S03.E12: Charity's Story

[Stripper Glitter]

Those were the wings he removed.

What a disturbing episode.

[Guest dutronc]

Trying to tell y'all that they are catering to a select group somewhere that gets off on the grotesqueness. I think it is inhumane to treat the participants like that but somebody somewhere is getting off on it. 

 

I think this might be an overly broad assertion. What's the joke, "if it exists, there's porn for it?" (And TLC probably has a show about it). Why does anyone watch this show? For me, it's because I like medical/surgical shows and documentary-ish shows. I also like veterinary shows*, and strange-bodies shows. I was kind of weirded out by the toilet scene, but I was mostly wondering about the process of consent that goes into that. 

 

 

*I realized this morning that this might sound mean in the context of this thread, but I mention it because to me, science-y medical shows and veterinary shows, and even Michigan Animal Rescue kind of fit under the same umbrella. 

Edited April 1, 2015 by dutronc

[Bellalisa]

How would she have gotten underwear off and on? Think about it? The legs had wings too- where would she have found panties big enough to go over the leg and butt wings? 

[HalcyonDays]

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[stormy]

I love Charity. She may be the only one I've ever seen take control of her situation at home by making her daughter throw out everything, telling her that you'll thank me later and realizing her daughter is headed down the same road and making her daughter and her boyfriend eat what she eats so they can be healthier too. Most of the time the family members are eating fried food, sweets, etc while the patient is struggling to stick to the diet.

I hope she's been successful and I hope her daughter will wake up and start taking charge of her weight also.

[Micks Picks]

Ok saw this episode for the first time prior to the Chay one.  OMG the Butt Wings.  Now I know what everyone was talking about.  It is horrifying the things that can happen to a body, isn't it?  I should probably say there but for the grace of God go I---not for this particular thing, as it is highly unlikely I'd ever get overweight, but in general.  The dreadful things that happen to people are just too much.

[goodbyeglittergirl]

I finally had a chance to watch this one, and I really struggled with it. First of all, I thought she was going to pass away in the skin removal surgery near the end, so that freaked me out. I really, really thought that's where we were headed. I honestly am shocked she made it to 39. She just seemed to have given up. I would give up, too, if I had to pee and poop in my living room and use ambulances as my main transportation source.

 

I have a pretty strong stomach but the skin/fatty tumor/etc removal footage sincerely pushed me over the edge.

 

I hope she is successful. I would love to hear her reflect on how she got to this size. I am sorry for her childhood traumas, but also wonder... was there never a point where she said - whoa, I can't buckle a car seat belt any more. Or whoa, I can't walk up a flight of steps. Or whoa, I can't find underwear to fit my body. You don't just wake up 400, 500, 600 pounds. And I say that as someone with 40 more pounds to lose myself (40 down, 40 to go!) There are WHOA moments. What did she do during her whoa moments? I would love to hear that sort of thing.

[ChiCricket]

I had lap-band surgery a year ago. I had gotten up to 260 lbs (and I'm only 5'2') I am sloooooowly losing weight..I now have lost a measly 61 lbs...still a long way to go. I was ecstatic this week to finally get under 200 lbs. After reading this entire board, and hearing people saying how exploitative this show is, I have to say something.
After watching this show last night I had trouble sleeping, and the first thing I thought of when I woke up was this show.
   Yep, the butt wings did it for me...light bulb moment...because I cheat on my diet... a lot. For me, I cannot eat even a tiny bite of lettuce,pasta, bread, or rice without immediately upchucking. But that said, I have found many ways around all that.
   I can eat crackers and one kind of chips (Munchos), which I would go far and wide to find. And mashed potatoes (with lots of butter) and certain kinds of cake and candy and ice-cream.  (and buttered popcorn) :(
The other light-bulb moment for me was them all sitting like Jabba the Hut on the couch eating..I do that :(
      Today for the first time in years, I had my coffee and greek yogurt at the dining room table like a normal person.
My husband looked at me like I had just grown another head. He was shocked, I tell you. Also kind of territorial about the table..he had his coupons all over it and made an exasperated sound when I asked him to clear me a spot.

   In my mind, I had thought I had lost more weight, Now when I type it in black and white...not nearly as much as I should have. This show is giving me a giant kick in my GIANT ASS. So yes I can see it being viewed as exploitative, but for me, it's educational.

