Today is a sad day. My Aunt Carol passed away last night from a staph infection. She was a sweet, sweet lady. I loved her, and I will miss her.
Carol lived with her brother and his wife. My Uncle found her this morning in her bedroom. I received the news while getting ready for work this morning.
When I arrived at the trailer this morning, there was a crime scene unit and a few police cars there. Since she died in the trailer, they had to conduct a small investigation, but the coroner did determine that her cause of death was from a Staph infection.
A couple of weeks ago Carol was bitten by a bug on her neck, and the bite had swollen up to the size of a large grapefruit. Carol refused to go to the doctor, but instead called her doctor, and he prescribed her some antibiotics. Well, Carol got sick from the antibiotics. She got so bad that she couldn’t get out of bed the last few days. The entire time this was going on my Uncle and his wife kept begging her to go to the doctor, but you can’t force somebody to do something that they don’t want to do. The bite did shrink, so Carol thought the antibiotics were working, but she was just getting sick from the antibiotics. Well, come to find out, the antibiotics did shrink the wound, but the staph infection was what was making her sick. Well, I guess her heart couldn’t take any more this morning. When my Uncle found her, Carol’s cat was laying beside her looking at her.
The major issue this morning was getting her body out of the trailer. Carol was a big woman. I would say she weighed somewhere around 500 lbs, and she stayed in a tiny bedroom that was big enough for a twin bed and dresser. Once the coroner arrived on the scene and did their thing, the fire department was called out to remove the body. Two fire trucks arrived, fortunately without their lights and siren. I was assuming the worst that the trailer was going to have to be cut where her bedroom was, but all they had to do was cut off her bedroom door, and they were able to transport her out the back door. My Uncle and his wife went into their bedroom, and I sat outside in my truck while all of this was going on.
I really loved how the Alabaster Police Dept., Fire Dept, and Coroner’s office handled the situation. They were very respectful and professional.
The whole time I was there I thought, “I don’t want that to be me one day.”
This weight is coming off. I’m sick and tired of dealing with this obesity shit!!!
I hope I’m not being disrespectful to my Aunt for posting this, but I don’t want my family and friends to go trough what I went through today. I don’t want a bunch of firemen to have to lift my body out of my house when my time comes.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I am so very sorry for your loss. Hugs to you and your whole family, Stephen. You just keep on keepin' on kid. You've got this!
I'm so sorry for your loss, Stephen.
Sorry for your loss Stephen… I understand your thought process.
I am so sorry for your loss. Chin up your a fighting the good fight. You are so capable of beating this; your success thus far is the proof!
Leah
http://obliterationofthefatgirl.blogspot.com/
I'm so sorry for your loss, Stephen. I'm sure your aunt was proud of the weigt you've lost and she would be the first to hope that you would not suffer the same indignity.
I'm so very sorry for this sad and tragic loss. And whew I breathed such a sigh of relief to read that the professionals involved actually ACTED respectful and professional. Thank goodness.
Thinking of you and your family.
I'm so sorry…
Stephen, I'm so sorry to hear about the passing of your aunt! I hope you can find some comfort in memories of good times you shared with your family, and that this will be a time that brings all of you closer together. Hang onto your goals and keep your friends and family close!
Stephen.
I'm sorry for your sad news. You keep going my man. I read your blog EVERYDAY and you inspire me. I have lost 70 pounds and much of it has been due to you and your inspirational story. Don't you doubt yourself for a minute! You keep going and inspiring us all!!
go stephen. That is what its about living.
I am so sorry about your aunt.
I am so sorry, Stephen. I will keep you and your family in my thoughts. I don't think it's disrespectful at all. Sometimes, things happen in our lives that really effect our mental state and it's good to just get it off your chest. Sending you lots of hugs!
I am sorry for the death of your Aunt. Sometimes it takes something like this for us to wakeup. I admire you for your success. You are an inspiration to us all. We are here for you.
Chris and Gary.
First let me say that I'm sorry that your Aunt had to die in such a way and that she was unwilling to go see a doctor. Sometimes people do not act in their own best interests and as you said, you can't make them. I think that your resolve to not die so obese that the firemen have to carry you out is an entirely reasonable and natural response to the situation.Our choices affect our life and our death, your Aunt Carol's choices affected hers for sure, and you have seen what comes of those choices. It's the same when a guy dies of a heart attack and after that you see his peers out running– the danger has become real to them and so they make those changes (for a while at least).
I'm not religious and I don't believe in an afterlife or any of that stuff but I would not be surprised if, had your Aunt Carol known that her death and the situation around it would affect you to make positive changes, she might have thought at least something good came of it in the end.
My sincere condolences on your loss and my equally sincere hope that you hold on to that resolve and use it to save yourself a similar fate.
Barb
I am so sorry for your loss. I hope that you can be comforted knowing she's in a much better place without any pain or the need to hide away from anyone.
I also don't think that she would be mad at you for posting this. Somtimes it takes an event such as this to turn your life around, to realize that work needs to be done. I wish you all the best Stephen. Work hard, have fun while doing it, and just keep at it!
I am so sorry for your loss. It is a hard blow. I don't think that your are being disrespectful to your Aunt. You post, and have always posted, how you honestly feel. That is appreciated. I agree with your decision about not putting your family through the same thing. Please be aware that other feelings can slip in and sideline the initial will to do better. You need to talk to someone about your feelings to work through them.
In the last month we had to put my Dad in hospice care. I have maintained that I lost “My Dad” a long time ago to dementia. I was just taking care of the body now. But when we were told that the time is very near it hit me like a ton of bricks. I have been muddling through all these feelings somewhat alone. AND eating, AND not exercising, And generally doing unhealthy stuff. So not like me. Last night I had a friend over that I have known around 30 years. We talked, we told stories about Dad, we cried, we laughed…..today I feel there is hope for me to get back to what I know I need to do….it helped. Find someone you can do this with because your Aunt's passing will affect you in ways you don't realize.
My condolences.