S04.E19: Where Are They Now? Angel and Charity

[Muffyn]

Quote

Despite having lost 378 lbs., Angel's knee pain threatens everything; Charity must find the strength to get healthy after post-surgery complications.

[Muffyn]

My initial reaction to this episode is aaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgh.  I don't know why this one bothered me so much.  Skin surgeries, cellulitis, Dr. Now doing a breast lift, aaaaaaaarrrrrrrgh. 

[goldensglitter]

Charity's skin issues were brutal between infections and cellulitis.  Frankly, could not bear to watch that last emergency surgery.  Angel, good on her.  However, no way would I have Dr. Now do a breast lift.........negative.  I guess she's lucky he didn't try the knee replacement. He provides these folk with a great service, but really he should limit his expertise instead of trying to be a one stop shop.  

[Noirprncess]

I wonder if the reason so many go back to Dr Now is because of his vascular expertise.  If they have problems that could crop up with their extra surgeries, other doctors may refer then back to him anyway. It might be the only way to most things done in one surgery.

Charity's issues seem like a good cautionary tale for why surgeries aren't always the answer for EVERY case.  Yes she will be smaller weight wise, but worse off from the complications of each surgery.

Angel seemed to have the last amount of skin related issues with her weight loss.  But the toll that weight took on her body was also evident.  She still waddled without the weight.  Was that due to severe knee issues on both sides?

[Minivanessa]

I was seriously impressed to see one of the patients featured on this show going where few have gone before. Angel got a job. Yay, Angel!

Edited to take the rest of my comments to the general discussion topic.

Edited May 5, 2016 by Jeeves

[Diane M]

Who was the blonde patient who worked backstage in the theater, dressing the actors?  After her surgery, she was able to return to work.

[Guest dutronc]

That was Nikki. 

[Ocean Chick]

I was so happy for Angel for losing the weight and keeping her marriage and family together.  And getting a job!  Yes, the way she was walking before her knee surgery looked really painful.  For a moment I wondered if her weight had bent her leg bones, but I guess it looked like that because she couldn't straighten out her knees.  I'm really happy for her husband and child too - they deserve to have a happy wife and mom.

Charity was a sad case, with her skin infections and trouble healing from surgeries.  I hope Charly can reign herself in before she ends up like mom.  I think they both could use quite a lot of therapy.  And Charly needs to finally let go of her care-worker personality and learn to take care of herself.  And move out on her own and not be so wrapped up in mom.  Hopefully they'll get there.

[operalover]

Cellulitis is brutal. And certain people are susceptible to it and they really don't know why but once you get it you can keep getting it. If you look at where Charity started, with those giant wings- it was going to take a very long road and lots of work to get her back to looking normal. When you see those big chucks of flesh Now chomps off- OMG the pain! It is so much trauma to the body. I felt bad for her when she was crying before the surgery when she had the cellulitis again. It's so painful and so difficult. In the meantime her daughter is about to grow wings. You do not want to get like your mom - I noticed she had so many excuses- my mom is in the hospital. My mom is home. My mom is sick so I eat. Then she said she eats all the time no matter what: happy, sad, depressed - all the time no matter what. That is how you get to be 600 pounds. Another few years and she will be imobile. 

 

Angel- I am pretty sure she has 2 different leg lengths which is why she develped such bad arthritis in the knees. We have seen many other fat people and their knees were not this severe. I think the leg length discrepancy led to her putting too much weight on one side which led to ruining her knees. I don't know why they didn't tell us about this. It was so obvious even after the knee replacement that she is lopsided. I think there is little that can be done for different length legs but you can put a lift in one shoe to try to even out. Did anyone else think she was more attractive heavy? After her weight loss she looked strange- especially that hair! GRRRL do something about that hair!

[Diane M]

Who was that young guy that was always in the background?  Charley's boyfriend?

[MsSilverSpecs]

I was happy for Angel but her hair distracted me.  If she got that frizz under control she'd look even more fabulous! 

[gunderda]

1 hour ago, Diane M said:

Who was that young guy that was always in the background?  Charley's boyfriend?

No..... it was Charity's fiance.... who was in the original episode as well.

If he's not screwing around with the daughter on the side I would be very surprised.  They looked to be the same age and he can't be getting any needs met by Charity. 

[operalover]

I was surprised he didn't say a word nor did she mention him once in this episode. He seemed to totally ignore both of them. What is his purpose?

