S07.E11: Jeanne's Story

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Quote

Jeanne lives in an unhygienic household with her mother and schizophrenic father. At well over 600 lbs., Jeanne may never get weight-loss surgery as she runs into several obstacles, especially after an unexpected death in her family. 

This is the regular episode thread.  It will open after the US East Coast showing. 

Original air date 2019_03_13

[ams1001]

Chat closed as I was trying to reply to this so I brought it here:

29 minutes ago, JudgeyMcJudgyPants said:

Hey now. I firmly believe that the lighter you step on the scale, the lighter it will say you are.

"Stepped on the scale too hard" was actually from a previous poundicipant (a guy, I believe, but I don't remember who). Last season, I think.

[ShortyMac]

User on Reddit called her No-Hi-Jeanne.

[ams1001]

BTW, I was three pages behind when chat closed. Still catching up.

[junemeatcleaver]

Were they the filthiest people they've ever had on the show?  I don't recall an entire family looking like they were allergic to soap and water.

Jeanne talking about how she can't go on with the Dr. Now's program because of her father's death, but will she or the mother survive living in that mold, dirt and shit encrusted house?  They're just going to get infections from the total filth of their house and their wounds are going to get infected because they weren't clean even when daddy was alive.

[chickenella]

This episode was just so sad, maybe it shouldn't have been aired at all? These two need help, social services, home heath aides, visiting nurses, someone to clean the house. Where is the rest of their family? Also, more than a phone call from Dr. Lola, they need appointments with a local mental health counselor. I hope Dr. Now provides them with assistance, or referrals to some and checks in on them, if possible.

I look forward to this show every week for comic relief. This was the opposite. Would be great to see a part 2 with them being successful with straightening out their lives.

[Viqutorious]

This was the grossest and most tragic episode I have seen.

Big Sandy is where the Duggar’s/Gothard church relocated to. It is also where they went every year to the big homeschooling conference. Maybe one of the churches down there will rescue them.

[crazycatlady58]

I think they would have to ask for help. If adult services  would come to check on them and they said they were fine the could not to anything. The are  not mentally incompetent , well I know that is up for debate but people can live as they wish.

[Azubah]

9 minutes ago, CheeseBurgh said:

Maybe one of the churches down there will rescue them.

You can't rescue people like that. Jeanne and Barbara would accept money and cleaning services, but they'd never admit they were doing anything wrong.

[edie3]

after the last couple of episodes being rather dull, tonight's show made up for it.  

[CringeWatcher]

Going to see Dr Now for the first rime, Jeanne says, “I’m just glad I’m able to fit in the car.” So maybe she *has* seen this show before! 

[JudgeyMcJudgyPants]

31 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Chat closed as I was trying to reply to this so I brought it here:

"Stepped on the scale too hard" was actually from a previous poundicipant (a guy, I believe, but I don't remember who). Last season, I think.

And I think I said the same thing then.

[gardendiva]

I have little compassion for Jeanne who refuses to drop her mantle of victim hood that she wears so proudly, but those dogs...they did not ask for this kind of life and they have no control over their circumstances. I am  more worried about the dogs than any humans in this story. 

[Colleenna]

I have zero hope for Jeanne. I suspect we will hear of her death within the next 18 months. 

[AVM]

4 minutes ago, gardendiva said:

I have little compassion for Jeanne who refuses to drop her mantle of victim hood that she wears so proudly, but those dogs...they did not ask for this kind of life and they have no control over their circumstances. I am  more worried about the dogs than any humans in this story. 

Amen,Jeanne feels so sorry for herself,she has no room for anyone else's feelings, her half assed grandma was mean stories don't add up to her brand of crazy ,it spoke volumes on the road home that her Mother got out and walked and Jeanne stayed in the backseat watching instead walking too.. later on still in bed waiting for food to be made and delivered to her...  I feel sorry for the dogs in this story,too bad they weren't taken away and found good clean homes.

