People Who Literally Melted to Their Seats - Tales From the Internet

[@JetSetDman]

justin you have no idea how badly i want to see you twirl your moustache like a cartoon supervillain just once

[@starspeculation]

Maybe if you catch him in a live stream, probably on his gaming channel, you could probably get him to if you ask nicely enough.

[@mr.whimsic6902]

I back this up

[@kowikowi8718]

Dude, dont get me horny without finishing Off. Now i need To pay a furry Artist 1000bucks To make a 10sec GIF Out of this Idea.

[@cheemsrei]

I swear i remember seeing him do that in a video

[@skinwalker3953]

YOU AND US ALL TOO

[@foxxygearreviews7754]

I once treated a lady whose legs had rotted off and were just bones covered in maggots. It gave me nightmares. Her husband who was taking care of her had developed dementia and had no idea what was going on. Really sad case.

[@SoupyMittens]

Good lord, how does that even happen?

[@johndeaux8815]

​@@SoupyMittensdementia is messed up, and if they didn't have any close friends or family visiting while it developed then its entirely possible that no one would know about it until they find the person doing something unusual in public, or their neighbours start smelling decay. It's a terrifying way to go, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. 😢

[@SoupyMittens]

@@johndeaux8815 I get how the woman was neglected, but I didn't even know it was possible for a living person to have their limbs rot off.

[@johndeaux8815]

@@SoupyMittens if you are a gamer, then you'd understand the concept of swampass after a long gaming session. Now consider someone sitting in place for months/years. They're creating a damp environment at the perfect temperature for bacterial growth (human body temp) and sitting in it, skin is being constantly shedded, so there's a perfect storm of food, water, electrolytes, and heat to make a giant petri dish made of skin and suede leather. And the skin gets soft like when you spend too long in a pool, so it would peel off like skin on a roast chicken. Sorry for all the graphic visuals, but thats how it happens.

[@SoupyMittens]

@@johndeaux8815 oh... thanks

[@BeigeFrequency]

I remember hearing about this when I was younger and for some irrational reason it scared me. Like there was no logical reason it could happen to me, but I was still worried it could lol

[@jessekall2803]

Oh damn beige watches whang videos. Neat.

[@Angel_Scum666]

I honestly feel that currently- All those moments of wanting to give up and not move or do anything- I'm afraid that someday I'll snap and won't have the mental will-power to snap out of it- Momentarily a thought wisps by, "What if you're already in one?" Haha fuck, man. Doing shrooms as a kid fucked me up 😂

[@ricardocontreras94]

hey are you the guy who does the joe matarese docs? Or is that Porsalin? if so, thank you

[@InvaderGIR98]

Ahhh childhood, when things like quicksand was, in my mind, a genuine threat I should be looking out for

[@MolecularMachine]

​@@Angel_Scum666Me too, tbh. But let's turn it into something useful. Use these stories as proof that even the littlest things that you do to take care of yourself, even just getting up to go to the bathroom, are really successes. You're worth caring for.

[@Thebatcavepetfriendlybakery]

These paramedics are legends, they did construction and everything JUST TO MOVE HER TO THE HOSPITAL thats insane dedication and i love their spirit

[@bewilderbeastie8899]

@@binal-flecki2387 You have to try. You have to try to save people. Every single person.

[@Thebatcavepetfriendlybakery]

@binal-flecki2387 yeah but they still did it

[@aleksandrakowalczyk6043]

They had to

[@Thebatcavepetfriendlybakery]

@aleksandrakowalczyk6043 yeah, still hard work that a lot of people wouldnt do. It may be their job and required of them but its a hard job they should be recognized and thanked for, no?

[@manifestgtr]

I can guarantee, GUARANTEE they goofed on her afterward. I know a lot of paramedics, first responders and medical personnel…almost without fail, they relate these types of stories like a vaudevillian master of ceremonies. My theory is that it’s a coping mechanism that manifests as gallows humor. If you go into work *every day* and scrape red jello off the pavement as family members scream, all you can do is develop a sense of twisted cosmic irony in order to make sense of the world’s chaos. A chaos which apparently includes people fusing to their couches like a Junji Ito story.

[@jellomiki]

My mom's a nurse, she told me that once they had a patient who was an homeless man who hadn't taken his boots off for idk how many years. The skin of his feet fused with his socks and it all became very stuck to the inside of the boots, when they tried to take the boots off, all the skin of his feet went with it. Freaky stuff.

[@rrai1999]

Like trenchfoot if they never pulled you off the front lines..

[@doesthisIookinfected]

I wonder if it has something to do with the leather, assuming his boots were made of leather, of course.

[@big_and_bookish]

My mom is a nurse and when she was a student, one of the first things she saw in the ER was this exact thing. She said that alone nearly made her give up, but she ended up deciding not to. Some of the stuff she saw while working in the ER that she’s told me about almost sound fictional

[@wastedtalent666]

​@@big_and_bookishlike what?

[@sultan9givewey]

​@@big_and_bookishtell us more

[@Magiholic_]

Might sound harsh but if you really love someone sometimes that means being forceful and having them hate you. Never let someone sit or lay in one place for longer than like a day or as you've just heard with these stories, you'll regret it.

[@Vampress09]

Yah at some point you gotta drag people to psych care even if that means they kick and scream. This video is a clear example.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

Yeah the minute you accommodate this kind of behavior and become an enabler on this level you've really crossed a line. The level of neglect here is just so gross and uncalled for.

[@mrcroob8563]

@@Vampress09 But as an adult, you don't really have the right to make them do anything yourself.

[@SlyHikari03]

Fr

[@LiterallyAllNamesAreTaken]

@@mrcroob8563 you do when they’ve been clearly diagnosed with something. you become that person’s carer just like with any other disability.

[@mistermittens3533]

9:30 to add more clarification, due to the building having only a single bathroom corey was having to use the bushes outside, rather than trying to alert authorities about a potential mental illness or break, the neighbor instead claimed she was being assaulted by corey despite him being outside and unaware of her watching him from within her home recording him.

[@dreamcast.0]

That makes the "exposed himself to the neighbor" much more understandable.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

I had a feeling that second part had something to do with the story at large. It makes perfect sense when you learn the extra context.

[@informalnarwhals]

this makes so much more sense thank you

[@skootergirl22]

She was hogging the bathroom to cry while he crossed his legs for a long time

[@alastor8091]

Women dude, I stg.

[@deannamarie8389]

I had to patient who had Locked In Syndrome, he suffered a stroke which led to the Locked in Syndrome. His wife was a total rockstar and got him a pair of eyeglasses with some kind of laser pointer hooked up to them. She got him a large chart with the alphabet on it and he was able to communicate with his family by spelling out the words. That's how he communicated with the staff at the hospital, myself included. It was crazy and awesome at the same time!

[@YunxiaoChu]

?

[@SourAttmoz]

Is there any treatment for the syndrome or is he stuck like it?

[@littleloner1159]

​@@SourAttmoz Nope. Sbsk has a wonderful interview with someone who has locked in syndrome if I remember correctly

[@Niagaranobs]

Perhaps, a little bell would have worked too?

[@financialzero5684]

@@Niagaranobsacting like he’s running a cartel or something

[@dyrr836]

I just wanna say that I appreciate you humanizing the people in these stories and not presenting them in an overly sensationalist manner. A sadder episode of the series but an interesting one nonetheless, thanks for the upload.

[@DennisJDoesVoice]

On the other hand... fucking gross. Who lets themselves get so far gone?!

[@JaxontheOkay]

i was thinking that myself. the bit at the end clarifying misinformation was also really nice. far too often i'll see people write off others with serious mental issues as "just lazy." it takes a lot of effort to just stay in the same spot for months and it doesn't just come about from nothing. it's more than laziness, it's a real problem.

[@TheDolphinTuna]

Yeah. I could easily visualize a lesser KZbinr just gawking with an overdramatic, tasteless voiceover. Whang has class.

[@steveburnside5395]

@@TheDolphinTuna "Whang has class." ur talking about the dude who's constantly uploading videos on poop, pee, and/or genitial mutilation.

[@TheDolphinTuna]

@@steveburnside5395 Yep

[@iboofer]

Just wanted to add that, according to an article in The Independent, Lacey Fletcher was found with feces smashed on her chest and face and was also suffering from COVID according to the examination and autopsy. This isn't even like the case of the guy whose girlfriend simply stayed in the bathroom and refused to leave, but overt neglect and probable extreme abuse. Even if they didn't actually smush her own feces all over her, they showed absolutely no efforts to keep her and her environment clean.

[@blepblep7245]

yea.. at least the boyfriend one care more despite also being mentally unwell

[@aarondavis8943]

Strangely, she was in the living room where the parents spent most of _their_ time; this wasn't a case of her being hidden away in a bedroom. They endured the smell and never let other people in their house.

[@Mothhour]

_you'll never get a word from me, Murtagh. I'm faithful to the Dragon._

[@Youraveragedemon-n3r]

Also could explain the foam getting in her mouth, maybe she really had Locked syndrome and paid the dr to lie about it and shoved the material down her throat abusing her. Just a thought.

