Obese Woman Denied Flight Dies

Here is an article that caught my eye today. Apparently a women turned away by numerous airlines in Europe because she was obese died while trying to get back to America.  Now I don't want to fully exonerate the airline companies because they do bear some culpability.  they apparently didn't have a problem bringing her from the US to Europe, but surprisingly did have one when she was trying to return. Moreover, according she had made the flight from the US to her native Hungary every year. Either the airlines just didn't want to deal with her this time around, or they were being grossly irresponsible in flights past.  But there are some other items that need to be focused on.

She had no business flying. Not because she was obese, millions of very rotund individuals fly every day in America, but because medically it was irresponsible to do so.

(The Woman was) an amputee who suffered from kidney disease and diabetes – with a severely distended belly.

 

A person who has kidney disease should not be traveling. Kidney disease can turn into kidney failure far more rapidly than people expect, and I think that is ultimately what killed her. Her death was entirely preventable if either herself, or her husband, had executed any personal responsibility. I know I am coming off as unsympathetic, and I am not unsympathetic to them, but it doesn't take a stretch of someones imagination to realize that her condition made traveling perilous for many reasons. Furthermore, outside of some very rare condition, an individual doesn't end up becoming a double amputee, with diabetes, and kidney failure unless they absolutely did not take care of themselves.  They should have seen this coming from miles away, and unfortunately, due partly to human nature, and partly due to America's current cultural climate, they failed to do so.

And for all the obesity apologetics out there. Obesity is not a disease, it is a condition, one that is usually the result of actions by an individual. I am sure the women was a nice and decent individual, and I am willing to concede that kidney disease might have come first and started her descent into morbid obesity. But being nice and decent doesn't mean individuals should or will to cater to you and your condition, and disease doesn't remove the responsibility of taking care of yourself to the best of your ability.  Whether or not you believe the husband is justified in suing the airlines or not, I am currently undecided, you should take note of what happened in these unfortunate events and then examine your own life.