean her better than baby wipes? That was disgusting. I'm sure she probably smells from the lack of a proper bath and the open sores.

I tried not to laugh at reading "butt wings", but I couldn't help it. They did look painful.

After reading the article on Tony being Charly's uncle/future stepdad I'm even more disturbed by the living arrangements. That's just weird and sick. It also makes me give Charity the side-eye since she knew this kid since he was 8?! Yuck.

[Granny58]

The same thought did occur to me when she got off of the portable toilet seemingly without wiping, and sat down on the very same couch where she and her daughter seem to take all of their meals.  Oh.  My.  God. 

It looked to  me that her "fiance" was standing there with a rag to wipe her.  

[Granny58]

"At this point I am just disgusted at TLC for showing us these poor people bathing Every.Single.Week. It's so disrespectful. We don't need to see them naked and struggling to clean themselves. Can't we let them retain a little dignity? Maybe I should be more disgusted at myself for continuing to watch."

 

Though we don't need to see somebody rising from the toilet, I do believe seeing their naked bodies is an important cautionary visual.  I always feel more motivated to avoid crap food afterwards.  

[CouchTater]

It looked to  me that her "fiance" was standing there with a rag to wipe her.  

That makes me feel a little better (I guess), but I wonder how thorough the cleaning job could have possibly been?  Just wow.

[Twopper]

Part of what I don't understand about this series is why they don't send in the therapist as soon as the dr starts the pre-surgery weight loss assignment as most of his patients seem really in need of it.  And at the same time he should send in the nutritionist with a lot of possible menus.  It seems a lot of the patients and their caretakers are not the brightest people.  Charly could have benefitted from the therapist as well as she looks like a candidate for the surgery herself. And I just have no words for the boytoy.  my excuse for watching so much of this show is I am stuck at home with a broken arm and leg and am worried about getting super obese while I recuperate which I know is unlikely as I am normal weight.  Well, it wouldn't hurt for me to lose about 15 pounds and I can lose 3-4 pounds when the casts are off.  I was glad to see the shopping episode although I thought the skirt  was too clingy.  and the butt wings--I have never seen anything like that; I wish they had explained about it.  if she loses more weight, do they do butt lift surgery?

[roseslg]

Well, I knew something was up with her fiancé, but not that he was sorta in the family.  He looked a bit dim, ok, a lot dim.   I first thought he was her son.   He was very much about not throwing out the food it seems as though he was packing it up to keep it in the house instead of throwing it out.  What do they talk about?  It's all so squicky.   

[Twopper]

I think up until her surgery, they talked about the next snack or meal as it looks like Charity and her mom spent the entire day eating.

 

[feetcuzzyfeefee]

At the end, when they showed Charity with some make-up, she actually looked pretty.  I'm much older than my husband, but thankfully, I met him when he was an adult and have no visions of him as a child.   Had I known him as a child, there is no way I could be married to him now.  That was a very odd distribution of fat -- I'm wondering if the "wings" developed gradually as she put on weight, or if she got heavy and the fat distributed itself into that pattern.  I hope she loses enough weight to be able to go back and see her family.   When I see how life-limiting all of this excess weight is, it makes me sad that people are just confined to a couch/bed or to a small area of a house, and feel that spending two hours getting ready to drive to a supermarket counts as an "outing".    The last two women they have featured have been much more likeable than Penny or Pauline.  None of this "I know better".  I guess when your whole life consists of eating, when you have to stop eating and are so large that it is difficult for you to move, you have a hard time finding something to replace the eating activity.   I'll be anxious to see her follow-up.