Made Me Sad
I am glad John's story got your attention. He did the story for the Washington post with the intention for people to read it and make changes in their lives before it was too late. You may have heard, John passed away on September 20, 2005. Best of luck in all you do.
That came a couple days ago. My man John Keitz that I novel-blogged about in my "I'm Husky" post died a couple weeks ago. Yes, he was 750-pounds...but he was only THIRTY FRIKKIN NINE. That's just too sobering.
My day was going along fine when I opened this email and then my whole mood changed. It was an odd feeling, too. Can't really describe it, but try to imagine, maybe, a lukewarm liquid starting at the top of your head and traveling down the inside of your body...that's about the best I can do.
I wasn't depressed or anything, but definitely sad. After reading his story back in the summer and then comparing and contrasting -- albeit jokingly -- my weight issues with Keitz' in a novel-blog, we formed an unwitting connection. So this news was kinda crappy. Plus, Keitz had hopes. He was trying to lose weight, tryuing to learn how o sit up again, hoping to one day walk and throw a dinner party. His internittent resilience would always shine through what was a largely angry and frustrated man. And I love that, because -- as you know -- I brush my teeth with resilience. But my man couldn't hold on. All that negligence and salf-hate that allowed him to balloon to that ungodly size finally caught up with him. So sobering.
I'm still husky, but I'm gonna push-away a plate of fried food for Keitz today.
posted by Twistinado @ 12:41 PM
3 Comments:
At 11:30 AM,
Anonymous said…
wow. that is sad. this is such a huge problem in this country, and though his death along with the last several years of his life seem abnormal, the story of his life doesn't sound all that far from how most people end up with food and weight problems. so it's important to have stories like this.
when i read this, though, i had to raise an eyebrow:
"The old term for those in Keitz's weight category is no longer politically correct but it may be accurate: "'morbidly obese.'"
did the phrase fall out of favor because it's not accurate for most people, or because people in that category and lobby were offended? to me, this smells of oprah. you know, "i love my body even though i can't walk up the stairs while holding my two-year old." i get the sentiment, and i believe that everyone -- especially someone in this predicament who deals with a disproportionate amount of prejudice on a daily basis -- needs and deserves a healthy self-image, but if your "self" is not actually "healthy," are you empowering or deluding yourself?
seems dangerous. could it be enough for these people to say, "i accept my condition as something i have the power to change, and as something that i have to change, but it does not define or diminish my value as a human being."
as john's story shows, the battle is a psychological one as much as it is physica...and, more importantly, what the hell do i know?
any thoughts, twist?
At 2:40 PM,
Twistinado said…
I'm assuming you're requesting my thoughts because you thought to yoursefl, "I'm a shapely young gal and Twist is a morbidly obese loser...he should know alot about this subject. he and keitz look like twins."
touche....touche.
Anyways, it's definitely a psychological thing for obese people. a reliance on food to be gin with. and when the punds start coming on like they did for Keitz and others like him, a lack of desire or comfort with getting out and being active. you become your own priosoner and the problem is perpetuated. losing weight, as we all know, is much more of a psychological opbstacle than it is physical.
for me, the challenge will be actually gettin IN the gym. once i GET to the gym, i'll be fine...i'll do my cardio, play some ball, lift some weights...the physical part will not be that great of a challenge...but actually getting there will be.
Once you get to Keitz' size, where everytime you look at the mirror, death is staring back at you or everytime you close your eyes you only see images of despair and depression...at that point, the psychological obstacles are almost impossible to overcome.
My man died and that hurt me, but I guess I shouldve seen it coming as soon as it did.
now as far as "morbidly obese" being politically correct...i think I might blog about that.
At 2:00 AM,
Anonymous said…
John Keitz was my husband. I am not here to defend him or myself. I wanted to let you know the documentary he was working when he died is to air again tonight at 6 PM on TLC cable channel. It's called the 750 pound man. The time may be different in other areas, I really don't know. john wanted to help other people and since he died, there have many many of these types of shows on and many, many people deciding to get their medical issues checked out and some even making a big change in their diet or daily habits.... good luck to you
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