A glandular problem.

Teenagers get lapbands (and other forms of weight loss surgery too). This is pretty controversial. I know of at least one well-known Mexican surgeon who has banded girls as young as 13. That seems extreme. But it also seems extreme to be morbidly obese at that age and either highly prone to (or already experiencing) co-morbidities that usually don't crop up until you're older. I can see the logic in wanting to stop it before it gets any worse, and in wanting to be a more "normal" -- whatever that means -- teen.

I was overweight as a child, and it was awful for many reasons that I've already outlined way back when I started this blog. I was not morbidly obese.

When I was in elementary school, which ran from kindergarten to 7th grade in my school system at that time, I had a friend named Ron (not his real name). Ron was a type I diabetic, which was kind of novel to many of us because he had to test his blood sugar at school and he could eat candy given to him by the teacher if it was low. One time a boy had to come get the teacher because Ron had passed out in the boys' bathroom. Ron and I played various games together on the playground and had a lot of classes together. I remember him as a rather quiet, studious boy.

Ron had two older sisters who also went to the same school. And Ron's sisters were huge. When we were in the 3rd grade, Patty was in the 6th grade and Cindy in the 7th. They probably weighed between 250 and 300 pounds each. I don't recall anybody officially telling me anything about why they were so fat, but I somehow got the idea that they had "a glandular problem." I'm not an expert, but as far as I know, it's pretty rare for "a glandular problem" to cause morbid obesity.

When I reached 300 pounds myself -- sometime last year -- I thought again of Patty and Cindy. I wondered what kind of hell they went through in school. Because they were several grades above me, I really didn't know. I'm sure I may have overheard the typical comments about them just because one of them was a hall monitor, but I don't remember. I was probably just glad at the time that someone else was being mocked for being fat.

When I graduated from that school, my family moved away and I lost touch with all of my friends. Ron and I (along with several others) were in school together for the entire eight years. Googling him isn't an option really as both his first and last names are extremely common. If I ever did talk to him again, though, I might ask him about Patty and Cindy. I hope they're well.