[@sabrinatscha2554]

Oh I guess the cause of death was Covid then

[@replicaheart]

I can see how this might happen - I experienced severe depression upon the passing of my grandmother. I would get dressed, get my things ready for work and I would sit down to put on my shoes, only to be frozen numb. And I would sit there, shoes on, ready for work, not moving for hours. Eventually I would give up, and change back into my pajamas for bed, hopeful to try again tomorrow. I could see how that numbness might cling to someone, and make them unable to leave the couch for more than just the course if nine or ten hours, and if they only have people in their lives who enable this behavior, because they too, just hope it’s going to be better tomorrow, how something like this could happen.

[@mr.skeleton8110]

Holy shit... I hope things got better for you

[@MyDogIsYoshi]

Right there with you. My grandmother raised me. The frozen feeling still happens from time to time. Try to stay strong.

[@staringinward]

how did you keep your job?

[@AkomishTiddies]

​@@goti4no820one hoarding/self neglect/self isolation case I know involved schizophrenia that manifested in voices literally telling to reject job opportunities, find enablers and keep fusing with the couch. So the mental part can be different, but the outcome is similar

[@MrFoxInc]

I feel like I've barely dodged the bullet on something like this once or twice. It's different for every person of course, but for some of us, it's very important to not let that happen to yourself even once, under no circumstances. Even if it's hard, even if it's painful - you have to keep going. And if you have people in your life who could support you in this: Believe in them. Fight the thoughts that you could be a nuisance to them. Accept their help if they offer it. Everything is better than ending up as something that you thought "couldn't possibly happen" to you.

[@whosbyn1]

Locked in syndrome is generally from a stroke in a specific part of the brain. I saw it once as I work in a hospital. We took the patient to get a head CT and as soon as the doctor saw it we sedated the patient and her to a different hospital for brain surgery. Don't know if she survived or not but I learned a valuable lesson that day. Watch what you say in ICU rooms because I remember talking about the patient in the room with the nurse before the brain scan. I still have regrets about that because I was sure she was brain dead. I remember saying that I think her brain is mashed potatoes. It wasn't. Must have been an absolute nightmare for her to hear everything we talked about and felt all the pain of needle pokes, breathing tubes, catheters and everything else with no sedation. What a fucking nightmare.

[@joshuahutchings558]

My mom was a nurse and she told me to always speak as if the unconscious person can hear you. Just in case they can.

[@patriciac.3020]

I heard of a thing called a lobotomy that’s used to to treat locked in syndrome is that true

[@whosbyn1]

@@patriciac.3020 Honestly I don't know. Thats way above my pay grade. I don't think a lobotomy would help in this case because it was caused by a massive brain bleed.

[@maow-dev]

@@patriciac.3020 Lobotomies are effectively pseudoscience. They aren't capable of treating anything and are more harmful than helpful.

[@CTGReviews]

@@whosbyn1I think the person you were replying to was joking but I’m not sure. Kind of a failed joke if it was one though. Plus a lobotomy wouldn’t help in any case.

[@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep]

My immediate thought was "480 lbs is extremely heavy, but lots of people walk around at that weight and get better". But then he said "4 foot 10" and it hit me like a ton of bricks. That poor woman. That's suffering I would never wish on anyone.

[@Air_Serpent]

Same here, I was slapped with shock. I'm 5,6 and I would suffer with that weight, imagine 4,10. At least she has peace now.

[@mech1x]

​​​@@Air_Serpent holy fuck I read that as you _were_ that weight for a solid 5 minutes 💀

[@wannabehistorian371]

As someone who is actually 4 foot 10… God, how does one even become that weight?

[@thingl7859]

Yeah I'm 5'0 and when I was at a heavier weight I felt sick all the time to the point I just went crazy. I can't imagine what she went through ☹️

[@spimbles]

@@wannabehistorian371 its a blatant lack of self care. you have to go out of your way and eat virtually 3 meals at once like 8 different times a day to get to that absurd point. hard to feel bad for someone that outright did not want to help themselves, cant believe she fought her husband whenever he tried to get her off the couch

[@notrelatedbyblood7957]

Im lost on how Corey was considered more responsible for his girlfriend locking herself in a bathroom than the first story’s husband who watched his wife sit on a couch for six years

[@TheVeggiekat]

I think it has to do with Corey’s wife having diagnosed medical issues so that he was considered her guardian while the other one’s only diagnosed issue was obesity. Ironic that trying to get help at some point made the boyfriend more responsible than the husband who did nothing.

[@KyrieFortune]

That's justice for you, do nothing for six years to the point your wife becomes a ball fused to the couch and your brother-in-law has to be one calling 911? That's ok! Immediately worrying about an ongoing infection your agoraphobic girlfriend is suffering from and she's been fused to the toilet for only a month? Six months of probation. Also I am betting the "exposing himself yo a neighbour" was his taking a piss since you know, *his girlfriend was fused to the toilet*

[@dapperwolf465]

@@KyrieFortuneyea justice system is fucking shit

[@sophitiaofhyrule]

agreed

[@davidsellers3639]

Sounds like someone I know

[@vampire_juicebox]

This sort of thing with skin fusing with things is the one type of body horror that actually scares me, and I think it's just the fact that it can actually happen that really gets to me.

[@Rex-golf_player810]

Just make sure to get up sometimes and not sit for 90000 years straight And i guess it might help to not be like 467 pounds idk

[@G50016]

I had a nightmare about small holes opening up in my legs and my blanket falling in, and I wake to see I am fused in different places. Absolutely terrified me! Withdrawal nightmares are insane!

[@Kai...999]

My friend, you simply need to get up to avoid this. Like not even often, basic life will force you out of this situation.

[@alfsleftnut9224]

Im surprized its never been in a horror movie

[@rockyblocky_guy1244]

You don't want to give certain groups certain ideas...

[@fancydeer]

With Lacey the common theory was that she was abused or assaulted and that triggered her wanting to just sit and not move from the couch. The last day she left the couch she was seen outside jogging by a neighbor. There was some sus stuff about the parents as well. Her story is sad, others have done deep dives into this case.

[@prettyevil6662000]

She was also moving some as she had couch stuffing in her stomach. Meaning she was doing what she could without moving. Definitely something way way more going on. Girl chose to starve to death very slowly over upsetting someone by moving from that couch.

[@WitchCrona]

@@prettyevil6662000there is actually evidence that her parents were refusing to give her food for days at a time, and that’s the reason she started eating pieces of the couch

[@lexalot8337]

That last story was truly tragic. A disabled girl utterly failed by awful excuses of parents.

[@GameparkGames]

I disagree... Human beings revel in the idea that we have freedom of choice and can think and do what we want but God forbid someone chooses something stupid the leads to their death then there's always an excuse behind it to make someone guilty or that someone can't make this choice when they can... She's accountable for her situation and she didn't do the 1 thing most people do in that situation and that's grow the hell up... I hate being outside as well, I hate dealing with people and I go crazy about it but I don't fold like a napkin... I get over it. Everyone of these people caused their own downfall and that's no one else's fault

[@YouHadMeAtHalo]

⁠@@GameparkGames she was abused and had severe autism. she needed support, ‘growing up’ wasn’t possible. what was she supposed to do. it’s her parents fault, none of the accountability can go to her. shut the fuck up!

[@LooneyClipse]

​​@@GameparkGamesow do you need funds for therapy?

[@lexalot8337]

@@GameparkGames Damn, imagine blaming a severely autistic girl for not being able to take care of herself. You must be fun at parties, huh?

[@totallynotme763]

​@@GameparkGamesman I know that humans have some forms of accountability, but the fact that she's a disabled girl means that the usual accountability that normal humans usually have is can't be taken in this context. You definitely need to learn what definition of disabled is

[@PlutoTheGod]

When I was a kid I got into a bike accident and had the skin ripped off both of my arms, I had them wrapped in gauze and after a couple days it was time to change the dressing and my skin had started to heal with the gauze intertwined into it. Ripping that off still to this day was one of the most painful experiences of my life.

[@misseselise3864]

i got friction burns on my lower leg in a car accident and changing the dressings at first hurt more than shattering my femur.

[@zenithobsidian6554]

Omg yes I had fake nails once and got one finger stuck in a heavy door, the nail got ripped off and I had to wrap it in gauze and it was so painful n gross to change the gauze with all the lil fibers stuck in my healing flesh 😭

[@SolaireHighwind]

These days I see the recommendation being to change dressings at least once a day, I guess that's why. Sounds awful :(

[@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge]

Similar thing, one time I fell off a bike and slid like a good deal on my knee. That sucked, but as I had work to do I just took some toilet paper and wrapped it in electrical tape around it. It did work but then the next when i decided to take it off and change it, most of it was glued to the flesh, so I had to painfully pick out every little bit of paper that was stuck there.

[@hicknopunk]

Yes, my right leg was hell to wound care after I was ran over. The gause always fused with the blood. I would spend an hour or 2 in a bath tub to soften things up, to reduce the pain.

[@RaspberryPastry]

As someone that helps dementia patients for a living this is actually the stuff of my nightmares. Nursing homes don't have great reputations but imagining a situation like this escalating silently for years on end in someones home, I feel glad we're doing what we can to help them...

