NEWS: Finally an Ambulance for the Incredibly Fat

CULTURE: Finally an Ambulance for the Incredibly Fat

There’s nothing more disturbing than seeing an obese patient being loaded onto a flatbed truck because paramedics can’t fit them into a standard ambulance. But now if you’re between 400 and 1000 pounds and having a medical emergency in Calgary you’ve got nothing to fear.

While the obvious mission of the corpulent-capable ambulance it to help save lives, it’s also meant to help patients save face.

Critics of the US healthcare system may point to this new Canadian development as evidence of a more civilized system north of the border. But defenders of the American system can take comfort in the fact that the ambulance was designed and built in the good ol’ USA.

so.. evanharos what are you telling me about the job i do?

Well, it is called Cow Town.

That pic reminds me of the Ecto-1.

what is?

We have one of these at my work, I've had to use it a few times, fat people smell so damn bad when you get them off the bed and out of their own filth...

It's not just a front-end loader painted white with a red cross, is it?

'Cause that would defeat the whole dignity purpose.

I can hear it now "Yo mama's so fat, she has to use a special ambulance for patients weighing between 400 and 1000 pounds when she visits Calgary."

Have some decency and sympathy please. As a former EMT, I know how hard it can be dealing with these patients. As a friend to someone whose body has made his life a living hell (advanced thyroid issues, no cure), I can understand the fear, the frustrations and the embarrassment of needing to go to the hospital and being belittled and ridiculed, simply because of his size.
These people are humans, just like us. They have the same fears, desires and hopes but have been betrayed by their own bodies. Whether through food, psych problems, cancers, or other diseases, their bodies have become grotesque prisons that they cannot escape from. They should have the right to a dignified transport regardless their size. Hell, I am an old enough EMT to remember when Pediatrics were an issue due to THEIR size....we didn't have things that fit them either! Now we do.
As for the medics who read this...I know the job well, did it for years in the Alaskan bush where weight and alcohol were constant issues. Just remember that part of treating the patient is treating their WHOLE self...that includes their pride, their sense of decency, their emotions. Regardless of how revolted or sick you feel about the patient, NEVER let them see it. Let yourself be able to end the call knowing that you helped someone in a situation that was terrifying and often embarrassing. Sometimes saving face can almost be more important than the illness or the injury....

Calgary. The city's nickname is "Cow Town".

+1, but people are cruel funny cruel about a whole bunch of stuff on SG

+ 1

We had an ambulance use our driveway a total of about three times in one week to move the morbidly obese woman who lives (or used to live) next door to us. The total weight broke a city owned water pipe in the street.

Nothing to add, except I thought this was one of the better posts I've seen on here in a while.

"I've found out why people laugh. They laugh because it hurts... because it's the only thing that'll make it stop hurting."

-Robert Heinlen
Stranger in a Strange Land

PS - To explain the comedy involved in this topic (which is really, really funny).

So by providing one, do they take upon themselves the responsibility for that level of service toward all who allegedly need it? If two obese people have ambulance-requiring emergencies at the same time, can the one who ends up in the truck sue for the "mental anguish" caused by the "substandard" service?

Ha, that's the nickname for Columbus, Ohio.

But really, between 400 and 1000 pounds

In the states, yes; Canada, no. Canadian lawyers still have ethics.

(Take that Subrosa!)

I guess it was bound to happen eventually. I may laugh at obese people (not literally), especially when it's because they can't stop stuffing themselves with stupid food; but I've nothing but sympathy for the medical people that have to work on them. With them. Whichever.

...If they're too big to get through the door and someone needs to knock out a wall, they don't deserve the fatty ambulance!

Calgary is known as Cow Town

We may have to use trucks for our fat people, but at least we don't have to go to other countries and pay out of pocket for routine surgery because our nat'l healthcare system is so backed up and shithouse.