Cremation of the Obese

[Liv]

[floatr][/floatr]Last night I was watching the Discovery Channel and a show came on called The 800LB Man or something another. It was a really good story about a mid-thirties male who weighed over 700LBs and had to be admitted to a long term care facility because he couldn't even get out of bed. It was a really good story. It showed the guy being a 100LB preschooler, all the way to his wedding day when he weighed 500LBs. It seriously made me rethink the apple pie we had baking in the oven. The guy had been bedridden since his first year of marriage, and had spent the last few years incapable of even the basic motor skills.

Although I could never understand what difficulties of being in such a situation might cause. How does one continue to gain weight if you can't get to food? Someone has to bring it to you? In the end, the guy died. His wife was upset that he'd left her so soon. I would imagine anger would be an applicable emotion. BUT.... who brought him the food? Shouldn't you feel a little guilty about stuffing your husband with 20 Big Macs a meal, and leaving a hotplate next to the bed so he can cook in the bed?

Lady You Murdered your Husband.

Which brings us to the most important question. How do you cremate someone that doesn't fit into the cremation chamber? Do you chop him up first? Break the bones and shove? It's just one of those things that make you go Hmmm???

[buddswife]

Yes, I'm sure that's how they do it. They also break the backs of tiny women who have advanced osteoporosis after they have died. Any way they can fit you in the crematorium or casket will do.

My problem with some of these obesity-related TV shows is that they always show the people who have gained enormous amounts of weight and maintain that weight through massive overeating - a la your reference to 20 Big Macs a day.

I weigh 426 lbs. I don't eat 20 big macs in a 5-year period, much less in a day. At least 50% of my weight problem, if not more, has been brought on by polycystic ovarian syndrome, medications, and insulin. Since going on insulin in July 2006, I've gained nearly 100 lbs. Another medication I was on for a while put on about 75 lbs. I'm on 4 prescriptions right now that have a side effect of weight gain. I've begged my doctors to take me off of them, but their only answer is gastric bypass surgery, which my current insurance won't approve.

I've been called every derogatory name in the book. I've lost jobs and job interviews, promotions, missed out on movies and shows, missed out on travel, and missed out on a lot of life because of my weight. Yet people still have the misconception that I'm just stuffing my face with bon-bons and enjoying sitting on my fat ass watching "Maury" on daytime tv. I consume roughly 2200 calories in a day. 2800 on a bad day. Everyone who knows me on a personal level will tell you that I do not eat more than an average person on a daily basis. Yet, somehow, because of this weight I carry around, I deserve less respect, less money, less opportunity and less joy than someone who is thin or average.

It's so tiring. I wish people didn't think I wanted to live this way. Pain is my constant companion. Shame is its twin brother. And yes, when I die, and go to be cremated, they will probably chop me up into little pieces to get me into the crematorium. But at least the pain and shame will be gone. Too bad our society can't be a little more forgiving, a little more helpful and a little less judgmental about my weighty issue until that day comes.

[Liv]

Seriously... I am by no means skinny... I am obese myself.... and I do not for the life of me think alot of the obese people in this world is merely based on their caloric intake... (all the some are)

Me... I'll always have junk in the trunk, so to speak.... Even when I was my thinnest, and Bulimic, and below normal weight recommendations, I was never skinny....

Then I got hit with sciatica, and some hormonal roller coasters, and suddenly my doctor is accusing me of raiding the local buffet 3 times a day. The truth is... I've made alot of changes, and I'm continuing to do so. My life now, consists of wheat bread, diet drinks, and saving money for a treadmill so my fat ass can run like a hamster when I get home each day....

But it's all good... Cuz they ain't going to break my bones.... I'm writing in my will I want to be burned at the stake at the courthouse downtown....

[Jharris]

In response to the reply of the obese being cremated.

Let me understand this. They chop up the deceased before cremating their remains. That is a ridiculous assumption. And very disrespectful to the deceased and their loved ones. I have been a mortician for years and I can tell you for a fact that no such thing occurs. People that are too big to fit in to a crematorium are embalmed and then buried.