[@floffycatto6475]

Thank you for your service.

[@dianamerchant1026]

Ty for what you do. I knew I couldn’t do everything my schizophrenic mother needed and she had to stay at a nursing home. I am absolutely grateful for everything the nurses and orderlies did for her. With COVID everything was so much harder and I seriously have a list of nurses I want to put up for sainthood.❤

[@John-mf1sz]

I remember it seriously affected me as a kid when I had to go to an old folks home to do Christmas caroling for one reason or another. My great grandmother was over one hundred when she died, was still mobile, cooked, took care of herself, still lived on her own, etc. She ended up dying from a hernia operation after trying to move a dresser on her own. The people in that place weren’t even close to her age and all looked horrible and like they were 25 years her senior. Depressed the hell out of me.

[@cecerip1080]

For whatever reason I never made that connection with skin fusing to fabric. I've had a cut on my foot before and your sock will stick to it and become part of the scab and reopen when you take your sock off. That's just a miniscule version of this mess.

[@StarlightEater]

Yup. I had my melted foot fuse into one hideous supertoe cuz they thought I was just a homeless junkie n left me in the part of the icu burn unit where they wait for you to die.

[@pan1884]

The woman who fused to her toilet seat... I've heard this story a few times now, and I definitely think her life caused her to develop some severe agoraphobia. Not the hollywood version; true agoraphobia. It's not a fear of open spaces themselves, it's a fear of being in danger in those open spaces, a fear that no one would help you and that everyone is dangerous. It can eventually lead to your life shrinking to smaller and smaller spaces until you're too scared to leave, well, something like a bathroom. For me, it was a bedroom. Even though I never sat in place for that long, it still caused my muscles and vascular system to atrophy so badly that, now that I'm in something akin to remission, I'm struggling to do normal, everyday tasks that everyone can do without batting an eye. Standing for too long can cause me to get light headed and puke, possibly even faint. You really can't underestimate the power of the mind. If the mind is strong enough - and the people around you willing to enable it, even unintentionally - you can end up in some absurdly dire situations without even realizing it.

[@EmeraldEyesEsoteric]

Change is the essence of life, stillness is the way of death. It's that simple for all things. Not just stillness, but singularity of ANY kind. Always eating only type of food, for instance.

[@VanMoona]

I can relate. I have been recently diagnosed with agoraphobia. When I think about its progression it took years, a mass shooting at Wal-Mart, and the pandemic for me to reach my lowest point. I would stay in my bedroom for a minimum of 22hrs a day, leaving only to use the bathroom or to prepare certain foods which my family would finish cooking. I noticed that I was becoming weakened so I finally started moving about the house more. It's terrible when you fear everything outside of your control to point where you become house bound. I just started therapy to help deal with my anxiety so I can regain my freedom. Sending good vibes your way!

[@FaerieVikachu]

"When fear runs your life, you'll end up in situations worse than what you were afraid of in the first place."

[@denisecrook5758]

I’m stuck in my bedroom cause I’m scared of being killed by someone bursting into my room. The terror is ongoing. I don’t have a job cause my ex boyfriend pays my electric bill and brings me food once a day. I am stuck here just looking at my phone after what u wrote about your body I’m sure that’s what is happening to me. I do not know what to do so I’m just waiting to be dead

[@VanMoona]

@@denisecrook5758 I'm so sorry to hear this. I understand the fear, anxiety, and depression. Be safe. Sending loving good vibes your way! 🪻🌺

[@deankilminster5430]

I’m a firefighter and this happens a lot more than you would think. In 17 years I’ve seen it twice personally.

[@Sorrelhas]

Respect for the firefighter

[@scottsmith8162]

That’s wild dude. Thanks for what you do 🫡🫡🫡

[@ryanclemons1]

sure you have ;)

[@Leyuhm]

My pops was a battalion chief. Mad respect/

[@internalizedhappyness9774]

You worked at the same station for 17 years?

[@andrewdeem5454]

My father works for EMS and told me a similar story that he heard from one of his paramedic friends of a man who became fused to his armchair. He had been diagnosed with a medical condition of some sort (I don’t remember what it was) and because of it he needed someone to take care of him pretty much 24/7. His uncle decides to take on the role of caretaker for this man, and refuses help from any medical personnel that try to enter the house. Apparently, the uncle’s method of “caring” for this man was bringing him fast food 3 times a day for years. During this time the disabled man is getting no other food and zero exercise which leads to him becoming extremely overweight. Eventually, EMS are called to do a welfare check on this guy since no one’s seen him in forever, and when police get there they find him to be barely alive. An ambulance is called for him and when the paramedics arrive they see that the majority of his backside is either fused to the armchair or necrotic and rotting. Combine all that with the fact this man has not left his chair to use the bathroom in years and you get a smell that is able to make even the most seasoned paramedic gag. After determining this man needs a hospital immediately, the paramedics try to get this dude into their ambulance. The problem is, this guy and the armchair he’s fused to is not going to fit through the door to the house. Additionally, this guy is so fat they are unable to move him. At the end of the day, the roof of the man’s house had to be torn open and a crane had to be used to get him out. Once in the hospital, the surgeons and doctors try to save this guy, but by this time he is too far gone. He dies a few hours later, but that’s not where the story ends. They try to weigh this guy in the morgue, but the scale reads 800+. To find out how much this guy actually weighed, the hospital had to transport him the the Cincinnati zoo to weigh him on the scale they use for dead animals. In the end I believe the uncle was convicted but my dad was never able to find out for sure. EDIT: After doing a little more research on this story and having my father tell me it again, it seems I got a couple things wrong. 1. It was the man's girlfriend taking care of him, not his uncle 2. There are tons of news articles online about this incident, but I couldn't find anything about the man being taken to the zoo to be weighed. 3. My dad says the man ended up weighing around 1200 lbs, but all the articles I have read on the incident say he weighed only 350. If you want to learn more about this particular story, search "Bellaire Ohio man fused to chair"

[@Romanticoutlaw]

as a carer, stories like that make me sick to my stomach. Perhaps these people who opt to care for an adult dependant don't understand the scale involved in providing care. I've done it all, from rolling someone onto their side to clean them when they toileted, to bathing them, to preparing their food and meds. And at any given time, every hour of every day, even when it wasn't me there, there was _someone_ to take care of them and make sure they were healthy and safe. I don't necessarily begrudge someone for being unable to do that unpaid, in 24 hr shifts, while having to have some form of income. But I absolutely begrudge them not finding some other source of help. To have only given the man fast food 3 times a day and nothing else is not care. Hell, even pet turtles need more care than that, much less a human being

[@user-fe8gx3ie5v]

God damn. How much did he end up actually weighing?

[@andrewdeem5454]

@@user-fe8gx3ie5v Around 1200 pounds I believe. I might have my dad tell me the story again so I can answer questions more accurately lol

[@meatblob]

That's actually fucking bonkers I can't believe someone would let that happen to another person. They should have never ever gotten close to that state.

[@booognish]

@@Romanticoutlawyou seem like an angel, right down to you calling it “toileting”, rather than, shitting themselves…

[@Cupo666]

It’s scary how these “caregivers” convince themselves there isn’t grave suffering happening because of their negligence

[@squatchin6787]

My family is from Zachary which is near Slaughter Louisiana where the case of Lacey happened. Several of my family members knew Lacey before she “disappeared” and the parents dismissed it and apparently some of her extended family knew. It’s sickening and my family was shocked to hear about it. I met her parents at my Uncle’s wedding anniversary 2 months before Lacey was discovered at the house. It’s disturbing that I came in contact with these people. They did this intentionally and I hope they rot for what they did to that poor girl.

[@ShadowEclipse777]

The scary thing is I do genuinely believe there was zero malice in it. That they believed full heartedly that enabling her staying on the couch was the right and good thing

[@debbiepowers8197]

Didn't she also have some type of Cerebral palsey? I don't know why, but I am thinking I read that in the paper. This is sooo sad. I have a mentally and physically challenged child and this just breaks my heart. I think it was intentional also because what parent would literally let their child sit there knowing that the child is rotting..sick parents...

[@jturtle5318]

​@@debbiepowers8197maybe autism. Either way, ignoring her while she rotted wasn't well-intentioned neglect. What were they afraid would be revealed if she was seen by a doctor?

[@jturtle5318]

​@@ShadowEclipse777they absolutely knew that she was sick, rotting and going to die like that, and every day they made a conscious decision to ignore her.

[@yahnservices1978]

Town is called Slaughter. Nuff said.

[@Haphax]

I swear, "The first thing that hit them... was the smell." is your catchphrase at this point, I feel like you've said this so many times

[@memecatmobile2287]

stink world

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

Smell is a very powerful sense.

[@Zorro9129]

It's funny how people who end up in these stories never smell like roses.

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

@@Zorro9129 It's very predictable though, if someone lives the kind of life where they outright root into a piece of furniture, there's no way they practice hygiene and everything that produces smell is going to plain build up continuously, especially those who aren't rooted into a toilet chair, but instead just let go all over the couch they've become one with.

