Posted on 03/10/2008 2:25:33 PM PDT by kingattax
MEXICO CITY (AP) - When Manuel Uribe went out on a date, he made all the necessary arrangements: a forklift to carry him out of the house and a flatbed tow truck big enough to haul the formerly half-ton man and his bed to a party.
But even the open road wasn't big enough to handle Uribe's dream of celebrating a budding romance and his success in losing about 440 pounds.
Uribe was halfway to a picnic near his Monterrey-area home on Sunday when one of the posts holding a sun-shielding tarp over his bed hit an overpass.
Uribe's blood pressure dropped so much his doctors advised him not to go on and the celebration - being documented by about two dozen photographers and reporters from around the world - was canceled.
"We were going to celebrate that I've been losing weight for two years and that it was my girlfriend's birthday," Uribe said in a telephone interview. "The saddest part was that I couldn't fulfill my dream of taking my girlfriend out to eat."
Uribe says that after losing weight on a high-protein diet he started two years ago, he's down to about 800 pounds.
Last year, Uribe left his house for the first time in five years. Six people pushed his iron bed on wheels out to the street as a mariachi band played and a crowd gathered to see the man who once weighed 1,235 pounds).
At the time, the 42-year-old mechanic rode through the streets of his native San Nicolas de los Garza to enjoy the sun and wave to neighbors.
Uribe weighed more than 250 pounds as an adolescent, and he just kept growing.
Since the summer of 2002, Uribe has been bedridden, relying on his mother and friends to feed and clean him. He drew worldwide attention when he pleaded for help on national television in January 2006.
Uribe says despite the setback, he still hopes to go out with his girlfriend on June 11, when he will turn 43.
"We'll just have to plan it better," he said.
Manuel Uribe, center, is moved on his bed onto a flatbed truck in Monterrey, Mexico, Sunday, March 10, 2008. Formerly known as the "Half Ton Man", Uribe left his house to go on a date with his girlfriend, and to celebrate his diet, having lost about 440 pounds. Uribe's blood pressure dropped so much his doctors advised him not to go on and the celebration, being documented by about two dozen photographers and reporters from around the world, was canceled. (AP Photo/Monica Rueda)
Sadly the latest trend in EMS is special rigs with extra large heavy duty stretchers and winches to drag em onboard.
Who brings these people food?
Cheer up, guys! If he can get a girlfriend, any of us can!
El Huge-o in de Burro...
thats a great question. and who PAYS for it ?
I knew a fellah who grew to 900+ lbs before he died. He had a fairly thin girlfreind right up to his last day. He never left his house the last few years. They had to tear a wall out to get him out of the house.
I'm hesitant to seem like a wet blanket, but maybe the date could have been for something besides eating?
Is that a Sleep Number bed? And if so, what’s his number?
Perhaps God is sending a message?
Better yet. He brought his bed along with him on the date, and she knew about it in advance! What beytsim.
That’s what I’d like to know. Bring him one well-balanced meal a day til he can get up and get it himself. You’re on the trapped-in-your-room diet.
Who brings these people food?
His GF is not Kristen, is it?
I don't get it. Mexico is supposed to be poverty stricken but it can produce a man who weighed a half-ton? Odd. Maybe slimed-down (800-pounds)Manuel Uribe will come to the U.S. on a flatbed truck, still in his bed, of course, and do a job an American doesn't want to do, like eating 'health food'.
Oh, thought this was about Congressman Jerry Nadler....my goof...
I wonder what the "transportation" charge would be from NYC to there??!!
Like.. Para-sailing? Roller coasters at the local amusement park? Deep-sea scuba diving? Rappelling? Bumper cars?
What does an 800-pound guy do for fun, anyway?
.
"manuel, your ride is here"
My wife will be pleased to hear that!
:0D
Hubby had a guy in his response area that was a regular (911 calls). Finally on the last call he died while the ambulance was waiting, and hubby and his crew were cutting a huge hole in the side of the house so they could get him out.
LOL!
if you’ve every spent any time on a farm, you would recognize the cagelike device this guy is riding in. It’s standard equipment used for mating today’s large hogs. The male is placed in it, then carefully maneuvered into position so not to crush his date.
makin bacon
I know of a case where those didn’t work. Where I work there is a lady who’s husband weighs over 500lb., and when he had to be taken to the hospital via ambulance, his weight caused the stretcher to collapse and he was dropped to the ground.
Be careful - if the caloric intake is reduced too quickly, his system will shut down.
But, a dietician should know whan the minimum survival requirements are over time (steadily decreasing), and that is all I would bring him.
Who says that Mexicans would have a difficult time assimilating to an American lifestyle/culture?
Guess who would be on top..........
There was a show on about him on discovery or health channel. His Mom would feed him be cause he would wine like a baby, literally, until she brought him his large plate full of eggs.
He was asking for help with his condition and got some doctors involved. I think he wanted stapling done but they told him he had to lose weight in order for them to do that operation.
Meanwhile he had therapists come in and massage his growths on his legs and it would make him have to urinate as there was so much fluid collecting in his legs and feet.
The crazy thing was just sitting on his bed with his legs doing the splits.
His girl friend was only about 150lbs and don’t know if this was the same one.
lol
Cant be Kristen...she was with me...
He shouldn’t be going to a picnic!
He should be going to a hospital!
Gee, you must have been famished.
ping
Duh! He EATS!
thats a great question. and who PAYS for it ?
It's his "human rights," doncha know.
I don’t know, whoever isn’t on top does not have a good prognosis.
Frightening stuff.
A girl could have an 80lb baby. /s
Wonder why that comment brings to mind the Fatty Arbuckle Scandal?
i hope the people that feed him keep their fingers away from his mouth.
But I agree about not carrying bad food to someone like him. If you love somebody it is hard to deny them but in a case like this then look into an institution for professional treatment.
One thing about Uribe though, he is always upbeat and is not a crybaby blaming circumstances or glands, etc.
I cannot stand those crybabies on Biggest Loser. What in the world has happened to MEN?
I’m gonna pray for the guy, that he continues to drop the weight. At least he’s trying to change things, and there is still a high probability that he’s not going to survive long enough to reach a healthy weight.
Yeah, we all have to joke sometimes, and I’m guilty as anybody but I can’t bring myself to laugh about it, at least not on this occasion.
Good luck Manuel!
I certainly hope that he continues to safely reduce his weight.
The American people are getting fatter across the board. . and they’re putting addictive stuff (like HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP) in everything - especially carbonated drinks - in order to get us hooked on their products IMO. HFCS is supposed to be addictive and also to not act right in our bodies - causing myelin deterioration as well as making us fatter than even sugar does. It’s also supposed to be a nastier chemical than the innocent sounding name would indicate. They’ve also substituted bad fats for the TRANS FATS they’re crowing about removing from our foods. Read labels and watch out for INTERESTERIFIED fats which are worse than TRANS.
I also have a suspicion that the food industry has lobbied for the right to be able to list any amount of PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED OIL less than 5% of the total amounts of fat in a food as 0%. Too many labels still show partially hydrogenated oils on the label and yet show TRANS FAT as 0%.
Comments welcome. I’m not expert.
Uribe was halfway to a picnic...
... riding down the street in a canopy bed. Sheesh, what some people won't do for That Touch of Meat.
(Apologies to Doris Day)
...and greasy around the edges....
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