[Diane M]

Probably acting as her helper....washing her, helping her dress, getting her massive amounts of food, etc.  There has to be something very odd about a young guy wanting to marry an obese woman old enough to be his mother.

[islandgal140]

46 minutes ago, operalover said:

I was surprised he didn't say a word nor did she mention him once in this episode. He seemed to totally ignore both of them. What is his purpose?

Not having to work by living off his fiancee's social security checks. 

Charly's weight gain was pronounced and concerning. 

I know Charity has some issues that may be more pressing and such, but I really wish she would make getting some teeth/dentures a priority. I don't know how she can/could have eaten and enjoyed food as much as she did without teeth. 

I thought Angel had the best weight loss results ever featured on the show, bat wings on her arms notwithstanding. This is first time they ever showed someone at 250 lbs and I actually thought they looked smaller than that. She is actually a nice looking woman with nice features, if she would take care of her hair, get a good skin care regiment going, decent wardrobe she could be fierce. 

Sweet fancy Moses! Dr. Now doing a breast lift? I just know they now look a mess. If Dr. Now was her only alternative, she would be better off just keeping her flapjacks as opposed to the cross-eyed asymmetrical mess that look like they belong on two different people she likely has now. 

[operalover]

Angel's wardrobe was horrid. They did show a few other people with just as dramatic weight loss. They showed Cristina at 170, also there was another lady, I can't remember the name, needed skin surgery on her legs, that was under 250. But anyway I thought Angel looked very pretty when she was 500 pounds and her face changed drastically after the weight loss and not in a good way. 

Yeah when they show those giant stiches, I think I can do a better job myself, These poor people having their flesh chopped off like that. I cannot imagine the pain they are in 

[Dirtybubble]

25 minutes ago, islandgal140 said:

Sweet fancy Moses! Dr. Now doing a breast lift? I just know they now look a mess. If Dr. Now was her only alternative, she would be better off just keeping her flapjacks as opposed to the cross-eyed asymmetrical mess that look like they belong on two different people she likely has now. 

I wondered about this; I think it's simply removal of excess skin from her breasts and not an actual boob job *shrug*?

Either way I'm very impressed with Angel's success but something bugs a bit.  Her.....overall happiness, I don't know, she just seemed sooo.....depressed.  Unhappy.  It's difficult for me to describe but even after all the surgeries and getting a new job she just didn't seem all that happy.  Not sure if it's simply the camera not catching her at the right times or what but I kinda felt there was some underlying sadness about her that bothered me a bit.

 

1 hour ago, gunderda said:

No..... it was Charity's fiance.... who was in the original episode as well.

If he's not screwing around with the daughter on the side I would be very surprised.  They looked to be the same age and he can't be getting any needs met by Charity. 

Good grief you aren't kidding.  I felt ZERO love or even happiness with those 2.  I'm surprised it wasn't addressed on the show.  Was he upset because his role of caregiver has changed *shrug* IDK, when this show highlights 2 people it always feels rushed to me.

[gunderda]

29 minutes ago, Dirtybubble said:

Good grief you aren't kidding.  I felt ZERO love or even happiness with those 2.  I'm surprised it wasn't addressed on the show.  Was he upset because his role of caregiver has changed *shrug* IDK, when this show highlights 2 people it always feels rushed to me.

I would bet he's still getting paid as her care giver.  I think both Charly and Charity's fiance were both being paid and once she became more independent they were only getting enough money for one person to be paid (honestly not sure how that all works though.......) so Charly went and got a job, the fiance still stays at home being a worthless piece of crap. 

[notyrmomma]

6 hours ago, gunderda said:

 

If he's not screwing around with the daughter on the side I would be very surprised.  They looked to be the same age and he can't be getting any needs met by Charity. 

He's her uncle! But I absolutely got the vibe that they were doin' it. (he's her father's younger brother that Charity met later in life).  I saw a picture of Charley on facebook recently and I thought she had lost a lot of weight, but I guess it was the angle that they took the picture at.  At the end, she weighed in a 376, just a few pounds shy of Whitney of My Big Fat Fabulous Life, and we all know how wonderful diet and exercise are working for her /sarcasm.  Charley ought to get the surgery now while she's still young AND SMALL enough to get back somewhat of a normal body shape.