[@WineScrounger]

Videos you can smell

[@jamesstreet228]

I knew a guy that was over 600 lbs. He broke through his floor one day and nobody saw him for several days and they went by his house to check on him and found him. He said he had been there for 3 days. It was a small town and there weren't enough firefighters and paramedics to lift him out so they called the cops and they still couldn't get him out. They wound up cutting the floor out around him and building a metal frame and they brought a 2 ton chain fall and got some heavy timbers under him and used the chain fall to lift him out then they put down, I think it was 8 sheets of plywood to get the gurney under him and lowered him onto it. It's VERY hard to move extremely heavy people as you don't want to injure them any more than they already are.

[@KateBates22zabu]

I had a friend, 19:58 who after back surgery, lost mobility n would collapse. His brother lived downstairs of him & Tommy would pound on the floor when he needed help. His brother would refuse to help unless he was paid in his brother's pain medication. This life, huh RIP my old friend from the 70's

[@flimcomedy7667]

No wonder Japanese have tax or whatever on this. Because of his poor choices he strains the limited funds of the town

[@sigmamale4147]

But i thought being plus size is healthy

[@sophia-tw7qh]

@@sigmamale4147 that's not plus size that's morbid obesity

[@ashiningsoul449]

God, poor thing. I hope he was able to get the help he so desperately needed

[@demontamerbf18]

It's almost unbelievable that someone can stay on the same position for so long that their body starts adapting to that position and whatever it is in contact with, truly disturbing stories specially when you consider the psychological aspect.

[@aeholmstrom]

I read a book where something like this happened, although in a fantastical manner. there was a boy named William being targeted by demons, and if he stayed in one place for two long (like more than a few seconds) he would begin to fuse to the walls or floor. He was to sick (physically and emotionally) to fight it himself, so the people around him had to tear the tendrils off him whenever they started to attach. The characters had seen this happen before to a young girl, and the horrifying state she was in once she fully fused to the wall. The characters didn’t do anything to save her, and it motivated them to risk their lives trying to help William. They did manage to save him eventually, but man it was a stressful read.

[@aleksandrakowalczyk6043]

Similar to Gilbert grape, but she didn't fuse to her sofa.

[@flimcomedy7667]

I am surprised after sitting for so long they do not get sores and stuff. You can also get embolysism and die if you sit for a prolonged time without breaks and stand up suddenly

[@rambobrite2691]

The thing about Lacey’s case was that her parents had left her alone for an extended amount of time. I think they had left the state all together. Didn’t get a caregiver, never asked anyone to check on her, or anything.

[@Spagoooterman]

Left on a 3 day weekend vacation, and some have speculated that this wasn’t the first time. It also happens that 3 days, especially in Lacey’s condition, is the amount of time it takes to die from dehydration. Some have speculated that it was intentional.

[@squatchin6787]

@@Spagoootermanit was intentional. My family is from Zachary which is near Slaughter Louisiana where the case of Lacey happened. Several of my family members knew Lacey before she “disappeared” and the parents dismissed it and apparently some of her extended family knew. It’s sickening and my family was shocked to hear about it. I met her parents at my Uncle’s wedding anniversary 2 months before Lacey was discovered at the house. It’s disturbing that I came in contact with these people.

[@catscanhavelittleasalami]

Revolting...

[@doesthisIookinfected]

Felt like they were trying to hide their daughter for whatever reason. I f Lacy was their top priority, they would've at least hired a caretaker. I think she died before they left tbh

[@actualgoblin]

@@doesthisIookinfected A lot of so-called parents are _ashamed_ of their disabled children. Think it makes them look bad, that their child being born with a disability will be taken as a sign of them failing as parents, and they'd rather appease a bunch of nosey, judgmental strangers than... yknow... treat their child like a human being.

[@angiadcock8196]

Lacey’s case is so sad. My aunt lives about 20 min from where this happened and she’s friends with one of the paramedics that responded to the call. Everyone who went on that call had to go to therapy afterward it was so traumatic.

[@ashiningsoul449]

I've completed emt classes it's taught to us and actually protocol that therapy is mandatory for mentally traumatizing calls like the ones in the video. I haven't seen anything too terrible yet thankfully but i know that day will come eventually

[@amordesdemona]

Just a hypothesis, but: I had a very strong and sudden bout of agoraphobia a few years ago. There was a while in which I didn't want to be in certain places, and then didn't want to be outside at all, and then didn't want to leave my bedroom or my heart rate would just start increasing immediately, I would have all these specific fears come up, etc. I was afraid my circle of 'good' places would become smaller and smaller until I started to take medication and retake therapy. I think it's possible that some of these people ended up developing a more severe case where they didn't feel safe leaving an even more specific 'safe' place like a couch, and possibly the combination of that with severe depression, plus fear of what they will experience upon being separated from the couch (and severe neglect in Lacey's case) made things worse.

[@kowikowi8718]

Thats why im glad To live in Europe. 1call social workers arrive with 2cops but the only Person WHO IS in Charge ist the social workers. The Cops mostly are there for safety reasons

[@ndawn90]

Yeah, agoraphobia is a b*tch. Feeling like the world is not safe, this gradual shrinking of your comfort zone, panic attacks, people thinking that you're choosing to be like this... No fun.

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

@@kowikowi8718 You must live in a nicer part, when you contact mental health services here they'll tell you that they'll get back to you, and then they'll hope that you never call to bother them again.

[@kowikowi8718]

@@0neDoomedSpaceMarine Germany and Trust me the Option To Just make a phonecall and get while having a knife in the Other end with intentions To end your live ist Something im thankfull for.

[@megglesy]

​@@ndawn90Well articulated. I relate to what you described all too well unfortunately.

[@caffeinefiend3720]

These stories hit me especially hard because while growing up, I had very little privacy. The bathroom was the only room in the house with working locks, so I could guarantee no one was going to barge in, and I could finally relax. I've given myself hemorrhoids from sitting on the toilet too long too often, so I can imagine that something like in one of these stories would have been within my future if things hadn't changed. 😥

[@chipbutty3645]

Bruh how long were u on the toilet

[@WhoamI-yz9nx]

Yeah, I had some privacy but also loved staying on the toilet for a while. I did escape to the toilet a lot when I lived in a dorm and the noise from my roommates got too much for me because of sensory issues. I'm honestly surprised I still don't have hemorrhoids lol

[@lanallama9430]

I wanted to add something about the “Locked-in” syndrome from Lacey’s story. Locked-in cases are extremely rare and happen after the person experiences a major stroke in the brainstem, this causes them to lose the motor functions of every part of their body other than blinking. This syndrome comes in different severities but the most extreme cases are where the person can only blink and move their eyes/eye. If anyone is curious, there is a very famous book called “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” written by famous french writer who experienced this. There is also a movie about it, I’ve only read the book but I heard the movie was good. I learned about this in one of my recent college classes for my degree(Speech Pathology).

[@pizzlerot2730]

It's known to happen in end-stage ALS as well, if there is a significant time frame between loss of voluntary muscle movement and the respiratory muscles becoming paralyzed. Stephen Hawking, who famously had ALS that progressed extraordinarily slowly (median survival is 2-4 years), had effectively progressed to locked-in syndrome by the end of his lifetime as he was only able to control his chair and voice using a single cheek muscle.

[@jturtle5318]

Thank you. Someone came across the term and decided to apply to someone who wasn't moving, without realizing that she was able to breathe and swallow, and apparently move her hands, because the parents probably didn't feed her the filthy cushion stuffing.

[@greenjellybeanz]

I'm also glad that the Lacey Fletcher case is getting more recognition. We need justice for her as well as more awareness towards mental health issues that can lead to tragedies like this.

[@eadweard.]

Platitudinous.

[@greenjellybeanz]

Not enough, it seems.

[@TheSultan1470]

lol

[@raineblackstar3522]

I listened to her story a few times already and it still angers me. Had she survived, her abandonment issues would be humongous.

[@thedustyjukebox9127]

As someone whose mental illness got so bad that ended up with severe physical health issues: thanks for talking about this with so much respect. I think this type of situations are the hardest to explain to people who haven't gone through really bad mental health episodes. I undestand why the first reaction is "how did you and your family let you end up like this?" and the answer is "i dont know, it just happened". Things like this happen gradually and everyone involved convinces themselves that they can manage it, that it is not so bad, and when you realise you are already at the hospital. You feel so much shame about the situation you are in, both when it is happening and when you start recovering, that it breaks you. The only thing i can say to someone going through something similar is, it is a tough road to recovery, but it is possible. There is hope.

[@knotsoangelic]

I’m autistic, and the last case makes me sick to my stomach. Good that the parents got charged for this. If I had high support needs and was couch - ridden due to anxiety, social or otherwise, I would hope my family/support system would try and keep me from being couch-ridden instead of enabling me. I’ve had times where my depression (indirectly caused by my autism and ADHD) would make me stay in bed. I was lucky my mother would force me out of bed to shower. I can’t IMAGINE them letting me stay in bed to rot and/or fuse to the bed….. the whole case with Lacey makes me utterly ill. Just one of many cases where autistics are failed by their family and/or the system. So tragic. May she rest in peace.

