Friday, October 23, 2009

Heaviest man-world record set by Paul Mason

 IPSWICH, England-- Weighing in at 980 pounds (444.5kg), Paul Mason , 48, a former engineer, sets the new world record for the Heaviest man .

 Photo:Weighing in at 980 pounds, Paul Mason is currently the world's heaviest man . / Photo: Albanpix.com
   ( enlarge photo )

   The photograph shows Mr Mason reclining on a bed and, dangling to his right, a remote control for adjusting the height and angle. On the same side is a hospital issue over-bed table, upon which sits a fruit bowl with oranges and bananas, a document holder that appears to contain medical notes, and a tea tray.
    He also has:
   * Cleansing equipment, which is used by carers to bathe him because he is too big for a shower
   * A lightbox, which helps to combat Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) caused by lack of sun
   * A TV and Playstation, to entertain him while he lays in bed
   * An inflatable slide, to enable him to slip out of his bed and into a wheelchair without the danger of a fall

   In the background is what seems to be a fridge containing snacks and cold drinks and a tall steel frame, to which a pulley system can be attached to lift him. A black computer stands near a monitor with an internet camera on top, suggesting he keeps in contact with the outside world via the internet. There is a selection of computer games and DVDs on the top shelf.

       He relies on a team of seven carers, working three eight-hour shifts, to cook his food and clean up after him. He has a reinforced toilet seat in the bathroom and a physiotherapist visits to stretch his legs and perform chest massages to prevent deep vein thrombosis and pneumonia.

Mexican Manuel Uribe was crowned as the global fattest man when he weighed 572 kilograms. However, Uribe reduced his weight to nearly half that and got married last year. The Mexican successfully took off the "crown" and subsequently Paul is now the king.

   Paul, the world's Heaviest man once reduced his weight to 285kg, but it did not last long. After his mother died local government sent 2 nurses to look after him.

   Mr Mason, who needs emergency surgery to reduce his weight or else he could die, currently lives on benefits in a specially-adapted bungalow in Ipswich where spends his time playing video games and watching TV, at a cost of approximately £100,000-a-year to the taxpayer.
    It was disclosed the bill for Ms Mason's care in recent years has topped £1 million.

   The 48-year-old was jailed in 1990 for stealing cash from letters when he was a postman, according to a report in The Sun which said he lost one third of his weight while in Norwich Prison, dropping from his then 30 stone.

   The newspaper reported he was given the same portions of prison food as other inmates, but Mr Mason regained his weight once released from jail.
    His sister Louise, 43, told the newspaper: "There were no fish and chip suppers or Chinese takeaways in prison. He got down to about 20 stone - it was unbelievable. But that's because he had no option but to eat healthily."

     Mr Mason, the new world's Heaviest man lives with his two cats in a bungalow in Ipswich provided by the Suffolk Heritage Housing Association, which is fitted with specially widened doors. He consumes around 20,000 calories a day - more than eight times what the average male is supposed to eat.

    Bob Singh Phagura, manager of the Nacton Road Fish Bar in Ipswich, said every Friday Mr Mason would come to his shop with his carers and buy:
   * Four large cod
   * Two pies
   * Four battered sausages
   * Six large portions of chips
   * Mushy peas and curry sauce
   * All washed down with bottles of Coke

    'He would wait outside as we couldn't fit him or his wheelchair into the shop,' said Mr Singh Phagura. 'His carers would take away the food. It was ten times more than a normal person would eat.' It has also emerged that Mr Mason would roll his 3ft-wide wheel-chair through a McDonald's drive-thru to pick up huge quantities of burgers and chips.

   The world's Heaviest man needs a £20,000 life-saving op after a compulsive eating disorder left him "super-obese". But Louise is not sure he will survive it. She said: "He's in such bad shape. His heart is the size of a football."

   His doctor is worried about his heart not being able to bear such a huge burden and decided to take him for enforced medical care.

   To transport him, health authorities even considered sending a military helicopter, but instead they used a refitted ambulance-a five-ton ambulance specially built for obese people at a cost of £90,000.

    An NHS Suffolk spokesman said: "The most important aspect of transporting him is preserving his dignity and looking after his safety. "We have not had anything like this before."

   His current hospital in Suffolk has a 4ft-wide door to allow him to be moved in and out easily in his wheelchair.

    Paul was hoisted out of his former home in Ipswich by a forklift truck when he weighed 56st and had to go to hospital for a hernia operation in 2002. Firefighters took out a window and knocked down a wall.

   Surgery will take place within three weeks at St Richard's Hospital in Chichester, where the NHS specialist bariatric service provides surgical weight-loss treatment.

    And the health authority said they are responsible for helping Paul because his disease is a kind of mental illness.

    The heaviest man of all time was the American John Minnoch, who weighed in at 100.2 stone.

    THE Mexican hulk who lost the title of world's heaviest bloke to Paul Mason told the bulging Briton: "Let's do lunch."
     Speaking from his home in Monterrey, he said: "I've never heard of Ipswich but I'd like to go there some day. Maybe me and Paul could meet up for lunch - low calorie, of course."
    Ex-electrician Manuel, who gorged on pizza but can now at least move around, said he is grateful Paul has taken his unwanted title from him. And becoming serious, he warned the Brit to lose his flab - or lose his life. He told the Suffolk man: "It's now or never."