She wants to be “rescued”, praying for something to save her life. Pauline gives tremendous lip service to being concerned for the damage she’s doing to Dylan but as we’ve seen with other patients of Dr. Nowzaradan’s, her fixation on herself prevents compassion for others.
“I’ll probably die in my bed one day and I don’t want my son to find me,” she says. “I am very aware of the damage I am doing to my son.” While it’s wonderful to think Pauline means that, what we see is something different.
Dylan performs his obligations with patience and love but admits, “I just can’t wait for the day I don’t have to help her every day. I could get on with my own life and live on my own.”
One thing that distinguishes Pauline’s story from others on MY 600-LB. LIFE is her willingness to be honest about her food habits. “Because I have such limited activity, food is one of my activities. I look forward to it as an event. I’m living to eat instead of eating to live.” She gets points for that.
But, not since Penny have we seen a woman of Pauline’s size and neediness. Unlike Penny, Pauline can and does move a bit using her own leg-power, but the whining is endless. She has little to no tolerance for pain and discomfort and uses fear of pain as a way to avoid being active.
If we are rolling our eyes as we watch and listen, we can only imagine what it’s like for Dylan to know that his full time job is to absorb all his mother’s neediness.
The scene of him trying to convince Pauline to roll herself into the back of the SUV to make the trip to Dr. N’s office in Houston was awful and comical at the same time. Penny made the EMS workers take her out of the house on a stretcher for her trip to Houston in the back of husband Edgar’s SUV
Pauline made it out to the car with Dylan’s help. He had prepared the vehicle to allow his mother room to lie down in the back with the seats collapsed. Before she would allow herself to roll into the space, there was much moaning and groaning about how difficult it looked.
All her son wanted was the ordeal to be over. Somehow he was able to hold his tongue and try to be helpful, refraining from reminding Pauline that she chose to go to Dr. N’s as a latch ditch effort to save her life.
Dr. N says the same things to Pauline, who fears pain at all costs after her surgery. On the fifth day after her operation she is already overdue for getting out of bed and walking in the hospital corridor.
She pleads her case, telling the doctor that he can’t expect that much from her, ignoring the fact that he has a track record of success with patients just like her.
It also slipped her mind that she pledged to do anything to rid herself of the massive mounds of fat and tissue that keep her and her son enslaved by her condition.
MY 600-LB. LIFE is aired on TLC, Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT Image and video credit: TLC, used with permission
CATS ARE HEAVEN SENT
Blogs & Forums