[@Calc_Ulator]

"I’m autistic" WedMD isn't a diagnosis. Nice try seeking attention.

[@knotsoangelic]

@@Calc_Ulator I’m literally diagnosed. Nice try being an online doctor.

[@sunfallz8056]

​@@Calc_Ulatordo you think autistic people can't use youtube or something

[@Ymch809]

THIS like i've tried being better but I need a push I need someone to make me take action... i know it's no one responsibility but thankfulky I have my mother but she lets me be, i wish sometimes she would be more strict but in a caring way

[@knotsoangelic]

@@Ymch809 Have you considered a case manager? They can help with the executive dysfunction and depression side of autism :)

[@strippinheat]

My grandmother lived in a chair for years. She would still stand up to get her diaper changed, something I had to do as a teenager because My mother was a bitch, so she wasn't fused to it, but she did leave a lot of scaly skin stuck to it. I remember a social worker coming for a wellness check. She was deemed lucid and not being abused, and My mother, a bitch, was livid at being accused of abuse when she was the victim for having to take care of her mother. She just didn't want to do anything so she sat and deteriorated. It's scary to see someone go through that, but also scary to think you're doing something wrong or people will say you're abusing them. We were poor so we didn't have money for a nursing home so the only option was to take care of her at home. She wasn't hidden away or anything and her other kids and grandkids would come visit.

[@GreasyOaf]

Your mother was losing her mom.. it's not fair what she made you do but I would be a liar if I said that wouldn't shut me down too...

[@fluffcake]

I’m glad you humanized these tales because there are a lot of terrible people treating them like freaks who died an embarrassing death, when they didn’t want what happened to them. They didn’t deserve what happened. They were treated wrong and suffered terrible repercussions. May they rest in peace.

[@stacidify]

@doesjesuslovehitler4175 It's true that bad decisions were made. However, it sounds like some serious mental health issues were also at play in these cases. Ultimately, I feel a great deal of sympathy for these people. Nobody wants to end up like that.

[@-Spring-Trap-]

@doesjesuslovehitler4175you act as if they were all not forced into these situations by other people

[@Cedawood]

​@doesjesuslovehitler4175you're obviously perfect & thus don't understand when people get weighed down with mental health issues....if that's being perfect I'd rather be just half decent

[@bnashee]

@doesjesuslovehitler4175 No. these are stories ultimately about seriously mentally ill people being completely neglected by the people around them who should have been helping them.

[@exaflare]

Having mental problems doesn't make them freaks. Some people are just really that heartless.

[@connorellis5085]

the lacey fletcher story makes me feel sick every time i here about it. im autistic and agoraphobic (not to that extent but there was a stretch of time where i couldnt even open the front door), her parents well and truly abandoned her and left her to die, i know the terror of only feeling safe in a limited place, but theres no excuse in the universe to decide to let your child rot into a couch because of that fear

[@darksu6947]

Hey dude, man, dude! Would you like to go outside and go for a walk with me? I've always wanted to have a conversation with someone who suffers from agoraphobia.

[@12thMovement]

@@darksu6947 unfunny

[@darksu6947]

@@12thMovement I'm not sure why you think I was making fun of him because I was not. Maybe that says more about you than it does about me. I really would love to have a conversation with him. I've always been fascinated by agoraphobia because it is such a crippling mental illness. In my late teenage years I'm pretty sure I was in the beginning stages of agoraphobia but for some reason I've yet to figure out I woke up one day and it no longer bothered me to go out of doors.......Yes, I said out of doors! It makes more sense!

[@12thMovement]

@@darksu6947 you seriously can’t conceive how that could be misconstrued as you being mean? You’re asking someone whose agoraphobic to leave their house, something they clearly have struggles with 💀

[@tarotsushima3332]

​@@darksu6947You could be interested on how agoraphobia affects people's lives but Idk how you wouldn't think telling someone with it to come take a walk outside wouldn't sound tone deaf.

[@wilderulz]

I'm of the opinion that "laziness" isn't really a thing; mental health is so complex and misunderstood that coping with mental health issues takes many forms. Because treatment and medication are so stigmatized, and often largely inaccessible for lower income individuals, that ways of self soothing and treating can take the forms of hoarding, not leaving the house and/or substance abuse. Not to mention enabling. Although if you're in a situation where there aren't many options, or mental health care is severely stigmatized, it gets complicated....

[@chipbutty3645]

No, laziness definitely exists

[@loreyxillumina]

I more believe that laziness is a symtom for underlying diseases. Of course healthy people can be lazy, it's just some people who are struggling with something can display laziness that they themselves can't understand why they are feeling lazy and leads to worsening of their condition and feeling frustrated with themselves.

[@spjr99]

it is certaainly a thing. lazy people want people of stronger virtue to do work for them becuase they have no work ethic. you are responsible for your mental health.

[@obeseperson]

⁠@@spjr99certaainly

[@zacharykelly7434]

I am a lazy person 🤷‍♂️ just don't enjoy effort most of the time

[@SOOKIE42069]

I really appreciate the empathy with which you covered these stories. i used to watch my 600 pound life thinking it was inspiring, then i started to notice the pattern. the pattern that all these obese people had been raped, or molested, or beaten, or all of them or worse as children and weight started as a tiny problem that slowly snowballed as the only comfort they know also starts to affect them negatively, feeding into a vicious cycle. now i understand that shows like that are just misery porn. people in situations like this need empathy, love, and outreach, not people gawking at them struggling to meet weekly weigh in targets.

[@hoze1235]

People watch them to make themselves feel better

[@JillLulamoon]

Yeah. My mother struggles with weight and I wish she wouldn't watch that show. I don't think it's good for her nor good for the people on there to be paraded on TV.

[@ShojoBakunyu]

The data shows that obesity is a physical barrier and a psychological barrier to further victimization. If you're fat you're "ugly" and men leave you alone and if they don't you get fat enough that they physically CANNOT assault you. There's so much data on how weightloss has a recidivism rate on par with heroin addiction because it's a symptom of mental illness and not physical illness or moral failing.

[@Zorro9129]

It's a good warning to the rest of us to protect our kids lest they end up the same way.

[@redlikeroses3705]

@@JillLulamoon Same. Exept she also acknowledges it can be exploitative and just doesn't care.

[@chim-chimney]

Your closing remarks sum it up perfectly. It’s so easy to gawk at these kinds of stories, but behind them is the tragic consequences of untreated mental illness. It can happen to anyone. Thank you for treating this subject with respect and empathy, while still making it entertaining and informative. Mad respects for the stuff you do.

[@ghostcat11]

Lacey Fletcher, the one that made Karl win the creep-off. That story almost made me throw up out of disgust and sadness. May the parents of Lacey forever rot and be subjected to the same fate they let befall upon their daughter. Any parent with any love for their child wouldn't let them suffer a fate that all the demons in hell could not conjure.

[@redlikeroses3705]

Who's Karl?

[@rrai1999]

@@redlikeroses3705 That guy from Deep Rock Galactic that we all are wondering where he buzzed off too

[@kendallg968]

Trust me demons in hell go through way worse

[@witch7530]

My experience with this kind of thing is mild compared to these cases but i would like to share. Im a CNA and ive worked at a couple nursing homes, you learn about Pressure sores pretty much the entirety of CNA class as they are SO important to prevent. The very worst one ive ever seen, and one i show to other aids who dont care enough to take prevention measures, actually wasn't a resident. It was my own aunt. She had been living with my grandparents for 2 years 4 hours away from me and they only had limited knowledge on pressure sores. One day my aunt was in so much pain they finally got her to agree to go to the hospital, there they discovered she had a pressure sore forming from the inside so bad they had to remove 9 lbs of dead tissue. She had a crater down to the bone covering her entire backside when they got through with surgery. You'd be surprised what the body can handle and how long it can go unnoticed. From the outside if you didnt know any better, it would just look like bruising but very soft and "mushy" to the touch. She wasnt even bed bound, just didnt have good enough cushion in her chair alongside not being able to reposition herself in bad so constantly being on her bottom with no padding or on her back laying down. I thought i had seen it all until i had seen her wound. There was no flesh left there. There was nothing. This is something that can easily be prevented yet we see cases of bed sores constantly even in nursing homes. All because of staff laziness and neglect. Its horrible when you see it in person. Especially when its your own family.

[@GaryEckhoff]

Wow. I'm very sorry you/your family went through that. It's people like yourself that make these things known about and prevent them. I'm guessing that's what inspired you to work in the health field? Regardless, thank you for your service to the world. Please know that although some would make it seem unappreciated, it IS very much appreciated.

[@GaryEckhoff]

Also, I wish there was more than a thumbs up or down on people's comments. It's not like anyone is giving you a thumbs up like "Ok, cool story..." but personally from myself is more like a general desire to push this comment higher so more are able to learn from it. Not quite a situation where people should physically just give you a thumbs up and move on. Lol thank you.