      I needed to see her giant naked butt-wings (poor thing.) What a concept, I actually learned something from The Learning Channel. (can't believe I'm going to post this, please be kind to me)

   Now to get off the computer and clean my house and move my body for a change. (I'm also learning from Hoarders, I don't ever want to get THAT bad..lol)

Edited to add, that for me personally, starting to wear stretch pants was the beginning of the slippery slope to weight gain hell...if you have started to only wear stretch pants, you are on the way into big trouble (imho)

Edited April 3, 2015 by ChiCricket

[Galloway Cave]

 

Yep, the butt wings did it for me...light bulb moment

Well, I for one am more than willing to view butt wings if it means helping you out, ChiCricket! Good luck with your weight loss work. You have done a lot so far, despite what you think.

[goodbyeglittergirl]

ChiCricket, in my current battle with my weight, I watch 600 pound life, Hoarders, and Intervention on a solid rotation. I've had my real life WHOA moment but those shows help keep me pointed in the right direction. Is that terrible? I don't wish any of them ill - I cry sometimes when someone on Intervention has passed away by the end of the episode, etc. So I totally understand you needing the buttwings as motivation! Good luck and congrats on your progress thus far!

[gunderda]

I also think that's why they are showing the shower/nude scenes because I think it triggers fear and shock into some people who may be at the tipping point.

To me it's more of a "look at what you would look like if you let yourself get this big" type of thing.  And not necessarily "omg let's look at this disgusting fat person and embarrass them on national tv" 

 

I also noticed on the clip they show of Joe getting out of his shower at the beginning of every episode he also has the makings of 'butt wings'.   I think they were just very VERY extreme on Charity, which would make sense because I think she was one of the heavier ones we've seen. 

[alegtostandon]

I don't eat in the bed except when in the hospital (or recovering from surgery at home) but I do eat on the couch. I don't own a dining table, just dinner tray stands from Walmart. It's just my husband and I so we eat while watching a tv show and neither of us are obese or even a lot over weight.

 

No, they've never shown this particular complex before, at least not in season 2 or current. I believe I missed season 1.

 

I am surprised the daughter hasn't learned from watching her mom that what her mom does is the very thing she should not do.

 

 

We do the same thing, eat on trays while watching TV.  We, too, are just Mr. ToStandOn and myself.  Now, when my stepdaughter was young, we would eat dinner at the table together.  And, of course, for holidays, we do also.  Eating in bed, No Thank You. 

 

My cable company called her masses 'Butt Wings" on their description of the show.

[cheeztoast]

I liked Charity too despite the weirdness of the boyfriend being her daughter's uncle.  Maybe if she continues to get more therapy she'll realize how wrong that relationship is.  The single most disgusting image I've ever seen on television (and I say this as a fan of Hoarders) is those masses being taken away from the surgical table and put on the side table - just these bloody, fatty masses - you could still see the dimples on them.  So glad I went to the gym today.  I wish her so much luck and hope her daughter gets a clue.

[Oldernowiser]

Wow. I only let myself watch these while I'm on the treadmill and this one was good for six miles and a whole lot of sprint intervals.

I'm kind of speechless. First, the family dynamics were just plain odd...at first it seemed she was mom and her daughter and the "fiance" were her kids...but then later on her daughter was mothering her mother. And if that kid is really her fiance, I'm Angelina Jolie, because his body language when he was sitting next to her on the couch was 100% "don't touch me."

But mostly I was just so horrified at her condition. I'm a former vet tech and medical stuff usually doesn't faze me, but OMG it looked like those growths were going to freaking rip right off and those sores...jeeeezus. That has to HURT. I get why Dr. Now was so concerned...that is septicemia at any minute.

It does make me wonder if it doesn't explain some of the seeming inconsistencies among the patients on the show, in terms of who gets hospitalized, how long they stay after surgery, the weight loss requirements to qualify...they hardly ever talk about any comorbidities these patients have, which are probably extensive. I'd bet my house most of them are diabetic, for example, and when that takes over you can lose limbs, go blind, experience organ failure, etc. etc. Surgery may be the only option to get the disease to a manageable level. Charity really didn't have much time before those things got infected.