 

I think Angel looked fantastic!  Yes, she can use a face lift and needs to be introduced to a good flat iron and hair some product (little known fact that bariatric surgery kills your hair!), but looking old and haggard is 100x better than the way one looks at 600 lbs.  Christina was the only one who dressed "cute" after losing weight.  Everyone else seems to want to stick with the same baggy style in clothes, just in smaller sizes--Angel could have even gone down a size or two in what she wears.  When I lost weight, I couldn't wait to wear cute things (and shop in stores that were clearly too young for me, like Forever 21).  The funny thing is it took me a long time to stop grabbing for a size L or XL to try on first.  

[mrsjoe]

53 minutes ago, notyrmomma said:

Charley ought to get the surgery now while she's still young AND SMALL enough to get back somewhat of a normal body shape.

This was my thought as well. Your body bounces back from the surgery and weightloss so much better when you're younger and not quite as big. I think it's pretty clear with her issues, she is unfortunately headed to 600 lbs as well.

Glad I was not the only one who shouted "NOOOOOOOOO" when it was announced Dr. Now was doing Angel's surgeries. I can't imagine letting him near that area. And then as if we needed a reminder that appearance is sooooo not a priority for him, they showed that horrendous shot of Charity's healing bat wing scars. It was like Frankenstein. I mean, those were some unique deformities, but I just can't believe that is the best it could have looked.

One thing that did stand out to me though this episode is that both these women had genuinely bad issues they were facing and Dr. Now seemed to treat them well and not dismiss what they were going through, which is an interesting contrast to how we have seen him treat other patients who he thinks are full of crap. Lends credence to the fact that other patients really were faking it and pushing his last nerve, and not genuinely suffering as they claimed. 

[Armchair Critic]

It was sad seeing Charity and her daughter sitting next to each other eating, they were like twins and you can see the writing on the wall for Charley.

Angel really turned her life around even getting a job. For me getting out of the house like that would help with the food issues, I know sometimes on my days off when I am lazing around the house it seems like food is always on my mind. I do think some of the patients gets depressed after the surgery because food was such a big part of their life and something they looked forward to and now that is gone.

[Suzywriter]

20 hours ago, Noirprncess said:

I wonder if the reason so many go back to Dr Now is because of his vascular expertise.  If they have problems that could crop up with their extra surgeries, other doctors may refer then back to him anyway. It might be the only way to most things done in one surgery.

Charity's issues seem like a good cautionary tale for why surgeries aren't always the answer for EVERY case.  Yes she will be smaller weight wise, but worse off from the complications of each surgery.

Angel seemed to have the last amount of skin related issues with her weight loss.  But the toll that weight took on her body was also evident.  She still waddled without the weight.  Was that due to severe knee issues on both sides?

Angel looked so unhappy! She seemed to be on the edge of crying most of the time, with a deep, hopeless frown. She did not seem to be choosing this path, but like she was tormented by inner sorrow. I hope she can break free of that sadness.

Her husband is the kindest, most loving and supportive man I have ever seen. His speaking voice had me swooning.

[Muffyn]

Angel was seriously depressed in her original episode.  If I recall it was related to the loss of a child or being forced to give her child up for adoption.  (Oh great PTV hive mind, enlighten me!)  She is one of several people on this show who desperately needs physical therapy to try to get back normal movement.  She had one knee done.  From her continued bent knee stance, I wonder if she needs the other replaced also.  She certainly could use help regaining a normal stance.   It bothered me when she said Dr. Now approved her for knee surgery.  They do act like he is the surgeon for everything.  I can see him letting the orthopedist know if she had some additional risk factors, but the ortho would make the call on the knees. 

Dr. Now had marked her for a keyhole breast lift.  So he was planning to do an actual lift.  She probably has cross-eyed nipples with huge Frankenstein scars around them.  They may go to him because he is better at getting the surgeries covered as follow up to bariatric surgery or by the show.  Angel did not appear to have the kind of money needed to pay for plastic surgery.     

[operalover]

The show probably only pays if Dr. Now does it. Angel has 2 different leg lengths. Not much is going to help her stance. I think she has a birth defect and this is why one leg is much shorter than the other or possibly some sort of accident. But her gait is always going to be off-balance due to this. I am pretty sure this is why the knee was so bad to begin with- too much weight on one side because of her defect. Of course they didn't mention this on the show but it's very obvious that one leg is much longer than the other one.

[Guest dutronc]

7 hours ago, Muffyn said:

Angel was seriously depressed in her original episode.  If I recall it was related to the loss of a child or being forced to give her child up for adoption.  (Oh great PTV hive mind, enlighten me!)       