[@witch7530]

@GaryEckhoff-nx2mn thank you so much! The health care world is a very hard one to be a part of but getting to help people and having people like you who genuinely appreciate what we do is what makes it worth it through the all the hell we go through. Thank you for taking your time to let your appreciation be known, it's something that definitely keeps us healthcare workers going and it does go unnoticed by us! The reason I left this comment is to keep people who aren't aware, aware. My aunt actually passed away a couple weeks ago after a long battle with this and other health conditions so in her honor the best thing I can do is help others to prevent these types of situations. I appreciate you trying to help push this with me thank you so much and may you have an amazing day ❤️

[@willybe6427]

my father was a firefighter and told me countless horror stories like this.. once they got a call complaining about a smell (you already know) and when they got into the apartment they thought the gentlemen was laying on the couch. well, he WAS..in the past.. his skin had melted into the couch and the black mass that was left behind... started to get up.. turns out insects had eaten his remains and as the firefighters entered the door, alllllllll of the flies and bugs swarmed off of the body and out into the hallway. or the time they had to put a heart monitor on a morbidly obese woman before removing her from her home... they had to lift her breast to put on the pads.. and when they did they saw some scars or holes on her body...and bugs started to crawl out of them...

[@big.gib.4L]

Jeeeeeesus of all things to have to suffer through I'd have to agree that rotting away/ being eaten alive by insects has to be the WORST

[@elliot_rat]

that's a fucking junji ito scene right there

[@cdru515]

Oh god, with the first story, I'd almost start believing in the existence of the undead

[@subekyuuke]

​@@cdru515same jfc

[@hotfightinghistory9224]

Not leaving the couch for 6 years... for anything... even the bathroom. God that must have STANK! Codependency is a bitch.

[@heatshield]

I’m having a hard time understanding how that even works.

[@misanthropic_shithead7438]

​@@heatshieldsame. I'm not a lazy person but even if I was, i cant imagine soiling myself to save me the effort of going to the toilet

[@compatriot852]

I've had the misfortune of dealing with a few hoarders, so I can guess how it would smell. The "punch" part of an overpowering smell that Whang mentioned definitely is true

[@sageofspace]

​​@@heatshield let curiosity get the better of me and there are pictures of couches after people have been removed from them. It's as disgusting as you're probably imagining I expected maybe something in the cushions... But nope just gross, decomposing cushions...💀

[@snoot6629]

@@misanthropic_shithead7438 maybe not a question of lazyness but underlying mental problems

[@webbierautumn5101]

God I think out of all Whang’s freaky medical stories this one has made me feel the largest amount of dread and horror

[@CantTellYou]

Don’t worry, it’s pretty easy to avoid - unless you got that sweet velvet chair Whang has which is just askin for it

[@WingItMan217]

It’s a sad state of affairs

[@ogOAFgaming]

Whang, you done it again my guy. Made me cry. I'm 27, and on the spectrum. I got Aspergers, and the thing about Lacey screams to us on the spectrum. We try so many times to explain things, then we will shut down and just not be around. Mentally yes but physically no.. I cried only knowing of friends who lost support teams and then passed, and I pray it'll never happen to me. Lad, again, amazing as ever.

[@Keznen]

I have Aspergers and I've never shut down. I've also never needed any kind of support team. So this is clearly not universal. ~ Täss

[@latenightotaku824]

As a former health care assistant I use to see a lot of cases with elderly patients who were bed bound which had similar issues, hence why hourly bed turns were a thing to make sure the bed sores did not get any worst than they already were. There would different levels of bed sores but it is not a pleasent sight or smell. Often me and my colleagues would ask each other "How could their carers or family let it get that bad?". Depending on the severity of the bed sores doctors or nurses would raise concerns to social workers and take action and this would prolong the patients being discharged, I remember this happened almost every day. This video hit me really hard because not only was it something I am familiar with but was one of the reasons why I quit my job as a health care assistant, seeing how people can simply neglect the elderly whether that be at home or in hospitals just drove me to a very dark place which I never want to return to.

[@adarkdiamond]

​@KonekoPurrrfection As a caregiver, it absolutely could be. Add in a person needing care who refuses to move or do the PT and you've got a recipe for these situations. It's a battle my family struggle in daily with my grandfather. We can urge and explain the importance of getting up and trying to move around but at a foot taller and 75 lbs heavier than me, if he refuses to get up I'm not really in a position to yank him to his feet and force it. It's awful bc it's not even to these levels but even to the point he's at there's red sore skin almost all the time. We beat ourselves up alot that hes not better but he also has his part to play in his care so it's really rough. Not every family is just neglectful and uncaring. Some of us are doing the best we can with no budget, no help, no training or prior experience and family members who have given up on some level.

[@theotherther1]

My dad's mother died from this. The people at the nursing home let her bedsores get infected and she just died of medical neglect. This made my little sister so angry that she wrote a school research paper all about elder abuse, with our grandmother mentioned in it.

[@EddVCR]

I’ve been struggling with chronic depression and suicidality for 34 years since age 9, and I’m so utterly exhausted from constantly fighting the gravitational pull toward the void every single day. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t want to do anything anymore. I don’t want to eat, I feel like I don’t deserve to eat, it’s a daily struggle just to exist. I feel lazy, worthless, and overall just a giant failure and disappointment. I’m afraid I’ll end up like the poor people in the stories one day. Many days I find myself unable to move from my bed, wishing I could shut my brain off forever.

[@TheaterCryptid]

Sincerely wishing you for the best and I hope you'll be able to find something to help you go through everything

[@EddVCR]

@@TheaterCryptid Thank you very much for the kind words.

[@McMushTrippy]

I may not know you but you deserve to eat, and you deserve to live, I'm wishing you the best please take care of yourself, there's a lot of people that care about you even if it doesn't feel like it

[@babypurplebat2610]

I know this comment is a year old but I just wanted to say I experience the same things and you are not alone. Some days I fear the rot will take over like a fungus. I've found that doing minor things like editing wikipedia/imdb have become the best part of my day, which feels sad but at least it makes me feel like I'm contributing to something. I hope you have a good day and find something to keep you going.

[@carmelgoldfanning5865]

You are so not alone.... I am literally only alive thanks to dedicated EMTs saving my life multiple times, and now I'm a mother... no self harm, no drug use, no alcohol, nothing in well over five years, and at first it was amazing, like I was meant to be a mom, but then the health issues hit me like a train, and one more head injury somehow messed with the many others I'd had, or maybe this one was just so bad, but now I have permanent brain damage, and it's like those years I wanted to die are back but infinitely worse. My mobility is shot. I can barely carry my toddler. Can barely go up a short staircase, barely lift a frying pan, but even worse is the mental issues... my memory is nonexistent, I have no threshold for stress whatsoever. Everything overwhelms me... I have never felt so worthless, useless, pathetic, such a burden on my loved ones in every way possible....

[@StinkySeaGoat]

Actually there’s a science behind this! I believe the fat content of the skin is said to loosen the Overall durability of the couch’s Fabric and the sweat acts as an adhesive, as you sit there and continue to press weight into the couch, you get more couch and the couch gets more you. Decomp cleaners need more recognition as they have to witness the gross aftermath and clean up

[@nehehehgraylois]

this is one of the first things he covers, yes

[@imadrunk3576]

That actually sounds plausible

[@saivampzz]

13:59 something similar happened to a neighbour of mine when I was young. He didn't come out from his department for a really long time, and the smell was getting worse and worse. It wasn't until a friend of his got in that people saw him. Laying on the floor, with the bottom half of his body rotten. I was very young, but I can still remember when we went to the hospital with my parents just to ask if it was contagious (and ofc know if he was ok). They told us it was a strange sexual infection that has been there for really long, but it wouldn't affect us (note that we lied next door. his wall was connected to ours and everything.) I remember the smell. Rotten flesh.

[@Larry]

Fascinating video! I was glued to my seat!!!

[@emperorx5]

Hey, youuuuu

[@aaronmoore6275]

Way to stick to it.

[@baconsarny-geddon8298]

Boom tishhh...

[@D44RK_Iced_Yogs]

Where’s that adhesive glue remover when you need it!

[@ArthropodJay]

God danm it i fucking snorted

[@Lwhale.3797]

It’s just been so nice to have watched Whang from close to the beginning, and seeing him become more humane and sensitive while never losing his trademark edge, charisma, and fair share of gross-out.

[@dakotaeast4126]

honestly, it's a similar situation to hoarding. it starts slow, people make excuses, downplay the situation. and it slowly becomes the "new normal". anybody looking in from the outside can see a problem, but those on the inside can't. even if those on the inside can see a problem though, it's become such a massive issue that it's terrifying to face and nobody knows where to start

[@jonntischnabel]

I was a crack and heroin addict for 17 years plus, and as you can imagine, ive seen some pretty grim places, and people in pretty bad states, however, none of them are ever as bad as the long term alcoholics. Alcohol messes people up way worse than heroin or crack. There is always a lot of pee and shit involved when these alcoholics are in a bad state. Ive seen people stuck to their bedsheets with shit, whilst surrounded by empty vodka bottles. 😢

[@cici3147]

These stories are so similar to the Japanese Hikokomori, or people who stay indoors because of suffering social anxiety. I think if we as a culture can recognize the issues, we can create better solutions.