But to get back to snark...isn't it an amazing coincidence that every single therapist on this show looks like an actress/spokesperson/model? Not a regular looking person, ever? Wonder what credentials they really have?

[Armchair Critic]

Butt Wings Alert! Heads up to those who may have missed it, the Super Sized episode of Charity is on tonight (Monday) at 9 Eastern.

[notyrmomma]

I am watching the Super Sized episode now.  One of the pop-ups said Charley was going on a diet too with her mom, to show her support.  A second later you get a closeup on Charley's meal from the hospital and there sits a slice of cake....and Dr. Now even told them that they weren't allowed to eat (assumingly bad things) in front of her.  That's just not cool!

 

(maybe Charley's on the Sea Food diet....when people would ask me what diet I am on, I would say the "sea food diet.  I see food, then I eat it."  LOL)

[notyrmomma]

Also - that nutritionist they had was terrible!  Just because peanut butter is organic DOES NOT mean it has no sugar or isgood for you--that has to be my biggest pet peeve.  If she really needs to have peanut butter, she has to get real peanut butter, the one that you have to stir and only contains the following ingredients: peanuts and salt.  Also, she wanted Charity to have "balance" in her foods.  Nope!  Well, not during your first year out of surgery anyway.  It's all about the protein then...and if Charity could physically eat that whole steak that they were waving around now, then the good dr gave her a really big pouch.

[RealityViewer]

I read through most of the comments, but I didn't see any discussion of who buys the groceries.  I've been wondering for a long time,  so please excuse me if the question has already been asked and answered.  So here is the question: It's not possible for the patient to get to the grocery store. So someone else is buying groceries and providing extremely unhealthy amounts of food.  Why is there never any discussion about that in the show?  Shouldn't the enabler be getting therapy/counseling/education to stop hurting the person that they love?

[Dianaofthehunt]

I only caught the last quarter hour of Charity's episode, waiting for "Better Call Saul" to be aired. So I missed (whew!) most of the more...phantasmagorical aspects of Charity's story. I felt bad about her wobbling back shelves, but her grammar floored me even worse.

[ChiCricket]

 Shouldn't the enabler be getting therapy/counseling/education  to stop hurting the person that they love?

This.

  At the end of the day it is my decision to put unhealthy food in my body. But if I was good at resisting I wouldn't have had the lap-band to begin with. I had a lot of counseling before the surgery, and had to go to a lot of classes. (now I need to follow it all much better)

  It doesn't help when my skinny as all heck and addicted to all sweets husband goes out and buys tons of donuts, cake, ice cream..you name it, he buys it.

(he  buys so much cake and donuts that they get moldy before he can eat it all. He used to be a terrible alcoholic but he quit cold-turkey after a DUI..hasn't drunk (drank?) for over ten years now, but my, oh my, does he craves sweets now.

   I can make him keep all his crap in his 'man cave' and I do..but that can't include all the refrigerated and frozen stuff. Out of sight, out of mind, and after the surgery, I don't crave it any more if it's not in my face, so it is really unhelpful of him to do that.

    Will he ever "get it"? No! and its SO frustrating.

  Good luck getting the families to get counseling though.. because they think the overweight person is the sole problem (because we carry our woes on our bodies..they can hide theirs better because it's mostly on the inside.)

     My husband only went one time in our 46 year marriage..said he really didn't have a problem and could quit when he felt like it. He did just that, by switching being addicted to alcohol to being addicted to religion. Hey, it worked well for him,so who am I to judge? (But I do judge, because it's just not my thing and I get so tired of him talking about it all the time)  

But. I stayed, so I need to put on my huge girl panties and DEAL, you know?

  So to bring it back to the show, YES, the families need counseling too!  Sorry, I can't seem to type a short reply for the life of me.

I apologize in advance.

Edited April 7, 2015 by ChiCricket

[notyrmomma]

Organic pb actually has aflatoxin...

Yes! If you do get Organic peanut butter, you have to somehow make sure it is fresh (good luck).  From what I understand, when the peanuts sit around they get a mold (or mold like substance) called aflatoxin, which can cause cancer.  The pesticides used in regular peanut butter actually kill aflatoxin.  So organic is not always superior.

[purpleflowers]

For those who viewed the Supersized episode, I'm curious if there  was anything else noteworthy in it that wasn't included in the original episode? 

