S07.E09: Doris & T'resa

[FormerMod-a1]

A woman is forced to sleep on her patio due to her massive hoard that occupies every room in her house from floor to ceiling; an asthmatic heavy smoker lives in danger of accidentally setting her hoard ablaze, which could lead to a fiery death.

[AuntTora]

Good lord.

[JosieThePussycat]

That last scene, with the granddaughter dancing? Caption: "Foreign language"? It was Hawaiian, for god's sake!

 

I'm focusing on that because it keeps me from thinking too much about the mess that is T'resa.

[califred]

Jase seemed like a great normal person despite his crazy mother making his friends climb in his window.

Also the smoking while on oxygen really irritates me. She's going to burn down/blow up her house one day.

[JudyObscure]

That was surely a power of love demonstration.  T'resa's son Jace and Doris's granddaughter Celeste managed to do what no one else could.  I hope Doris appreciates having a granddaughter who wants nothing more than to cook a meal with her grandma and then put on some music and dance in the living room -- I'm envious.

[suzeecat]

How in the world Tresa did not burn that house down or blow herself up is mind blowing.  She was totally over-medicated and higher than a kite!  I do not have high hopes that either of these two will continue to keep their homes hoard-free - I sense they are both mentally incompetent.  Sorry, anyone who poops and pees in buckets, tosses it out the back door and doesn't mind demonstrating for the cameras has some serious issues.  Apparently they found lots of rat skeletons in Doris' house, but didn't mention seeing any live ones.  She must have been putting rat poison out.  Jace and Celeste were the bright spots in this episode.

 

LOL'd when Tresa was explaining how her scrubbies could clean so many things, as the camera focuses on her filthy surroundings.

Edited July 24, 2015 by suzeecat

[SFoster21]

That was surely a power of love demonstration. T'resa's son Jace and Doris's granddaughter Celeste managed to do what no one else could. I hope Doris appreciates having a granddaughter who wants nothing more than to cook a meal with her grandma and then put on some music and dance in the living room -- I'm envious.

Such a lovely girl in every way; a real pleasure to watch.

[terrymct]

Some of the people featured on this show really shouldn't be living on their own.  They'd be better off in assisted living and getting some psychiatric counseling.  Both of the women this week in their own way seemed broken and pitiful.

[Ocean Chick]

LOL'd when Tresa was explaining how her scrubbies could clean so many things, as the camera focuses on her filthy surroundings.

 

 

That was some amazing shade by the editors, for sure.  I kept waiting for someone to mention T'resa's over medication at some point, but no one every did.  Wonder what she was on.  She, for sure, ought to be in assisted living, with someone else doling out the meds and making sure she wasn't burning herself up.  But then again, she would be putting other people in danger if they were around her, so maybe not so much?  I'd hate for someone else's loved one to die because T'resa couldn't or wouldn't stop smoking in bed or while next to oxygen tanks.

 

I hope we get a follow up show on both these women.  I don't have too much hope with T'resa, as she seems so broken.  But maybe there's some hope for Doris, if Celeste stays in her life?

[pagooey]

Did we know that Cory Chalmers was also a certified paramedic? The hoarders themselves are exhausting, but my love for the doctors and cleaners and organizers knows no bounds. 

[FormerMod-a1]

I did know that.  Also, IIRC, he used to be a firefighter and those would tie in together.

[Calamity Jane]

Did we know that Cory Chalmers was also a certified paramedic? The hoarders themselves are exhausting, but my love for the doctors and cleaners and organizers knows no bounds. 

That explains so much about his demeanor!! 

[LittleIggy]

Those were two mean old women. I loved when Cynthia went off on her mother over that "pieces of my heart" crap. I like Dr. Pfeffer. He's so mellow. Cory rocks! Dorothy is awesome too.

[Mu Shu]

You can't force a person into assisted living.  T'resa wouldn't go anyway, because she won't be able to smoke.  

 

How long does it take to make a "scrubbie"?   How much can one sell for?   I figure she's making about 1/4 of minimum wage on this genius business venture. 

 

I was surprised both houses were in good condition afterwards.   T'resa's house looked fairly decayed on the outside. 

 

Oh, and what is this  "adult protective services"  they yammer on about?    All they can do is try to offer the person help.   How many of these hoarders would take it?    You can't hold a person against their will unless they've committed a crime, or threatened to harm themselves or others.   Adult protective services is a crock.    What would happen is that the house would be condemned in most cases,  the hoarder offered help, but would refuse it, and then they would go out on the street.     

Edited July 26, 2015 by Mu Shu

[JosieThePussycat]

I had the same thoughts on the scrubbies - not exactly a goldmine. But for someone who's essentially sitting around all day anyway, I guess it's a little pocket money.

