MRIs in the Bay Area; Did NAAFA Call It an "Epidemic"?
Two things.
1. This San Francisco Chronicle article takes a look at the lack of MRI machines for fat people in the area. It's a real issue not just for the obvious reasons (equal accommodations are a civil right of ours - something not afforded us by law, sadly) but also due to medical reasons: if an MRI is a last resort, as a doctor from the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center claims, and fat people can't fit in said machines... it's a lot of guesswork. For one's health. Swell.
Santa Clara Valley Medical Center also chose not to invest in an open MRI scanner that could handle larger patients, said Dr. Young Kang, chair of radiology at the county hospital.
"The thing about open magnets is that the signal quality is not that good, so for the remainder of the patients that aren't going to be in that category (too large for closed MRI scanners), we would lose out on image quality," Pandit said.
2. Also interesting in this article is a quote from NAAFA's treasurer, Frances White:
"With the obesity epidemic ... the hospitals should realize that they're going to have to get equipment that services our needs," said Oakland resident Frances White, who is treasurer of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance.
Did I read that right? Did a rep from NAAFA just call it an "obesity epidemic"? I really want to know what's in that ellipsis. For instance, it could be "...which is actually BS and manufactured in order to scare people." That would make me feel better.
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Posted by paul on July 2, 2007
I can imagine Frances White, whom I have worked with in the past, used the phrase "obesity epidemic" not because she believes there is one, but because she was trying to use words her readers would relate to. I'd be interested to hear from her directly, though, about whether or not that's really what she said.
Jennifer Portnick
Personal Trainer (who is fat)
San Francisco, CA
My sister cannot use the closed MRI's for a different reason, she's claustrophobic. Her doctor has never mentioned any decrease in MRI quality of the open machines even though she (my sister) has had several in the past few months for a back injury.
Dear Paul et all,
I would hope that all of you realize that the media often manipulates what is said to come across any way they please. Frances spent at least half an hour being interviewed and one inaccurate line came out of it. With Frances' permission, I have copied for you a portion of what she wrote to the rest of the NAAFA board with regard to this article:
"Among the many things I said, including contact information for Nuclear Medicine at Philips, a list of large-size MRIs around the country, how hospitals shill for WLS when vulnerable fat people go in for other medical procedures, what to say to stop that kind of pressure and how ironic it is that while I weigh the same as some professional athletes, I am not treated with the same respect they are by the nursing staff on the few times I’ve been hospitalized.
I also said, the Medical and Pharmaceutical industry are very quick to use an expression – Obesity Epidemic – because by using fear, monies for research and monies to buy bogus cures become available. Despite all of the fear mongering, people are getting larger, and life expectancy is increasing still. As we all age, we all are going to need diagnostic tools to help treat all of us. That’s what the medical profession is about in this country – preserving life. Hospitals are going to have to get equipment that services the needs of all of us from the very small preemie babies to the very large people. Fortunately, there are companies which recognize this and are doing wonderful research in this area like Philips."
Frances White is one of the most well respected, well read, well informed fat activists in our country today. She has the total confidence and support of the NAAFA Board.
Looking forward,
Peggy Howell, Public Relations Director
National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance
When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. Dr. Wayne Dyer
Certainly, no one is questioning Frances' credibility or her support for fat acceptance. And how many headlines did I see which said, "Women sues Jazzercise for weight discrimination" when I never ever filed a law suit? Facts are often twisted around, and I'm sorry that has been the case here. Thanks for the update, Peggy.
Jennifer Portnick
Personal Trainer (who is fat)
San Francisco, CA
The creative quoting by the reporter is not at all surprising. I remember a few years back hubby got interviewed by a local reporter for the local rag (know around town as the Daily Snooze) on our chapter of the Pink Pistols. I was there for the interview and what ended up in the paper was NOT what hubby said at all.
Hey, Paul. Was talking to an outsider who has been reading BFB. (Hooray!) She had picked up on your parenthetical comment that "equal accommodations are a civil right of ours." Sigh. I think you need to clarify, lest you get hopes up, that sadly this is ONLY in San Fran, the dateline for this article, and a few other places. There sure aren't any federal laws mandating equal medical accommodations for fat people. Generally speaking, fat people are not a protected class -- not under ADA, the civil rights act, nowhere. And that's kind of the raison d'etre of this here Blog, eh?