[gardendiva]

How did they get food when they were dropped off back at their house by the medical transport? Neither one of them was in good enough shape to even take a taxi to a grocery store. I am concerned about whether those dogs are getting fed properly.

[Snarkastikate]

33 minutes ago, chickenella said:

This episode was just so sad, maybe it shouldn't have been aired at all? These two need help, social services, home heath aides, visiting nurses, someone to clean the house. Where is the rest of their family? Also, more than a phone call from Dr. Lola, they need appointments with a local mental health counselor. I hope Dr. Now provides them with assistance, or referrals to some and checks in on them, if possible.

I look forward to this show every week for comic relief. This was the opposite. Would be great to see a part 2 with them being successful with straightening out their lives.

I just don't think there's a way to help these women -  their level of dysfunction is just so great.  Although they didn't seem like the dumbest people I've ever seen in this show, they were certainly the most slovenly and lacked even the most basic personal hygiene and housekeeping skills.  What filth!    The most likely scenario is that one or both will very soon experience another terrible medical emergency and Social Services will become involved.  I don't see Jeanne surviving for too long.... between the smoking and the morbid obesity she just doesn't stand a chance.   Poor mom will have to get over her grief and abdominal surgery pronto, because Jeanne announced before they even got home that she needed a lot of food to cope with dad's death.  And then there's 9 dogs to feed.  Mom better get out there shopping and shoveling massive plates of chow in front of Jeanne.  Hard to imagine their lives.  Sad sad sad!

[AZChristian]

We're in Las Vegas for a couple of days.  Hubby came out of the bathroom at one point and asked, "WHAT are you laughing about?" 

So I proceeded to read him some of the posts on the Live Chat thread.  We were howling.  You guys were ON FIRE this week.  Can't wait to get home to watch the episode!!!

[Swiss]

Ugh...what an unpleasant person and unpleasant episode.   She has the "victim " mentality down pat.  Cigarettes,sugar,and endless eating.  Gee, wonder why her health is crap.

[DC Gal in VA]

1 hour ago, chickenella said:

This episode was just so sad, maybe it shouldn't have been aired at all? These two need help, social services, home heath aides, visiting nurses, someone to clean the house. Where is the rest of their family? Also, more than a phone call from Dr. Lola, they need appointments with a local mental health counselor. I hope Dr. Now provides them with assistance, or referrals to some and checks in on them, if possible.

I look forward to this show every week for comic relief. This was the opposite. Would be great to see a part 2 with them being successful with straightening out their lives.

I said pretty much the same thing during the Live Chat chickenella about them having some kind of support system when they got back home. I am concerned about both of them but more so for her mom because of her age--not that she's that old--but she's not in the best health right now both physically and mentally, and really needs to be taken care of and NOT be cooking and fetching food for Jeanne let alone have to be responsible for bathing her and helping her "go potty." Frankly, her mom looked sick to me before she received her diagnosis about her hernia from Dr. Now.

I figured that Jeanne would use her dad's death as an excuse to eat, eat, eat. However, wouldn't it be great if she could find the inspiration to try to lose weight, not just for herself or just to get weight loss surgery but to understand that it's HER turn to take care of her mom? But that ain't gonna happen without some serious mental health services for both of them as well as the other support they and those NINE dogs need.

[reallymadcow]

Those dogs looked related to each other. What do you want to bet that they’re not spayed/neutered? 

Jeanne is just a nasty person. I’m trying to think of her as I would a drug addict deep into addiction but it’s so hard when she’s so unsympathetic (like a drug addict). 

[DC Gal in VA]

53 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

We're in Las Vegas for a couple of days.  Hubby came out of the bathroom at one point and asked, "WHAT are you laughing about?" 

So I proceeded to read him some of the posts on the Live Chat thread.  We were howling.  You guys were ON FIRE this week.  Can't wait to get home to watch the episode!!!

You may need to come here for some serious group therapy after watching this one!

