I am sure there have been times where you have sat on an airplane next to someone overweight and it was the worst experience ever. I know that the seats on airplanes aren’t that big, but they are cozy enough for 3 adults to sit next to each other. An argument for the obese people saying that it is unfair to make them pay for an extra seat because obesity is a disability, or disease, something they can’t change. The problem with that argument is that obesity is a lifestyle and can be changed. If they still want to fight and say that it can’t be changed, then tall people need to have more leg room. It isn’t their fault they are tall, so why should they have to pay extra?

A quick story to show my frustration on this topic: One day I was at work (I work at a physical therapy office and see a lot of overweight people with many joint and back problems) this grumpy obese lady comes in. I greet her and walk her back to her room. On the way to her room, pushing her walker she says “Can’t they make these halls bigger for G—sakes!” I could not believe my ears. Does she really think it’s easier to tear down our walls to make a bigger hallway than to lose weight?! That’s when I realized how much we do accommodate for obese people and now they are starting to complain when they don’t get their way.

There have been so many accommodations already for obese people, such as larger blood pressure cuffs, larger hospital beds and gowns, larger coffins and hearses (its true, Google it) and furniture. If we keep making things bigger to appease the obese, then we are telling them it is ok, and that we can keep making things bigger for them.

I don’t hate fat people. If people are healthy and still overweight, I have no problem with that. But when people have become so fat that they are a health hazard, and then I do not sympathize for them. Obese people will frequently get handicap stickers for their cars…why? So they don’t have to walk as far? They are the ones that need to park miles away to walk off some of their weight!! And they are taking up spots for people who truly need them, like paraplegics and quadriplegics.

Also, obese people seem to complain about discrimination at work. Well, if I were hiring someone and my choices were a young healthy 25 year old, or an obese 25 year old, I would choose the healthy one. There are so many health issues that go along with being obese, and as an employer, I wouldn’t want to have to deal with that.

So, moral of this blog is that I am glad Americans are starting to realize that we can’t just keep accommodating to obese people. For far too long, we have been willing to change for them, and it has given them the signal that it is ok, and we accept it. If obese people don’t want to pay extra on an airline, then lose weight. If obese people want to feel comfortable in a movie theater chair, then lose weight. If obese people want to go to theme parks, they need to lose weight. This may be blunt, but it is true. Obesity is life threatening and needs to be taken seriously, more specifically by those who are obese. With all the bariatric surgery these days, it has become more and more simple. There should be no more excuses.

]]> http://ashleyrobison.com/2009/04/16/thumbs-up-to-united-airlines/feed/ 2 http://ashleyrobison.com/2009/03/26/reallyreally/ http://ashleyrobison.com/2009/03/26/reallyreally/#comments Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:55:26 +0000 ashley http://ashleyrobison.com/?p=48 Continue reading →]]> So I figured I would write a blog about a really annoying thing that happened to me recently.

As most of you might know, I went to the hospital on March 6th after the Dr. at UNLV recommended I should. I sat at the hospital (Spring Valley Hospital) for 2 hours before a nurse came up to me and asked me the following questions:

How much do you weigh?

How tall are you?

Do you smoke?

Are you sexually active?

Do you drink?

What are your symptoms?

On a scale of one to ten, how much pain are you in?

Then she left. About a half hour later, I just wanted to go home and sleep in my bed. And by that time I had stopped vomiting and I was getting re-hydrated. So Brandon went up to the front desk and told them we were leaving and they said “Ok, we will cross you off the list and shred your records”.

Now, a few weeks later we get a bill in the mail for $105.00 from Spring Valley Hospital. When looking at the charges it says 1 Triage = $105.00 and uninsured discount -21.00. So we would owe them $84.00

First stupid thing: We have insurance, so we didn’t stay long enough for them to get my insurance, but we stayed long enough to get charged $105.00. Stupid.