 

Not exactly proud of my reaction to T'resa's cigarette + oxygen tank lifestyle. Tobacco addiction is an ugly, real thing, and I know that. I know it gets to a point where it's really no longer a choice. And T'resa's of any age where  - when she was young - the cigarette companies were still vigorously denying any cancer connection, and their ads were all over TV, radio, and magazines. Courts have punished them for their lies and found the T'resas of those years victims, not idiots.

 

I know all that, and still something about her brings out judgment instead of compassion.

 

Which makes me admire Cory and St. Dorothy and the others all the more: with all they've seen, the compassion still hasn't run out. Better people than I'll ever be.

[funky-rat]

I liked Jace. Bless him for putting up with his mother.  But I didn't care for Celeste.  She seems like a lovely girl, but she seemed too "on" - like she was auditioning for something.

 

At my husband's prior job, he worked with someone who was married to a former nurse.  She had bad COPD and emphesyma from lifelong smoking - she had to quit her job, and became disabled.  She was on oxygen - and still smoked.  She essentially lit the oxygen on fire, and "cooked" herself on the inside.  She died quickly.  I can't imagine.  I cringed when they showed her smoking and on oxygen.

[Yokosmom]

I actually have a scrubbie and they are indeed useful little things.  Just throw them in the dishwasher when they get dirty.  I can't remember where I got mine, but am hoping that it wasn't made by T'resa.  The local artsy store in my area sells them for two bucks, so I can't believe she's making a fortune on them.  But if she's disabled by emphysema, it is something to do to make a little pin money.

 

That blanket with the dozens of cigarette burns on it was a shocker.

 

I loved Cynthia calling her mother on her crap.  Intellectually, it's easy to say, "it's a mental illness--take that into account", but really, if I had a class 5 Hoarder in my family, I'd lose my cool too.

[funky-rat]

Yes, my mother can be trying.  She's a low level hoarder.  She was raised by someone who went through the depression and never threw anything away.  When my grandmother died, you'd have thought that would cure my mom by doing the cleanout, but no.  And she has the nerve to lecture me about stuff.  We just moved to a larger place (we had been living in a teeny tiny place for 17 years) and she's just all over me about what I've got.  I took no less than 10 loads of stuff to Goodwill and other thrift stores (I spread it around), I gave a ton of stuff away, including furniture, have sold things on eBay, and pared down my stuff by a lot.  She still criticizes.  You need to get rid of more stuff, she says.  Just because you have more room doesn't mean you need to fill that space, she says.  Finally, frustrated, I looked at her and said "Shall we discuss the room in your basement packed full of junk and paperback books?  And how much of the "stuff" you reference did you buy for me or (husband)?".  She has stopped mentioning it...for now.  Last night I told her I hauled 3 storage totes of stuff directly to the dumpster (it was stored in our basement, which had gone through a flood, and even though it was sealed and up off the floor and didn't get any flood water on it, it still smelled funky and was not salvageable).  So what does she say?  "It's a shame you couldn't salvage it."  GRRR!  I felt good about it.  Find wall, bang head.

[Yokosmom]

I hear ya, funky-rat.  My mother was the opposite of a hoarder, but she got on my case a number of times for having too much stuff.  I had to gently remind her that when she was my age (50s) and lived in a house, instead of her current small one bedroom apartment, she had a lot more stuff too.  Stage of life and circumstances make a difference.  Of course, I now have even more stuff and it does indeed need to be cleared out a bit...  Congrats on getting rid of so much.

 

It's interesting that size of a living space makes no difference to a Hoarder--tiny apt? fill it up.  Large mansion, fill it up.  Regular house, fill it up.  And then, buy another house and fill that one up too.  Part of that is human nature, though.  People naturally use whatever space they are given.

Edited July 30, 2015 by Yokosmom

[notyrmomma]

Why doesn't someone introduce T'resa to the world of ecigs or vaping (not exactly sure what it's called). I know it's not comleletely healthy, but it has to be safer than a lit cigarette.

I also agreee that she needs to go to an assisted living facility. I know they won`t let her smoke there, i wonder if they were let her vap?

[ChicagoCita]

At assisted living facilities, most of them have areas in front or back, like patios, for the smokers.

 

The generation that is now going into nursing homes and assisted living facilities is the last generation before the Surgeon General's report came out that definitely linked smoking to cancer.

 

It's a little weird going to visit relatives there and seeing three or four determined old ladies in wheelchairs puffing away, no matter the weather.

[JudyObscure]

It's a little weird going to visit relatives there and seeing three or four determined old ladies in wheelchairs puffing away, no matter the weather.

 

God bless them!   They'll not go gently into that good night, but smoking, drinking cocktails, playing canasta,  flashing their diamonds and telling slightly exaggerated stories about the swanky places they used to frequent and the hearts they broke.