IIRC, she was forced to give up a baby for adoption at 14--it was something like her mother would either kick her out or she would have to give up the baby, so pretty traumatic all around, on top of being pregnant at 13/14. There was another trauma a few years later, and I think a parent died. I'd have to check. I'm glad the patients are shown getting therapy, especially because many of them seem to come from backgrounds where therapy was either financially or culturally out of reach, but I'm not on board with sticking so closely to the "I'm depressed because..." model. Not everything can be talked away. Intervention and Hoarders also do this, and it's frustrating. I mean, Joe is in the same boat as, say, Melissa but they had very different backgrounds. 

[Christina]

Back when the original episode aired, the fiance's family members released statements to the tabloids that Angel Charity* was using and manipulating him for his Social Security checks, that I think he was receiving for a mental disability, possibly a traumatic brain injury. I don't remember exactly, but the link is probably here in the original thread. His mother and, I think sister, were adamant that she was the predator. 

Edited May 7, 2016 by Christina
Put incorrect name, I think

[Suzywriter]

On 5/5/2016 at 1:54 PM, operalover said:

I was surprised he didn't say a word nor did she mention him once in this episode. He seemed to totally ignore both of them. What is his purpose?

This is pure conjecture, but maybe Charity's fiance is painfully shy, which would cause him to just try to fade into the background.  It can't be easy living with cameras documenting your family's worst issues.

[operalover]

He talked in the first episode though and seemed to be part of that episode.

[grumpypanda]

I also thought it was strange that Charity's fiance didn't speak on camera. I did crack up at him chowing down on an ice cream cone in the waiting room while Charity was having surgery. I definitely got the vibe that he's mentally challenged. 

Anyway, Angel did seem depressed but she also just might have a bad case of Resting Bitch Face. I suffer from RBF so I understand her plight. 

I loved Angel and her husband out on a date. Unlike most of the couples on this show I think these two are really in love and it's nice to see a nice supportive partner on this show that doesn't seem like a weirdo.

[Muffyn]

@operalover I agree Angel has one leg shorter than the other and is not wearing special shoes to compensate.  She also does not have very good extension in one of her legs.  It makes me sad because there is so much more that could be done for her  She seems like a nice person who has had a very hard life. -

@grumpypanda I agree that Angel and her partner do seem to be a good couple.  After the various I-only-want-fat-women or the major enablers it is refreshing to see someone who wants his partner to succeed and be happy.  I hope life turns out well for their family. 

[swankie]

On Thursday, May 5, 2016 at 10:50 AM, operalover said:

Did anyone else think she was more attractive heavy? After her weight loss she looked strange- especially that hair! GRRRL do something about that hair!

The whole time I was watching Angel's story, I kept saying to myself, "Smile dammit!  You lost all of that weight.  Why such a sourpuss?"  Then when she did smile and I saw some rotten teeth, I realized why she didn't smile a lot.  As for her hair, I kept thinking how much Angel needed a makeover.  It would be nice if she could get someone to fix her teeth, do her hair and help her get a new wardrobe.  I think she would be really pretty with a makeover.

[Galloway Cave]

Oopsie. Wrong thread.

Edited May 12, 2016 by Galloway Cave

[Lightning]

I wonder why so many of these patients, especially the women, have horrible teeth.  Just poor diet, being unable to afford dental care, or is there some connection with weight gain and teeth?

[RCharter]

6 hours ago, Lightning said:

I wonder why so many of these patients, especially the women, have horrible teeth.  Just poor diet, being unable to afford dental care, or is there some connection with weight gain and teeth?

I think there could be a variety of reasons, but I don't think a lot of the state medicaid programs provide dental care.  I'm thinking if the patients are generally living on SSI that they are also on state funded health insurance which doesn't allow for dental care (although that is changing in a lot of states).

I also think there could be issues with fitting in dental chairs.  I was just at the dentists office the other day....I'm a size 8 and I maybe had a foot/foot and a half of space on each side......there is no way someone 600 pounds could fit.  

[Ocean Chick]

I think it's a combination of poor diet/no dental insurance/not being taught in childhood the importance of dental health/embarrassment about going outside and being judged by other people for their size/good old fashioned fear of the dentist/poor self-esteem.  If you eat nothing but junky food all day long - sugary foods and sodas - that wears out your teeth and creates cavities.  And if you can't afford to go to the dentist, you just endure the pain until either your tooth falls out or someone pulls it out with pliers.  If you're not taught young the importance of going to the dentist, then you get the idea that it's only for people who have money to waste - not people like you.  And then you have to worry about getting to the dentist and fitting through doors and into chairs and having the other patients and office people staring and laughing at you.  And really, if you have poor self-esteem like almost all these people seem to have, you think what's the point in maintaining your teeth?  You're still going to be massively overweight and a freak anyways, right?  So why even bother? 