[aliya]

30 minutes ago, DC Gal in VA said:

However, wouldn't it be great if she could find the inspiration to try to lose weight, not just for herself or just to get weight loss surgery but to understand that it's HER turn to take care of her mom?

That was my thought - why not try harder to lose weight for herself and in tribute to her father, who, I assume, wanted her to lose weight. But victims don't do that; it stops them from being a victim.

[GoldaVining]

I thought/hoped that when Jeanne asked the police to do a welfare check on her dad (RIP) that the cops might call the animal welfare people. Where I live (rural), you are only allowed 3 dogs on your property (5 acres for example). If you have 10 acres or more, you can apply for a kennel permit to have more than 3 but a maximum of 10 dogs. No doubt the bylaw is an attempt to reduce animal abuse/animal hoarding and noise complaints. If Jeanne's dogs aren't spayed or neutered, 9 is gonna turn into 30 before long. I wonder if the dogs have much quality of life and if Jeanne and her parents can afford veterinary care. That said, the dogs did appear fairly content albeit itchy. It is hard to imagine that the dad was walking 9 dogs so I bet the backyard is thick with shit and the dogs are tracking it into the house and onto the beds. It might not be only her own feces in Jeanne's open wound.

Honestly, I wish I lived nearby (I'm not even in the same country) because I would legit head on over tonight and start washing her walls and window blinds. Good grief. I can't sleep anyway and I do love a project. You don't have to wash your walls and windows very often to avoid cobwebs so thick with filth that they hang like bunting over your bed.

Edited March 14, 2019 by GoldaVining

[Olliewood]

I was disgusted how Jeann & her parents lived, someone needs to remove all of those 9 dogs!  I am sorry for the loss of her father however, their lifestyle has been unhealthy for yrs.  I hope after the show airs the county will get involved

[Morgalisa]

Oh man, the filth! I had a hard time watching this because of the horrible condition of the house. When she told the police officer on the phone to have someone pick him up, I was so happy because I thought she was talking about the dogs. I can barely afford my two dogs and they had nine. But then I provide a higher level of care for my pups.

[Delete]

That was extremely depressing, hopeless, and sad. Jeanne will die in that bed. She doesn't seem to understand that surgery isn't what is going to help her. Only she can make the change with her eating disorder. Sadly, she's not mentally capable of understanding that. 

[Callaphera]

There I was, eating my box of Kraft Dinner (I'm supposed to eat healthy when I watch this show? HA!) and happily snarking along with the husband and then her dad died and all the snark just disappeared.

Oh, it came back, like, a minute later when Jeanne was whining that she just wanted something to eat but there was no food so she just wanted to sleeeep but still. It was a Dark Time in Casa Callaphera for that short snark-free period. 

I had to pause the episode to explain to the husband why I laughed (inappropriately! and uncontrollably) when she was telling Dr. Now why she had such shitty eating habits.

Edited March 14, 2019 by Callaphera

[DC Gal in VA]

50 minutes ago, GoldaVining said:

I thought/hoped that when Jeanne asked the police to do a welfare check on her dad (RIP) that the cops might call the animal welfare people. Where I live (rural), you are only allowed 3 dogs on your property (5 acres for example). If you have 10 acres or more, you can apply for a kennel permit to have more than 3 but a maximum of 10 dogs. No doubt the bylaw is an attempt to reduce animal abuse/animal hoarding and noise complaints. If Jeanne's dogs aren't spayed or neutered, 9 is gonna turn into 30 before long. I wonder if the dogs have much quality of life and if Jeanne and her parents can afford veterinary care. That said, the dogs did appear fairly content albeit itchy. It is hard to imagine that the dad was walking 9 dogs so I bet the backyard is thick with shit and the dogs are tracking it into the house and onto the beds. It might not be only her own feces in Jeanne's open wound.

Honestly, I wish I lived nearby (I'm not even in the same country) because I would legit head on over tonight and start washing her walls and window blinds. Good grief. I can't sleep anyway and I do love a project. You don't have to wash your walls and windows very often to avoid cobwebs so thick with filth that they hang like bunting over your bed.

