A man with the weight of two baby elephants was flown to hospital in a
specially-equipped plane on the orders of a Saudi Arabian king.
Khalid Mohsin Shaeri, from Saudi Arabia, who officials say weighs an
incredible 1,345 lbs (96 stone), had to be evacuated from the second
floor of his apartment complex via a forklift truck. Once this was
accomplished, the charitable King Abdullah covered the costs of the
plane journey to hospital for Mr Shaeri for emergency treatment due to a
variety of obesity-related health problems.
Due to his heavy weight, 20-year-old Mr
Shaeri has been unable to leave his bedroom for two and a half years,
within his apartment on the second floor of a building in the southern
Saudi city of Jarzan.
King Abdullah had initially Mr Shaeri to be transported to hospital
back in February of this year, however treatment was postponed for six
months until a specially made bed could be constructed for him in the
United States.
After the king’s orders, Saudi Arabia’s health ministry worked
together with the civil defence and the Saudi Red Cross to begin the
evacuation process. This resulted in a section of Mr Shaeri’s building
being demolished to get him out.
If the reports in Saudia Arabia are correct, Mr Shaeri’s 1,345 lb weight will make him the second heaviest man on record.
Images released from the operation show Mr Shaeri sitting in bed
whilst civil defence employees are lifting the bed up onto a forklift
truck. One person even holds an umbrella to shield the sun’s rays from
Mr Shaeri. Following this, he was taken to the local airport by
ambulance and then flown on the specially-equipped plane to the King
Fahd Medical City in the Saudi capital of Riyad.
Mr Shaeri’s cousin Naser Makke spoke of the relief that Khalid has
finally been able to receive the treatment he required, and thanked the
king for his generosity.
He said: “We have been waiting for this moment for a long time, the
King, may God protect him and give him the long life, had given his
instructions to the ministry of health to do all the arrangements to
transfer the patient for treatment in a safe way.”
Saudi health minister Dr Abdullah al Rebeeah commented that King
Abdullah had demanded the rescue operation take place as a “humanitarian
gesture”, adding: “It is one of the King’s traits that he always
demonstrates whenever someone is in need. Once the ministry received the
royal order it formed a medical team specialized in intensive care to
work out the best plan to transfer the case to Riyadh and handle it as
best as possible medically.”
Mr Shaeri’s future and indeed lifespan, now depends on his
willingness to begin the long road to recovery and a successful weight
loss plan. However, this story highlights how obesity can dramatically
affect a person’s life if left untreated and able to spiral out of
control, regardless of where in the world they are. This man was left a
prisoner in his own home because of his weight and without urgent weight
loss will no doubt be a ticking time bomb for a whole range of
obesity-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high
blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer, skin infections and
gallstones.
Weight loss can be achieved through weight loss aids in addition to adopting a healthy lifestyle. The prescription medication Xenical is suitable for those with a BMI over 27, whereas there are other medications that do not require a prescription such as Alli and XLS-Medical Fat Binder.
To be suitable for Alli or XLS-Medical Fat Binder you must have a BMI
of over 25. To find out more information on how to obtain them, visit
the ‘Obesity’ area of the Medical Specialists Pharmacy website.
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