[cheatincheetos]

A second later you get a closeup on Charley's meal from the hospital and there sits a slice of cake....and Dr. Now even told them that they weren't allowed to eat (assumingly bad things) in front of her.  That's just not cool!

I just noticed Dr. Now saying 'Y'all' to them at the start of the hospital visit. Usually his English is so formal!

[turbogirlnyc]

I must admit, after reading the comments here, I was only able to get through around five minutes of this show because I started to feel nauseated. This family needs a lot of help.

My mom walked in while I was watching and had the exact same response. She said it was making her sick.

[QueBueno]

I just noticed Dr. Now saying 'Y'all' to them at the start of the hospital visit. Usually his English is so formal!

That's formal Texan. :)

[Texasmom1970]

Raising my hand here.  I find it totally fascinating and watch every one of these fat shows not to mention my all time favorite, the 132lb tumor.  Watching how these folks function day to day, washing (or not), walking (or not) and even the very act of eating are completely riveting, like the proverbial train wreck where you can't look away.  I was hypnotized watching Charity's mouth when she ate.  

 

Charity is 7X my weight, which is mind blowing to me.  I may need an intervention from these shows because I'm totally addicted. 

I am right there with you I posted the other day in the main thread that I think I need an intervention I am strangely addicted to watching this show. To me it is also both fascinating and disturbing to me at the same time. I just have so many questions about they how and why and logistics. I know I seriously need help!

[55Unicorns]

On 3/26/2015 at 0:22 AM, brandyelf said:

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

OMG...these people are as bright as a box of rocks....

[noveltylibrary65]

On 3/26/2015 at 0:00 PM, Miss Chevious said:

I've watched a number of these shows but this one takes the cake. Or should I say hamburger with fries. Don't these people get a list of foods to eat and what to avoid when they leave the hospital post-surgery? I was appalled to see Charity wolfing down that burger. And then being depressed because her weight loss wasn't as much as she'd hoped. Sometimes I think they are not grasping the concept.

It's like telling a drug addict to go home and not use drugs.  You can give them all the lists of bad foods you want, it won't matter.  I'm always surprised Dr Now waits to insist on therapy, it should be the very first requirement when they walk in the door imo.  I had years of eating disorders so I know how strong the addiction is.

Edited May 21, 2017 by noveltylibrary65

[DC Gal in VA]

Well, as many of you who received likes/notifications from me today may have guessed, I watched Charity's aka "Butt Wings" episode earlier. Funny, when the screen said that this was Charity's story, I found myself saying "Which one is that?" and then, when they initially showed her walking, I thought "Oh now I remember."

What I forgot was what her starting weight was: 778 pounds. Was she the largest female poundticipant ever, or was that the lovely Schenee?

Back to the wings. Those things seemed like a completely separate entity. I remember being fascinated when I first saw them, almost mesmerized. To this day, even after watching probably way too many episodes of M600PL, I can't recall seeing such a unique distribution of body weight in a person.

I read through all of the comments here after watching and many kept wondering exactly what those wings were. IMHO, they were her butt cheeks that had spread and spread after years of massive weight gain and sitting and/or laying down most of the day. Also, some thought that Dr. Now had removed them during her initial skin removal surgery but no it was those side masses on her left leg that really hindered her mobility that he removed which he said were full of fluid. If you think about it--and I think about this stuff waaaaaay too much, LOL--he couldn't have removed the wings because she was laying on her back throughout the surgery. Amazing that those masses weighed 57 pounds!

Overall, I really liked Charity. My heart broke when she was given the news that her mother had died and she wept at the fact that, because of her weight, she couldn't be there, not only in her mom's final days, her death and funeral, but wasn't physically able to visit her while she battled the cancer that reappeared after she (Charity) had moved away. She lamented about how much her massive body has cost her in her life. So sad but so true.

Very happy about the successes she experienced during this episode. As the episode neared the end, I was thinking about what was going to be shown during the second hour and realized that TLC covered the entire year in one hour! Aah, those were the days.

[OoogleEyes]

Anyone up for this repeat tonight? Charity with wings, but no teef.

Edited November 12, 2020 by OoogleEyes

[CrazyInAlabama]

If you watch Charity, you have to watch the update show.     That is truly something to tape, or stay up late and watch.