And as to the claim that Morticians break the spine of those suffering osteoporosis upon their death is even more ridiculous and further from the truth. The remains of those no longer with us are treated with dignity, respect and care. That's why every state has its own laws as to how a professional is to dispose of human remains.

[Laura]

My father was obese, he was also very tall. When we had him
cremated, we had to have it done over an hour away because it was the only place that had an oven that would accomidate his size. This was what all the local funeral homes told us to do. The idea that professionals would hack somebody up or break their bones is ridiculous. Sure, maybe some people do things like that, but it is illegal and unethical. States and counties have very, very strict rules concerning what happens to our bodies after we die.

[A Person]

Once cremation is complete the remaining bones are crushed to powder in a mill. Frankly I can't see the 'horror' of dissecting a body or breaking bones before cremation. It's far less disgusting than what a mortician does when embalming.

Personally I think embalming and an open coffin to be a weird and offensive process.

The joints are broken to relieve rigor mortis, the mouth sewn shut, organs and abdominal cavity sucked out and the veins filled with poisonous preservatives. Then the face is shaved, makeup and putty applied.

Why? So that the appearance of life can be extended for a few hours and people can satisfy their curiosity by looking at something that was once a person and now looks like a shop dummy caricature. And so the mortician can sell an expensive servce. There isn't much money to be made in putting a corpse in a plain coffin and cremating it, which is what we did with my father. If there's anything that would have made him haunt us for years it would be wasting that kind of money on his corpse. And that goes for me too. Jake Thackray said it well

[Liv]

From the above video, it appear that the girth could be quite large of what's accommodated, but I wonder if there's a risk in covering up fuel vents or something. One now wonders if you partially cremate someone and find the oven breaks, how much fun is that?

[Liv]

FYI, I want my cremation streamed live on the internet.

[kompkari923]

Um.. WHERE are you guys getting your information? SO not cool to post things you know NOTHING about.... NO ONE gets anything broken or chopped off when going into a crematory retort... that is not only immoral but ILLEGAL!!!! The obese are shipped to one of the crematories in the country that has the facilities to accommodate those of larger stature.. it is costly and dangerous to cremate them.. but that is exactly how it is done... Enough with the urban myths of body chopping and back breaking....

signed "A funeral service professional"

[A Person]

US Cremation Equipment manufactures cremators

Can We Cremate Obese Cases?
The Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) we have automatically controls the firing rate of the cremation burner and combustion air supply to the primary chamber to maintain optimal operating temperature.This prevents an excessive combustion rate in large and obese cases that can lead to overheating, fluid problems and visible emissions.The “Classic” can accommodate cases up to 800 lbs.

[Jamy]

Once you're dead, you are MEAT. Plain and simple. Why the idea of chopping someone up to fit into a crematorium is so much more offensive than incinerating the body or pumping it full of crap to preserve it and putting it into a lead-lined box is beyond me. If it were up to me, we'd just put people into a nice deep hole, no coffin, and plant a tree on top of them. After all the damage we've done to this planet, the least we could do is re-nourish and replenish it with our bodies when our time here is done.

[Liv]

I like the tree idea.... but I'm changing my request... Viking funeral all the way... take me out into international waters and set me ablaze!!!!!!!

[Jamy]

How bout we take you 25 miles off the coast of Wrightsville Beach and feed you to that big honkin' great white shark they saw out there? That would be unique. Come to think of it, in Papillon, wasn't that the method they used to dispose of deceased prisoner's bodies?

[Liv]

Fish food.... that would be ironic, if then the fish got served at a chipery in London.

[Jamy]

Fish food.... that would be ironic, if then the fish got served at a chipery in London.

You'd finally be in Europe like you always wanted!

[Liv]

Someone could hold their meal over their head and break into song:

[A Person]

Fish food.... that would be ironic, if then the fish got served at a chipery in London.

You'd be amazed how seldom Great White Shark is served in British fish and chip shops

But if it makes you happy - atoms that were once you are now inhabiting a Welshman

[Liv]

I'd be finger licking good.