OBESITY is a global problem that is often not treated with the urgency it deserves. While it can be dangerous to one’s health and have deadly consequences, this health problem is hardly ever attended to in time and ends up as a case of ‘too little, too late’. And for 48-year-old Chris Labuschagne, obesity is suspected to be the main reason for his early death.
The obese Pretoria man, who was believed to have weighed over 500kg died at Kalafong hospital on February 3. Because of his giant body, the fire department had to be called in to transport Chris to hospital since an ambulance was too small. Described as a friendly man who loved his family, sadly Chris didn’t win the battle, and died the day after he was admitted.His corpse was then transferred to a cold storage room at the George Mukhari Hospital, as it was too large for the hospital morgue’s fridges.His uncle Lappies Labuschagne chatted to people and shares how Chris’ life was before obesity crippled it and what it was like after he became so overweight.
“Chris has always been a big boy, from his childhood days, his weight was bigger than the normal size. Because of his big body, Chris coined himself the nickname ‘Vaatjie’ – a name for a wooden barrel.”
Lappies explains that when Chris grew up, the family didn’t see anything wrong with him since most of the family members are big.
“Chris’ father was a big man. I am also big – currently I weigh 130kg,” says Lappies, adding that he thinks their large weight is hereditary in the family.
He explains the family were not troubled by his size as a child. “Chris enjoyed his childhood like other children. He attended school and played rugby in his teen years and completed Matric with no hassle. At the age of 23 he married his wife Cecilia and they had one daughter who they named after his wife,” says Lappies, adding that Chris used to love going on fishing expeditions.
Lappies says that seven years ago things changed.
“Chris resigned from the company Denel where he worked as a fitter and turner because of a problem with his knees.”
Instead of this getting better, it didn’t.
“The past three years were awful healthwise. He put (on an) enormous (amount of) weight during this period and this started affecting his life,” says Lappies.
He adds: “Chris began to withdraw and would refuse going outside his home saying people were laughing at him.”
Because Chris spent most of his life in bed with little exercise and daily activities, he put on more weight.
Lappies says the sad part was when Chris’ weight prevented him from burying his loved ones.
“When his father passed on, Chris couldn’t attend because by then he was too big and leaving his bed and walking was no longer a feasible activity.”
Lappies says during this time, Chris wasn’t comfortable discussing what was wrong with him and they respected his wishes.
“We didn’t pester him with questions regarding his weight. However, we attributed his ill health to his overweight condition,” he says.
The uncle explains that Chris, who stayed in a plot at Pretoria West, was not financially secure.
“When Chris resigned from work, he applied for a special grant and this money sustained him and his family. He didn’t have enough to overindulge in food and I don’t believe that his weight issue was only rooted in his food intake,” says Lappies.
Lappies mentions that as years went by, Chris could no longer leave his bed, let alone be able to bath himself.
“His wife had always been a housewife and when Chris was ill, she took care of him and helped bath him.”
The only action that Chris was still able to perform was to feed himself.
When asked what type of bed Chris slept on, his uncle says that a special bed was built by Chris’ late father to accommodate him. He adds: “Chris did try and lose weight but that didn’t help.”
When Chris died, his family was not only faced with the loss of losing a loved one, but how they were going to bury him.
“Because of his large body, two graves would be needed to accommodate his coffin which would furthermore be three times the normal size. In addition a crane would be needed to move his coffin to the grave,” explains Lappies.
However, Lappies states that their distress over how to bury him was lessened, when a crematorium in Lenasia was able to accommodate Chris’ oversize body and he was cremated on February 9.
The family is yet to decide what they will do with Chris’ ashes.