I noticed during the very last scene that their house seemed to sit on quite a bit of land and there were several dogs shown playing outside. At least they're able to be out in the fresh air and escape the nasty, probably smelly interior.

I think your speculation about the quality of life for the dogs is spot on: Not spayed or neutered, no consistent veterinary care, an outdoor area that is NEVER cleaned of dog poop. What little that was being done for them will go out the window now that dad's died and the mom is in fragile health with Jeanne contributing the same amount of care for these animals she did before meaning ZERO.

Don't know if anybody noticed, but a couple of the dogs looked like older ones. My heart sank just thinking of them having lived iin those conditions for 9, 10, 11 years or more.

[gardendiva]

5 minutes ago, DC Gal in VA said:

Don't know if anybody noticed, but a couple of the dogs looked like older ones. My heart sank just thinking of them having lived iin those conditions for 9, 10, 11 years or more.

And yet, the poor things greeted Jeanne and Barbara like returning royalty. Granted, they probably were excited at the thought of finally getting fed, but they seemed to really like them despite the shitty life their humans forced on them.

[sidka]

Her poor poor mother. Those nine dogs. Why oh why do they have so many dogs? These people can't even physically care for their own bodies. 

I got tired of Jeanne's victim card waving so fast. Please stop whining excuses of why you can't make steps towards wellness while your mother kills herself ignoring her own health to cater to you. Don't hold your breath waiting for your desired apology from Dr. Now after he called out your delusions. 

There is no consolation to be found. Both women will face further reinfections. The daughter will lose her mother or the mother will lose her daughter, and whomever doesn't pass first will soon follow. The dogs look too old and rough to do well with getting adopted before euthanasia. I'd be shocked if they didn't all have heartworms.  

Hands down saddest scenario on this show. Covering my face. I cannot.

[NeitherSparky]

I picked the wrong episode to catch up on some sewing. Unable to look at the screen much of the time, it sounds like I missed some serious visuals. I will have to watch this one again. Anyone know if they still do the Supersized episodes? I haven’t seen one since last year.

[alegtostandon]

On their first trip to Dallas, they stopped at the gas station for mom to pee & buy the largest soda possible for Jeanne, while Jeanne stayed in the parked van with the van door open right next to the gas pump smoking a cigarette!  She wondered why people were looking at her! 

I'm sure we will be reading soon that both mom and daughter were discovered deceased in their beds.

I had a friend whose husband had a massive seizure & died while laying on the couch while she was out of town.  Not only did the sofa need to be destroyed, the carpet around the sofa needed to be pulled up & destroyed.  I was shocked when mom said she had to sleep in the bed where dad had died.

[CringeWatcher]

1 hour ago, NeitherSparky said:

I picked the wrong episode to catch up on some sewing. Unable to look at the screen much of the time, it sounds like I missed some serious visuals. I will have to watch this one again. Anyone know if they still do the Supersized episodes? I haven’t seen one since last year.

I have this series programmed to record on my DVR (shocker, I know). There have been a few random “Supersized” episodes this season. I think one is coming up this weekend with Tiffany, whom I’ve already forgotten. Last year they would regularly show the supersized versions, seems like the very next day. But not this year, at least not so far. 

[alegtostandon]

Instead of eating yogurt, crackers and bananas, this over 600 pound person ate skinless chicken and oranges!  I noticed they left out the half dozen mini cupcakes she devoured after eating a whole pizza!

[Minivanessa]

35 minutes ago, alegtostandon said:

Instead of eating yogurt, crackers and bananas, this over 600 pound person ate skinless chicken and oranges!  I noticed they left out the half dozen mini cupcakes she devoured after eating a whole pizza!

And don't forget, she doesn't usually eat lunch, doncha know.

[parrotfeathers]

9 hours ago, chickenella said:

These two need help, social services, home heath aides, visiting nurses, someone to clean the house. Where is the rest of their family?

