6 Years On The Couch

[Bubba Bob]

http://www.wftv.com/news/3643877/detail.html#

"A 480-pound Martin County woman has died after emergency workers tried to remove her from the couch where she had remained for about six years"

.Although it contains no pictures, the article is a tad graphic. Scroll down to read.

STUART, Fla. -- A 480-pound Martin County woman has died after emergency workers tried to remove her from the couch where she had remained for about six years.

CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE

Gayle Laverne Grinds, 40, died Wednesday, after a failed six-hour effort to dislodge her from the couch in her home. Workers say the home was filthy, and Grinds was too large to get up from the couch to even use the bathroom.

Everyone going inside the home had to wear protective gear. The stench was so powerful they had to blast in fresh air.

A preliminary autopsy on the the four-foot, ten-inch woman lists the cause of death as "morbid obesity." But officials want to know more about the circumstances inside the home.

Investigators say Grinds lived with a man named Herman Thomas, who says he tried to take care of her the best he could. He has told them he tried repeatedly to get her up, but simply couldn't. No charges have been filed, but officials are looking into negligence issues.

Emergency workers had to remove some sliding glass doors and lift the couch, with Grinds still on it, to a trailer behind a pickup truck. Removing her from the couch would be too painful, since her body was grafted to the fabric. After years of staying put, her skin had literally become one with the sofa and had to be surgically removed.

She died at Martin Memorial Hospital South, still attached to the couch.

Neighbors say they had no idea Grinds lived at the duplex, though they had seen Thomas and some children outside.

Edited January 24, 2008 by Bubba Bob

[Dan72]

I hate to be a putz but that article was posted over 3 years ago

[Bubba Bob]

I hate to be a putz but that article was posted over 3 years ago

Whoops, didn't look. Heard it on the radio today like it was new news. Either way, 3 years, 1 year, or 40 years doesn't change the fact that it's an interesting story. Brings a new term to the phrase couch tator.

[isteve]

There was a night time tv show that did episode based on this story. I can't remember the name of the show, it centers around two plastic surgeons .

[JDoors]

I have nothing buy sympathy for people who wind up gargantuan. If I ate everything I WANTED to eat I'd weigh eight-hundred pounds at least. Every day's a struggle. Sometimes I eat 'til I'm sick and I STILL have to convince myself it's time to stop. One of the few things that helps is seeing people who don't stop.

[martymas]

the article was aired on the local tv chanel

recently

maybe they didnt have

any news to report

and this sort of article

makes people sit up

i feel sorry for any person who gets into these situations

and ime probably one of the few who feel this way

seeing we live in a

dog eat dog society

marty

[irregularjoe]

the article was aired on the local tv chanel

recently

maybe they didnt have

any news to report

and this sort of article

makes people sit up

i feel sorry for any person who gets into these situations

and ime probably one of the few who feel this way

seeing we live in a

dog eat dog society

marty

....."live in a

dog eat dog society"

That's true.

We also live in a 'people eat lot's of pizza, doughnuts, and cake society.'

Edited January 27, 2008 by irregularjoe