Next stupid thing: My husband calls to say we aren’t paying it, and of course, they need my permission to talk to my husband about this, so after playing “three-way calling while Ashley is a work”, he finally gets to discuss the situation. The lady on the phone states that the charges on the bill are because a nurse came and took my vitals. To those of you who don’t know, vitals are: (according to Wikipedia)  four vital signs which are standard in most medical settings:

1. Body temperature
2. Pulse rate (or heart rate)
3. Blood pressure
4. Respiratory rate

The equipment needed is a thermometer, a sphygmomanometer, and a watch.

The nurse who came up to me did not take ANY of these vitals. So when Brandon asked the lady on the phone if they had my pulse, blood pressure or temperature on my medical records (since that is why they were charging me) she said “no, but she took her weight and height.” By “taking” my weight and height, does she mean ask me and write it down? Cause that’s exactly what happened.

After the run around for a while, Brandon asked for the supervisor since the lady wouldn’t listen to reason and she kept stating “It isn’t going to help anything, you still have to fill out a dispute charge”. After the FOURTH time of asking for the supervisor, she suddenly said that he wasn’t there. So Brandon left his name and number to get a phone call.

No phone call ever came…surprise, surprise. So I had to take time out of MY day, drive 25 min to Spring Valley Hosital Customer Service building and file a dispute against the charges. They couldn’t send me the paperwork, and stated I had to personally come in there and fill out the paper.

When I got there, the lady was just as unhelpful as the one on the phone. She said that the nurse took my vitals and that was why we were charged. I wrote out what happened…and what DIDN’T happen, and now I have to wait for a letter stating whether or not they accepted my dispute or not.

Really???…really?…they not only want to charge me for treatment I didn’t have, then they make my drive all the way down there to write down my story and then send me on my way without telling me whether or not my dispute will be approved? This was a hassle and I hate Spring Valley Hospital and will NEVER go there again.

Feel Free to add to my lists

So here is the first list:

THINGS THAT PISS ME OFF:

-People who drive in the “fast lane” but are being passed by semis going 65.

- Fans…mostly the ones of the “high” setting.

- Girls who crave attention…especially the ones who flirt with the opposite sex no matter what their (the guys) relationship status is.

- Smart people who think they are God’s gift to everyone and like to out you in front of everyone…or make faces to make you feel stupid whilst asking a legitimate question.

-Liars

-Drivers who get in the far right lane while coming up on a stoplight so that no one is in front of them, and then not turning when all of us behind him are.

- Lily in the mornings

- Bills

- People who call and ask “Is your mom there?”

- My cell phone

-People who reek of food…greasy, fried food

-Burnt popcorn

- People who say “yeah” in the middle of you telling them directions on how to do something. And they will never learn how to do it  because they can’t possibly hear what you are saying because of all the “yeahs” and “uh huh”s.

-When things fall on the floor

- Non-English speaking people going to physical therapy. This one isn’t because I am racist…it is because we could hurt them if they don’t understand what we am telling them.

- Bottles that are too tight to open

-Crowded WalMart..I guess its not so much WalMart but the people who go there.

THINGS THAT DON’T PISS ME OFF:

-Brandon (most of the time.. …)

-Watermelon

-Scalding hot showers

- Macaroni and Cheese

- New Zealand

- Big Brother

- Febreeze

- Backpacks

- Lotion

- Getting my hair cut/dyed

- LOL-ing

-Meditating

- Stupid jokes (what kind of a key DOESN’T Open doors?……a Monkey!)

- Saturdays

- Folding Laundry

- Organizing

- Taking Pictures

- Weddings

-Dancing

- My iPod

-Pillows

- Eating

- Spider Solitaire

-HGTV

- The Sun

- Rain

- Being tired/delirious

- Pajamas

- Good song endings (Phil Collins “Can’t Stop Loving You”)

- Serendipity

- Caramel Apples

- Lists

- Horses

- Fortune Cookies

- Disney Channel Shows

- Energy Drinks

I am sure there are more items, but I think that is a good start. Even though a lot of things/people piss me off, the good stuff I enjoy will always outweigh the bad.