I don't think there is help for these two people.  And their family probably just took all they could and went on with their own lives to keep their sanity.  

I don't think I have ever been anyone as seriously mentally ill as Jeanne. When she was in the hospital losing weight all she could say is I want to go home so she could be in control of her on life which translates to staying in bed and eating all day.   Had I been working on the floor as a nurse or nurse's aid when having all that filth cleaned off her, I would have walked out of that hospital after turning in my resignation.  My hat is off to anyone who was able to handle that clean up without barfing.

I missed the first hour but will watch it this morning.  Was Kassandra in this episode (the weigh in lady)?

Edited March 14, 2019 by parrotfeathers

[parrotfeathers]

1 hour ago, alegtostandon said:

I was shocked when mom said she had to sleep in the bed where dad had died.

I hope they at a least changed the sheets.

Poor dogs.

[Minivanessa]

2 hours ago, sidka said:

There is no consolation to be found. Both women will face further reinfections. The daughter will lose her mother or the mother will lose her daughter, and whomever doesn't pass first will soon follow. The dogs look too old and rough to do well with getting adopted before euthanasia. I'd be shocked if they didn't all have heartworms.  

Hands down saddest scenario on this show. Covering my face. I cannot.

I would never have watched this entire episode if not for our Live Chat. Just too awful as trainwrecks go. 

I grew up in Texas. I think those dogs all have fleas, and agree that heartworm is also quite likely. I can't imagine that those feces-encrusted humans could - or would - use flea/tick preventatives on their dogs. And, oh yeah, you need to clean the house regularly to rid it of the parasite eggs and larvae. Not happening there. 

Would the TV crew have alerted Dr. Now's office about the pestilential living conditions in that house, before Jeanne arrived for her first doctor visit? I assume there's a process for getting accepted as a subject of the show, that must have included some face time with someone from the production company, with or without a camera. I also assume that Dr. Now has the final say over who he'll consider as a patient, and I don't think they'd start shooting scenes with anyone who has no hope of being taken on as a patient by Dr. Now. (I have a horrible suspicion that there are people just too far gone or unable to cooperate, who apply but are rejected for the show.) I hope that isn't incoherent but it boils down to, Dr. Now must have a lot of info on those new patients by the time they shoot the first weigh-in and introductory consultation.

Edited March 14, 2019 by Jeeves
let's try to be coherent

[Azanscrazyhair]

So who was feeding and caring for these poor dogs in between when Dad died and they got home?  What was on the carpet?  Filth, dog shit and possibly mold???    I almost passed out when I saw her smoking and by a gas pump, no less.  

I agree there is sadly no help for these women.   

[Mrs. Hanson]

2 hours ago, sidka said:

Please stop whining excuses of why you can't make steps towards wellness while your mother kills herself ignoring her own health to cater to you.

Excellent point on Mom dismissing/neglecting her own health to cater to you, Jeanne,  Shut it.

6 minutes ago, Jeeves said:

I think those dogs all have fleas, and agree that heartworm is also quite likely. I can't imagine that those feces-encrusted humans could - or would - use flea/tick preventatives on their dogs. And, oh yeah, you need to clean the house regularly to rid it of the parasite eggs and larvae. Not happening there. 

She has to lay out how much cash for food and cigarettes?  You think she is springing to bring her NINE dogs to the vet?  

Someone needs to call Adult Protective Services to get, at the very least, a nurse to follow up with mom and her surgery.   Jeanne will be 800 pounds soon, thanks to her skinless chicken and orange diet.  To gain 50 pounds in 30 days she would have to consume almost 6000 calories a day.  SIX THOUSAND.  (1lb = 3500 calories.)  Let that sink in.   A Big Mac and fries is 880 calories, plus a shake is an additional 550 calories.  So, she would have to down four of those per day, every day, to gain that much weight.  Yet she sticks to the skinless chicken and orange story.

[gardendiva]

26 minutes ago, parrotfeathers said:

I hope they at a least changed the sheets.

