Obese Man Found Fused To Chair

I don't know if Fox News is exactly a reliable source, but woah.

Quote :

Officers who responded to the scene said that the man's skin was fused to the fabric of chair and that he was sitting in his own feces and urine with maggots visible.

Can that seriously happen?

Yes, it can. but it's more in the sense where the skin that never sees the light of day becomes a wound itself, and the fabric of the chair is like a bandage that's never been changed. It is... horrific.

... Well that was a bit of information I never needed in my life.

Quote :

The landlord told WTRF that the man used to be an active person and said she had no idea how bad his condition was since he covered himself with a blanket every time she came to visit.

Um. Don't things that are infected with maggots smell?

Seriously though that's some Silent Hill shit right there.

The rest of the room probably smelled as well.

"Damn, this place smells like rotten flesh and I've never seen this man out of his chair. But I don't SEE any rotten flesh, so... Yep, everything is in order!"

Yeah, it sounds like the entire room was in horrible shape. Most people are going to assume it's something other than THE HUMAN BEING in the chair that smells so terrible.

True, I suppose; but if there were maggots, there were probably flies buzzing around him. You'd think a reasonable person would assume he at least shat his pants, but then again, what can you do about it if they pay the rent on time? I guess if the landlord did expect something, they either didn't care or thought "well, it's not my place to intrude if this guy is sitting in his own waste". I'm not even sure I would have done anything about it (well I would, because I'm a big fat whistleblower, but if I were a normal person).

Good god that is horriffic... apparently he died a couple of days ago too IDK wether to feel sorry for him though

villainy wrote:

You'd think a reasonable person would assume he at least shat his pants, but then again, what can you do about it if they pay the rent on time? I guess if the landlord did expect something, they either didn't care or thought "well, it's not my place to intrude if this guy is sitting in his own waste".

Quote :

Shockingly, two other able-bodied people lived there---another man, who had a separate bedroom, and the girlfriend of the man who was stuck in the chair. Officials say the girlfriend served food to him, since he never got up.

Bellaire Code Enforcer Jim Chase says now the tennants have been given orders to clean it or leave it.

One officer said it was the worst thing he ever responded to. And most said the worst part of all was the smell. Ironically the landlord says the man in the chair rented from her before and used to be a vital active person.

She says she checked on them periodically but lately he always sat with a blanket over him. She says she had no idea it had come to this.

e: re: reliability of source, it was in the paper over here as well. Only a tiny little side note, but the stories match.

And I thought that story about the woman fused to the toilet was bad enough (or am I imagining that?)... at least she was sitting on a toilet and not just a chair.

Adagio wrote:

... Well that was a bit of information I never needed in my life.

Me either. Truth is not only stranger than faction, a lot of times it's also more disturbing.

Raine wrote:

And I thought that story about the woman fused to the toilet was bad enough (or am I imagining that?)... at least she was sitting on a toilet and not just a chair.

I remember that story, too, though I think her issue was more psychological if I'm remembering correctly. There's no mention of this guy's mental state and if it lead him to do this. Can't think of another reason why an active person would suddenly do this.

Yeah I don't think it's even debatable if there's something wrong with this guy. He's been sitting in that chair for two years and pissing himself all this time.


What I want to know is what the hell is wrong with his room mates (I know they say girlfriend, but there hasn't been any sex, cuddling, or shared activities in two years; I get the feeling it's not what we consider a normal relationship).
How do you realize he's shat himself and sat in in all night - has been sitting in it all day now - all week now - hey, he's probably shat himself a couple more times now, it's been a month - hey look there's maggots- and not do something?

Since they managed to keep themselves, and him, fed and alive, and also covered him with a blanket whenever the landlady came over, they must have been slightly saner than him. But not by much.

grmblfjx wrote:

What I want to know is what the hell is wrong with his room mates (I know they say girlfriend, but there hasn't been any sex, cuddling, or shared activities in two years; I get the feeling it's not what we consider a normal relationship).
How do you realize he's shat himself and sat in in all night - has been sitting in it all day now - all week now - hey, he's probably shat himself a couple more times now, it's been a month - hey look there's maggots- and not do something?

Since they managed to keep themselves, and him, fed and alive, and also covered him with a blanket whenever the landlady came over, they must have been slightly saner than him. But not by much.

I wonder if it's something similar to the mentality of people who keep hoards of trash or dozens upon dozens of animals in their houses? Not necessarily actively abusive, but definitely not mentally all right, either. They might have thought they were providing him with the best of care that they themselves could do; maybe they thought going to any sort of higher authority would open themselves up to prosecution? That could have been a motivating factor.

To a certain degree I understand it, because I have a strong "I can handle this on my own, let me take care of it" attitude when it comes to problems (even ones I can't fix on my own). These people's mentalities might have been a bit like that; just turned up to eleven.

Really sad story all around, though.

villainy wrote:

Quote :

Officers who responded to the scene said that the man's skin was fused to the fabric of chair and that he was sitting in his own feces and urine with maggots visible.

Can that seriously happen?

In August 2004, a woman died after being fused to a couch she hadn't move from for 6 freakin' years. That incident inspired an episode of "Nip/Tuck" if I'm not mistaken.

So...um...yeah, it does happen.

Malganis wrote:

Not necessarily actively abusive, but definitely not mentally all right, either.

No I agree, I don't think they were abusive. Just seriously underequipped to handle the situation.

Dr. Quinzel wrote:

There's no mention of this guy's mental state and if it lead him to do this. Can't think of another reason why an active person would suddenly do this.

I can imagine if someone was very deeply depressed they wouldn't get up and would push away anyone who tried to make them.

I have a neighbour I worry about who never goes out and whose flat smells appalling. I've reported it to the local social services, who've visited (to do them justice) but he ignored their calls, and letters. The landlord of the flats visits, but the guy won't answer the door. I've tried to make contact with him, but he won't answer the door. He ignored his sister when she came all the way to the UK from Australia to see him. He wouldn't answer the door when we had a gas leak.

I mean, he would rather die in a gas explosion than come out of his flat. That is some level of mental problem right there.

The last time I saw him was when he set light to the flat by accident and I had to call the fire brigade - that was in May 2009. I'm assured that he's still alive because the landlord has spoken to him through the door - and the landlord only succeeded in that by threatening to call the police to let him in because he feared for my neighbour's life.

So, yes, I can believe that this guy simply sat down one day and refused to get up, eventually dying in his own mess. It's horrible, but yes, I can imagine someone getting to that level of hopelessness.

TheHedonist wrote:

Quote :

The landlord told WTRF that the man used to be an active person and said she had no idea how bad his condition was since he covered himself with a blanket every time she came to visit.

Um. Don't things that are infected with maggots smell?

Seriously though that's some Silent Hill shit right there.

Are you kidding? It makes Silent Hill look like Disney.

On the whole, I expect most people didn't give a shit and people generally don't expect people to become so pathetic and disgusting that they willingly sit around in their own fecal matter, pissing and shitting themselves.

You see, these things happen, but look at us; we're shocked and disgusted. If we went there we might notice the smell but we wouldn't expect it to be maggots and actual shit on the chair. And most people would either be too polite to mention the smell, or wouldn't care. I'd mention the smell but that's me being me.

Harley Quinn hyenaholic wrote:

And most people would either be too polite to mention the smell, or wouldn't care. I'd mention the smell but that's me being me.

Harley Quinn hyenaholic: Single-handedly ensuring that this article is pure fiction.