[@Friendly_Neigborhood_Astolfo]

I was so fixated on how the skin fused to the chairs and beds (&toilet) that I didnt make that connection until now

[@ScrubMyTub]

I cleaned out an apartment where an elderly man had this happen to him. holy shit ill never forget that horrific scene

[@incredibleflameboy]

These ulcers are called pressure ulcers also known as bed sores. When you sit or lay down you put pressure on the area restricting blood flow to the area which eventually kills the tissue. This can happen in as little as 15 minutes believe it or not. Obviously without blood supply you can't heal damage either so you just start breaking down until the skin breaks down on the area of pressure which then causes pressure to build up in surrounding tissue and the damage usually gets infected pretty quickly causing the wound to get bigger and deeper. It's graded from a grade 1 to 4 with grade 1 being a non blanching red area (erythema) to a grade 4 being an area of deep, severe damage with necrotising tissue surrounding where underlying tissue including muscle and bone might be visible. This normally happens on bony areas of the body so heels, elbows, coccyx and back of the head are common but I've seen them behind ears (from badly fitted hearing aids) and on a nose (glasses). It's the reason that we move patients regularly in hospitals especially those with sensory deficits or the elderly who are more prone to injury. Don't worry, under normal circumstances you make hundreds of little micromovments every second that you aren't even aware of, it's how we stay upright when we sit or stand and how we stay comfortable laying down. The worst I've seen is a woman who lived abroad and had some sort of psychotic episode, the reason isn't that important because this isn't a case study but the country she was in had less stringent laws on restraint so it was perfectly fine to tie her arms and legs to a gurney. She was visited by family who noticed how wrong it was to tie someone down so they paid to have her brought back to the UK. Unfortunately in the time it took to do that she developed a grade 4 in the small of her back (probably helped along on by starvation and thirst) that was about 25X25cm around and I shit you not deep enough that her spine and lowest ribs were visible. I had the "pleasure" of packing the wound twice a day which took about 3 hours each time and I was literally putting my entire hand into her body. At some points.

[@nehehehgraylois]

What kind of fuckin gulag was SHE sent to

[@SausageRoll4u]

What country was that

[@incredibleflameboy]

@@SausageRoll4u as I recall it was Denmark. There were major issues getting her to the UK because they had to effectively charter a plane with all of the medical help that would be needed.

[@MiruyaChan]

​@@incredibleflameboyThat's odd, the Nordics tend to be extremely strict about patient rights.

[@kbforme]

I have met people with really bad depression and have had bouts with it myself but I can't even imagine what makes a person give up to the extent that they just sit in one spot soiling themselves for months or even years. The human brain is a crazy thing man.

[@informitas0117]

As a schizophrenic, please don't let people decide what they want if they appear ill.

[@serenas8144]

As mother of a son who is an addict believe me you cannot influence their poor decision-making

[@HelloYersoGae]

"appear ill" is subjective and can be abused easily by anyone trying to get a family or spouse declared mentally unsound.

[@LP-kw3kj]

​@HelloCripplingAnxiety yeah get em checked up first by a doctor something about pshycologies

[@tealover70]

My brother is schizophrenic and we try everything to help him, he just doesn’t want to comply.

[@lawbreakerlawrence]

ooooo im in your waaaalls oo

[@princessfetus]

EDIT: just got to the part that Lacey was there. The parents were also going on vacations and doing lavish activities all while she suffered. reminds me of this poor woman lacey fletcher whose corpse was fused to the couch. the parents knew of it and let it happen because they were embarrassed by their disabled daughter. they weren’t even apologetic. how can people let this happen and not be punished. rest in peace lacey.

[@bootblacking]

That's literally in the video.

[@Brianna_Q]

Some people don't deserve kids.

[@princessfetus]

@@bootblackingI just got to that part-

[@MacabreDaymare]

Yeah that was a horrible story, I remember a bunch of true crime channels covering it. The worst part? There's a picture of it.

[@aubyyyy]

yeah she's at the end of the video :(

[@CuratorOfCurios]

Kaylea Titford is one of the saddest examples of this. I don't know how much detail I want to go into but she went from being very independent and on track to join the Paralympics to dying from infection not long after her 16th birthday while her parents just let it happen. She was wheelchair bound so she was unable to get herself out of the situation.

[@appallokelley3207]

As a former EMT of 18 years, I can assure this is very common . All of these stories.

[@AtrocityEquine01]

I knew you were gonna mention Lacey's story, but _my god,_ there's such a tragic nature to it. In general, it does makes you wonder if the people who just sit in a place completely can be "laziness" or "a undiagnosed illness"

[@THarSul]

when someone's melted to their seat, it's never just them involved, there's always at least one enabler who created the environment that behavior was able to fester in.

[@crowdemon_archives]

Yea, no way in a healthy home scenario would a person even be stuck on a couch for more than a week.

[@curious1706]

Corey got screwed, what was he supposed to do? It's already incredibly bizarre his girlfriend of 16 years suddenly insisted on staying in the bathroom. Bizarre situations have bizarre outcomes usually. It's easy to say "you should've called 911" *after* the incident already happened. How was that serving justice punishing him over something most people won't deal with and don't understand? and apparently he accidentally exposed himself to someone, some other comment already mentions it but that wasn't fair either. The court just had something against Corey or he had no defense.

[@misseselise3864]

plus his girlfriend only feeling safe in the bathroom isn’t an emergency and, chances are, no one would have been sent to the home even if he had called 911

[@nyxiinyx]

his girlfriend could've recieved psychiatric care if he had called the police, a hospital, or just Googled a mental health professional after a week or 2 but sure he got screwed and had no other option 🤔

[@averyspecificdragon8780]

It’s a difficult situation, but I still think had he had the capability, he should’ve called psychiatric care. She obviously wasn’t well or able to care for herself, and the kindest thing to do was to get her help. But I suppose I wasn’t in that dynamic, so I can’t really comment. It sounded like a frog in a boiling pot scenario.

[@CurliFox]

No, it was completely fair. If someone is taking a shit outside my apartment, Im calling the cops. Thats degenerate and disgusting, and I have no obligation to be subjected to it.

[@martinaasandersen3775]

@@CurliFox Sure, but i wouldn't consider it "exposing themselves"

[@haywood1980]

I dealt with agoraphobia. I’m past it now, but if you had tried to get me to leave my house without me being ready to, it would’ve been a full blown meltdown. There’s no describing that fear. I feel for these people, because that’s what they dealt with personally. I feel for their families because it’s hard to know what to do when the person you love is going through that. What seems like a simple idea is actually quite complex in that the person suffering is actively telling them that calling the ambulance or going to the hospital will be worse. I think the boyfriend and the girl’s parents did the best they could with what they had. I watched my parents go through the anguish of trying to determine what was best for me when I went through it, so I know how hard it is for your family and friends.

[@compatriot852]

For a second I thought Whang was going to cover radiation survivors melting and fusing with the environment until he mentioned America

[@ErikvsLenny]

I love how radiation has such a bad stigma. There are people litterly swimming in the flooded part of the chernobyl reactor and they tested fine afterwards. Nuclear energy is one of the most important things.

[@Brianna_Q]

​@@ErikvsLennyImportant? Yes. Safe? Absolutely not.

[@Duothimir]

@@Brianna_Q It's incredibly safe when you follow the fucking safety regulations. Guess what common link every single nuclear disaster in history has ever had?

[@himwhoisnottobenamed5427]

@@Brianna_Q It absolutely is. Incidents like Three Mile Island and Fukushima (where nobody died btw) are the exception rather than the rule. Whereas the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine was caused by design flaws in the reactor. You make it sound like atomic power is this boogie man that’s always on the brink of catastrophe. Maybe actually look into these things instead of thinking you know it all.

[@randomnpc445]

@@ErikvsLenny Why don't you go and read about Hisashi Uchi's experience with radiation poisoning and see if it's still a mystery as to why radiation has "a bad stigma."

[@ningboy3274]

I knew people who would have this happen with socks back when i was homeless, mine would usually fall apart or cause some distress before they got to that point, but I’ve seen people try to go years in the same pair. The stuff you take for granted sometimes.

[@Calvin_Coolage]

I was gonna say 'Are socks really so hard to get when you're homeless?' but then I remembered I paid like 8 dollars for Walmart brand socks not that long ago. Fuck.

[@ningboy3274]

@@Calvin_Coolage They can be, sometimes someone might give out socks but you gotta go to shelters and stuff for that.Also, the fact you're living in them without washing them or even taking them off just makes the whole situation worse.

[@thepinkestpigglet7529]

They used to call that trench foot, as back in WW1 it was common amongst soldiers due to the trenches flooding when it rained. In bad enough conditions it can erode your feet down to the bone. Just from wearing wet socks too long.

