A 43-year-old Yerushalmi woman who was suffering from extreme obesity died on Tuesday after having received surgery to shrink her stomach. She had a number of pre-existing illnesses in addition to living with obesity.
Due to her weight, she underwent stomach shrinking surgery last month, a surgery that was deemed successful. Due to a leak that took place following the initial surgery, doctors were forced to operate a second time in order to stop the leak between her stomach and her small intestines.
In spite of the surgery being a success, the woman never regained consciousness. After staying in the ICU for a week, she passed away in spite of the heroic efforts put forth by the doctor.
A spokesperson for Hadassah Har HaTzofim hospital said: “Each year we perform hundreds of similar surgeries, conducted by a team of experts in their field and we have one of the lowest rates of complications resulting from the surgery. A death notice has been given to the Health Ministry and the staff and volunteers here at the hospital express our condolences to the woman’s family.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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7 Responses
so sad that this is an article that YWN felt needed to be shared…. but the truth is… it IS news… SAD news…. Sad that so so many yidden are morbidly obese… that physical activity isn’t mandatory for our children… that the foods we consume are so caloric and unhealthy…. and please forgive me… I’m a foodie… from a family of foodies… my mother still makes a potato kugel that would win any contest hands down… and never used a cookbook… But potato kugel and shmaltz was what they ate in Europe, when a family of 6 was eating only that! a Piece of Kugel and a ‘bissel’ shmaltz with some challah… special for Shabbos! Because the rest of the week was spent working or playing… but not eating, and then eating again, and then again… The fact that extreme measures like surgery are becoming more and more common is a serious issue in our community, that very few are addressing… and even less are promoting… and if they are promoting a diet, or healthy lifestyle, then they’re ‘vilified’ as ‘materialistic’…. almost ‘modern’ in their mentality…. At what point did safeguarding our physical health and the health of our our loved ones no long matter…? the Pasuk doesn’t add the word “Me’od” for no reason…. I’m so sad for this family’s loss… and sad for all those who’ve already had similar surgeries and gained all, or most of the life-saving weight back onto themselves. There’s no blanket answer to this Tzarah, but make no mistake… we are suffering from it! My hopes is that our community leaders, will stand up and be Mechazek the klal to take better care of their physical health, and their children’s’ health as well.
Middle – grounded. Well written . Eating healthy is something that should be common sense. My kids and I are so sick of seeing products advertised as T…. approved. It’s obvious that an apple or orange is healthier than a plate of cookies. If you’re not sure, READ THE LABLE. Community leaders sadly won’t ever say anything about health. Look at all the smoking that goes on. I go to a kosher supermarket and the workers stand outside and smoke in front of you puffing away.
All surgeries carry risks and those of us who are (were) morbidly obese are at greater risk if things go wrong. I had bariatric surgery at this hospital & sadly, there are many people who suffer complications after this type of surgery- I’m one. But the team there is excellent & the after-care is second to none. Despite my severe complications which have definitely impacted my life & made things difficult, I don’t have any regrets. I have recommended them to my friends & will continue to do so. My heart goes out to this woman’s family, & also to the entire team. I know they are devastated, they are incredibly caring people.
What a judgemental comment after you hear someone was niftar young… uch. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Common sense person. Forgive me for calling you out publicly, but this is a public forum, and for chinuch purposes, I must state that “T…. approved” still constitutes Lashon Harah… it’s a hint to something specific that was meant to be understood…
If I am embarrassing you (even as an anonymous poster) somehow by calling you out on it, I ask mechilah, and that any pain experienced can get channeled to combating the other thing you stated… that community leaders sadly “wont ever say anything about health”….I have faith that they soon will! I sat at a Torah U’Mesorah convention for educators where exercise, and healthy eating were publicly promoted! My post to this article was not meant to be a complaint, but rather a Tefilah of sorts. I hope and pray soon that community leaders WILL speak more publicly about health in general, and in the meanwhile, kudos to those who are literally fighting the tides of caloric food options and making seemingly small, but truly herculean efforts to help the Klal make even the slightest of healthier choices!
Obesity, which is a BMI more than 30, affects nearly 40% of people in the United States. That’s not being overweight. It’s being obese. Overweight is about 80%.
Bottom line is that it is NOT going away and getting worse. Other western countries the trends are similar.
Bariatric surgery, as this woman had, is THE ONLY proven way for successful weigh loss. Period. There are no questions about this. It is by far the best cure for obesity we have.
As anything we do. It has complications. The rates of death are VERY low. Lower than hip replacement or gallbladder surgery. It’s safe but alas some people will die and some people will have problems. The VAST MAJORITY do well and lose a lot of weight.
To the poster who is FAT SHAMING people. Stop. Everyone is different and genes play a huge role. Economic realities play another role. Making a healthy dinner for a family takes a lot more time shopping and cooking. Than getting quick takeout or buying snacks or quick meals. It’s a sad reality.
And of coarse sedentary lifestyles play a role. True. Schools should be making kids be more active. But they are not. That should be encouraged.
What should be encouraged is for obese people to seek Bariatric surgery. Which they are not. Only 1 percent of obese people get surgery. That means 99% of obese people will suffer with this disease and will die early from this disease and it’s slew of complications.
Middle Grounded: I completely agree with your comment. We are seriously overfed in the past few decades and the standard Jewish diet is the same as it was centuries ago – what is an individual portion today fed a whole family …. my great grandmother was the sole surviving sibling in Austria Hungary circ. late 1800’s due to a handicapped father who couldn’t work – all her siblings died before 5 years old from starvation ….. her mother pleaded with a rabbi to take her at 5 years old to work as a ‘maid’ to prevent starvation as well ….. we are eating the same foods but in quantities hundreds of times what people in previous generations lived on ….. without refrigeration, no electricity, no indoor plumbing or stoves ….. there is no comparison to the amount of food we have available now as compared to how Jews lived in previous centuries ….