Poor dogs.

I doubt there were sheets on the bed to begin with. Most of these people never seem to use sheets.

[suzeecat]

9 hours ago, Colleenna said:

I have zero hope for Jeanne. I suspect we will hear of her death within the next 18 months. 

Honestly, I am surprised that we have not already heard of both of them dying by now.  It's only a matter of time. 

[Mrs. Hanson]

1 minute ago, suzeecat said:

Honestly, I am surprised that we have not already heard of both of them dying by now.  It's only a matter of time. 

Sad but true - so much obesity coupled with smoking?

[libgirl2]

I honestly think one of them will pass soon. Neither is long for this world. I also got visions of the one who is left alive dying alone and the dogs eating the body. I know that is morbid but its not impossible. What awful living conditions. 

I knew she wasn't going to make it from the start. Did anyone notice when she went home to follow the diet the meal she ate? Her mother held up like a pound of ground beef (and it was very fatty--- not much red to it) and then the put about a bag of cheese on it and a ton of sour cream! It was enough to feed 3 people!! 

[OoogleEyes]

1 hour ago, parrotfeathers said:

I hope they at a least changed the sheets.

Did they even *have* sheets?

[libgirl2]

6 minutes ago, OoogleEyes said:

Did they even *have* sheets?

I don't think so. Ugh. 

[Pepper Mostly]

10 hours ago, gardendiva said:

How did they get food when they were dropped off back at their house by the medical transport? Neither one of them was in good enough shape to even take a taxi to a grocery store. I am concerned about whether those dogs are getting fed properly.

Instacart? Grub Hub? They must have had food delivered. Poor old mom probably had to answer the door, though. Queen Jeanne is simply too exhausted to leave her bed.

8 hours ago, GoldaVining said:

Honestly, I wish I lived nearby (I'm not even in the same country) because I would legit head on over tonight and start washing her walls and window blinds. Good grief. I can't sleep anyway and I do love a project. You don't have to wash your walls and windows very often to avoid cobwebs so thick with filth that they hang like bunting over your bed.

You are a truly kind and big hearted person. And you made me laugh heartily with the image of cobweb bunting. So true.

And uh, if you're ever in Massachusetts give me a call. My house is clean but I could use a hand with the windows......

2 hours ago, alegtostandon said:

Instead of eating yogurt, crackers and bananas, this over 600 pound person ate skinless chicken and oranges!  I noticed they left out the half dozen mini cupcakes she devoured after eating a whole pizza!

The cupcakes were an amuse-bouche.

1 hour ago, Jeeves said:

And don't forget, she doesn't usually eat lunch, doncha know.

Well, to be fair she can't eat lunch because she's entering her fourth hour of breakfast.

[AnnaBaptist]

2 hours ago, CringeWatcher said:

I have this series programmed to record on my DVR (shocker, I know). There have been a few random “Supersized” episodes this season. I think one is coming up this weekend with Tiffany, whom I’ve already forgotten. Last year they would regularly show the supersized versions, seems like the very next day. But not this year, at least not so far. 

My tv schedule states that Tiffany's supersized episode will be on tonight. I think the Dr. Pimple Popper season finished last week, so they are moving the supersized episode to the 8-10 pm time slot (Eastern time).

[DropTheSoap]

“I’m not one to show my emotions,” says the woman who’s perpetually whining.

This has been the season of the brat. Even with the “no one is like me,” mantra, we’ve seen it often recently. If we’ve seen it, Dr. Now has for sure seen it, as he said. 

It was clear Jeanne was never going to change. Too easy to be a victim. Much more effort to do something. 

I did feel bad for Barbara. Yes, she’s part of the problem. But she’s also has taking care of an adult and enormous guilt on top of the other issues. The one adult relationship she had ended abruptly. Her health was in the toilet and she still had to wipe her daughter’s ass.

It doesn’t look good for either of them. 

Edited March 14, 2019 by DropTheSoap
Meant “brat”, not “beat.”