[@tomo_r3320]

Huge respect to the people that tried to help theses people

[@JeremyBX]

I cant imagine the conversation of the rescuers in the first story. "I just spent 6 hours destroying someones property to get that lady to this hospital so you better take great care of her, okay?" "she dead" "oh"

[@babyblue3717]

At the worst of my depression, I didn't leave my bed for a whole week, except to go to the bathroom. And I think I only did go to the bathroom 3 or 4 times the whole week. Hearing these stories terrify me, because I know I could be one of them if everything went to shit. I feel so, so sorry for these people especially because I know how dead you must be inside to not care about anything anymore

[@skinwalker3953]

All of these are so heartbreaking... Anyone that says Mental illness isn't a real health concern ... clearly do not know what it's actually like to suffer...

[@iloveallthepeople]

Who has ever said that?

[@actualgoblin]

@@iloveallthepeople Several US politicians

[@iloveallthepeople]

@@actualgoblin link one clip

[@mica8701]

​@@iloveallthepeopleis this your first day on earth ? people absolutely do dismiss mental health as "attitude" and "will power" issues that shouldn't have any money put towards through mental health services

[@iloveallthepeople]

@@mica8701 one example is all I ask for, if it happens as much as you say, it should be easy

[@corsaircarl9582]

I can't even imagine just GOING TO THE BATHROOM where I sat, like that would be the most uncomfortable thing ever, being caked in your own shit and piss.

[@j0ellyfish]

Being locked inside your own mind has to be the scariest thing to me. Let alone for years.

[@amandaredd3057]

I'm a pediatric nurse now but for my first year out of school I did geriatrics. The patients are required to be turned throughout the day and night every 2 hours as to avoid pressure ulcers but I've still seen some that would absolutely break your heart.

[@disposable_income_andy]

My mother's worked in healthcare and hospitals for as long as I've been alive and it's the same story. While she's moved into nursing homes instead of big hospitals since she's getting older, a lot of her job is still the same with lifting and helping patients roll over. She's never told me personally about what she's seen, but I'm sure, y'know if those walls could talk...

[@chasevegas138]

As someone who had served my fair share of time incarcerated, I've come to the realization that a jail cell is basically a half bathroom with a bunk bed in it.

[@DKF_oli]

Ever since I did my latest bid (the longest one I’ve done), I don’t know how to live anymore. I want the least space and the least amount of things possible. But I don’t actually want to live that way. It’s like my mind is just broken to want it rather than a nice big clean house with furniture and whatever.

[@TheLurker1647]

Some people are just happy to live that way. I live in a room not much bigger than a jail cell, with a window that faces a brick wall a foot away. I don’t even own a bed, I just sleep on a yoga mat. It’s affordable, and I don’t have any clutter weighing me down.

[@sigmamale4147]

@@TheLurker1647 sleeping on a yoga mat sounds awful

[@beyondobscure]

@@sigmamale4147 Might depend on the surface and mat itself. Who knows, it could be actually rather comfortbale.

[@sigmamale4147]

@@beyondobscure nah i dont think so

[@shogunblade]

I respect the tone you chose for these stories. There is definitely funny Whang eps and then there is upsetting stuff like this. Great episode nonetheless.

[@SevenGC89]

I can't imagine the pain of your skin rotting. I had a dual kidney/liver transplant in 2017 and sadly was abused in the ICU and not turned for 2 days and ended up with a stage 4 bed sore on my tailbone and it was some of the worst pain I've ever experienced and has had lasting damage to me even 7 years later, I have to sit on a special air cell cushion or else I get severe pain after 5 min of sitting...that was from 2 days of laying in the same position, I can't fathom months or years without moving.

[@BoogSReviews]

I read that Lacey fletcher story back in June and it definitely stuck with me. With each line I read, my heart sank more and more. To think this girls parents could do that to her (right beside them if I remember right) was so disgusting and heartbreaking. I almost couldn’t sleep after reading it. Idk why, but it really haunted me.

[@eugene7476]

Ive seen this. I was a rescue worker 20 years ago. Old couple touring around the country in a Kombi van, one of them was disabled and hadn't left her seat in years, she had a medical emergency and needed to go to hospital. Had to remove the passenger seat from the kombi and transport it with her to the hospital. I heard weeks later that she was ok and made a full recovery.

[@MamaMOB]

You handled this in a very respectful way. Thank you for that.

[@FurryStockings]

15:13 I was a bit in shock with the last few seconds before this username and the way you said it snapped me back to laughter lmao

[@taurapotentia8900]

I had thought about pursuing a career as an EMT, once upon a time. Then I gradually started considering the potential dangers and putrid encounters that occur, such a these. Really have to give them props, i'd not be able to stomach it.

[@redjakOfficial]

Same, I even tried it, but had to quit soon after. Didn't had the stomach or the stress resilience necessary. Huge respect for these people.

[@thebaikalseal7335]

It's not that bad, eventually you just become numb to it.

[@ArachD206]

Man, that bit with the guy screaming behind his eyes is real sad. I mean, they all are. But not having gone through a fraction of what furniture-fused people must have, that's still what it feels like to have problems you can't really solve or bring yourself to ask for help for.

[@mistertagomago7974]

Whang! is weirdly good at balancing humor while being respectful and providing more nuanced with none of the moralizing bs I find offputting.

[@AshWont]

i was honestly gonna make a long comment about how heartbreaking it must be to see your wife slowly grow and morph into your living room couch but after reading the other guys comment about twirling your mustache i agree i wanna see you do that very dubiously

[@C03-T3]

I appreciate you clearing out at the end how these things can come to be. People already look down on people with mental illness, sad cases like this just strengthen their stigma. The truth is that no one wants this to happen to them, there is more than you can see happening behind the scenes.

[@socksandpi1264]

I worked in psychiatric nursing (state-run facility), and my normal unit was the "Crisis Stabilization Unit". We frequently had patients who would smear their shit, vomit and jizz all over the walls (and piss everywhere), so we kept a bottle of peppermint oil and vicks in the office for when we had to clean the rooms/patients after a 'painting' episode. Peppermint and Vicks do wonders at blocking unpleasant smells, well, any smells.

[@Cat-the-dragon]

There has not been many true crime stories in the last few years that have filled me with more despair and anger than Laceys story. Even if didnt have locked-in syndrome, even if she truly was just "lazy and didnt want to move" that is still no fuckin excuse to let her rot into that couch and not get her any medical attention. She was emaciated and covered head to toe in her own feces. All this because she was autistic. Meanwhile her parents continued to live their lives and acted like she never even existed. Her parents tortured her until she died as far as im concerned. No one, no matter the reason, should ever have to go through that.

[@gooeater1544]

Man that last one always gets me. I have autism and anthrophobia and for a long time could barely leave my room. I couldnt imagine what this poor girl was going through. But regardless, the parents are to blame to a certain extent. How can you sit there and watch that happen to your child? I know its difficult but to the point it got to THAT... man Btw thank you as always for being respectful wang!

[@byereality7492]

I remember a few times, in my worst depressive moments, I would wake up and know that I just hadn't moved during the night. But it hurt. It hurt everywhere to not move like that. I can't even imagine what state you have to be in to be able to ignore that pain

[@zerotwoisreal]

I don't usually move at night when I'm sleeping

[@Onlyfaff]

Wow.. If this story isn't motivation for cleaning up your living space, I don't know what isn't.

[@fordprefect7316]

Meh

[@Alberich_Prince_of_Dwarves]

You'd be surprised.

[@MauZangetsu]

True, Imma go do some deep cleaning after work, drinks with friends can wait another day

[@Air_Serpent]

And to exercise😢

[@CantTellYou]

For me it’s motivation to think “eh my messy place aint that bad”

[@RichyArg]

8:35 it's terrifying what the human psyche can get used to if the transition is gradual enough. had it happen with my mom, over the course of a year to maybe a year and a half she essentially stopped eating, she lost her teeth at the start of the ordeal due to the aftermath of a dental malpractice she suffered in her youth, and eating gradually became disgusting to her because of the sensations she had to deal with due to her dentures.

[@LittleHoppingFrog]

Thank you for covering these stories and being so considerate. I know that most people will judge these people so quickly, but in reality, there are very obvious mental health issues in all of these cases. This is why it is critical to seek help and to have a system that is trained enough to deal with circumstances like this. It's sad because our country does not focus on fixing mental health problems.

[@zoopdterdoobdter5743]

_I'm so glad I found this channel!!!_ I used to waste upwards of 4-7hrs/night sleeping.

[@tiamat_023]

I think, sometimes, people just give up. To the point where in their mind, they’re already dead. It’s sad, straight up, but when someone’s decided it’s over, it’s kind of difficult to place the blame on someone else.

[@pan1884]

As someone who was probably just a year out from snowballing into this kind of position myself, your take is partially true. At some point, it can become so bad that you feel there is nothing left for you, nothing that can be done, and that no one WANTS to help you. But do remember that even if others may not be to blame, don't allow yourself to place the blame on the one in this position, either; it can be for a whole host of reasons, many out of their own control, that they end up like this. Sometimes there just isn't anyone to blame at all. It just happens.

[@SappyDuder]

11:49 I work in a fish plant. My first two weeks there,i was putting vics vapo rub on my upper lip for two weeks before I got used to the smell. Stuff is fantastic

[@pingpong5877]

Gives the phrase "hold on to your seats" a whole new meaning.