I suffered from fear of dentist myself, due to an awful childhood dentist (I always thought he was an escapee from one of Hitler's concentration camp hiding from justice).  I think he felt as if the more pain he caused me the better I'd take care of my teeth.  He was wrong - he just traumatized to me the point of avoiding all dentist for a good long time.  So there may be some of that as well, causing their poor dental health.

[ClareWalks]

All of the above re: bad teeth, plus there may be hormonal issues at play. Like how pregnant women's teeth rot like crazy, maybe something similar happens in the super-obese.

[aliya]

I'm diabetic. A lot of these folks are diabetic as well. There's a lot of sugar in uncontrolled diabetics' saliva and you can easily have a really bad dental situation going on.

I read stuff about overall health care when one is diabetic, i go to the dentist. I go to the eye doctor.  I try hard to stay in control. I bet a lot of these people aren't doing any of this, and hence, the bad teeth. 

[leighroda]

I woold also suspect that they probably aren't brushing as needed, especially the ones who are more immobile, I can see them bruising their teeth before bed perhaps, but then having another snack  and not brushing again... I don't have real evidence, just my own speculation.

[Suzywriter]

On 5/6/2016 at 5:03 PM, Christina said:

Back when the original episode aired, the fiance's family members released statements to the tabloids that Angel Charity* was using and manipulating him for his Social Security checks, that I think he was receiving for a mental disability, possibly a traumatic brain injury. I don't remember exactly, but the link is probably here in the original thread. His mother and, I think sister, were adamant that she was the predator. 

The above makes a whole lot more sense than the other way around. I mean no disrespect when I say this: the boyfriend seemed impaired. I had to wonder about their connection, as other than caregiving, he seemed to have no emotion at all toward Charity.  It was like he woke up there, and didn't know how to get out. 

Now I have to search for gossipy tidbits on the web.

[IvySpice]

I thought Angel looked 75 years old after the weight loss. Her lifestyle was clearly better, so good for her, but it wasn't much of a cosmetic improvement.

Charly, whoo...get the surgery now, girl! You are sealing your fate every day. Even if she just got a gastric band, that would help keep her weight from getting out of control.

[auntjess]

TLC has an update episode for just  Angel, list as new, for tonight, 11/3. I think at 9, with a repeater later.
It's only 37 minutes long. 
I wonder if it's really new, or if they cut out the Charity bits for some reason, and slapped a new date on it.

[ClareWalks]

It's probably not new, they've been doing that for weeks now with various eps and it turned out to be a rerun. I hate it when they claim it's new!

[notyrmomma]

They say "new" because they mean its "new" to their other channel (Health and life?)

[auntjess]

No, this is on TLC, so the "new" may be that it's cut in half.
I've seen a lot of half shows lately.  The First 48. on A&E has been doing it, and I think Kenda maybe.

[auntjess]

This is an old article on Charity, that someone just posted to Facebook.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/29/charity-pierce-lose-weight-get-married_n_5228733.html

[Minivanessa]

TLC ran Angel's original episode last night. I posted about it over in that discussion.

Since this is the update topic, I'll share links to two articles with photos of Angel taken last year. She's looking downright slim. Doesn't state a weight but that's probably due to TLC contract terms. Looks like she's well below the 230 which I think is the last weight she's disclosed, from the time of this update episode. She's still not smiling, but I hope that's only because she has bad teeth. I hope she isn't starving herself (she did that in the original episode), and that she will be able to get her teeth fixed, and that she is dealing with that terrible depression that she was living with when we first saw her.

Articles are: A 2018 one at Starcasm with a then-current photo: https://starcasm.net/my-600-lb-life-angel-parrish-update/. And an article from last month which posts a 9 month old photo: https://www.monstersandcritics.com/smallscreen/my-600-lb-life-update-where-is-angel-parrish-now/

Here's the photo in the second article:

[CrazyInAlabama]

If Charity is the one with the daughter Charlie, then she's reportedly moved, and quit the program, because she didn't want more innuendo about the relationships between her and her kid's dad, and the fiance, and everyone else.