Titi Wati, a 37-year-old woman from the Central Kalimantan capital of Palangkaraya, is making headlines around the country after she made a plea to the government for help dealing with her morbid obesity. She currently weighs 350 kg and says she has so much difficulty moving around that she is only capable of lying down on her stomach because she can’t sit, let alone stand up.
“Whenever I try to get up, I feel cramp-like pain in my legs, then I feel the pain all over my body,” Titi Wati said Monday, as quoted by Detik.
Speaking to reporters, Titi said she has gained the bulk of her tremendous weight in the last seven years, during which her diet consisted mostly of gorengan (deep fried snacks), cold drinks and other unhealthy foods.
Titi said she tried to lose weight by consuming slimming herbal drink, which resulted in some weight loss initially, but wasn’t able to continually afford the drink and reverted back to her usual eating habits, leading to her current state.
“After I stopped buying the slimming herbal drink, my eating and drinking habits went out of control. My weight was 167 kg at the time, but now I weigh more than 350 kg,” Titi said, as quoted by Detik.
Because of her family’s financial limitations, Titi made an appeal to the government in the hopes authorities could help her shed the kilos and live a healthy life. Luckily for her, the Palangkaraya city administration heard her plea for help and says they will come to her aid.
“The regional police chief and Social Affairs Agency have visited Titi Wati. We will coordinate with the Health Agency, especially on some paperwork, as needed,” Palangkaraya Social Agency’s Rehabilitation and Social Protection Department Head Subarnadi said in the Tribun video above.
Unfortunately, hospitals in Central Kalimantan are limited in their ability to help Titi. According to Dr Suyuti Syamsul, the head of Palangkaraya’s Health Agency, Titi needs to be examined and diagnosed by nutrition experts, endocrinologists and obesity surgeons — none of which are available in the province.
“Besides the lack of experts, no hospitals in the province has adequate facilities for [obesity] treatment,” Dr Suyuti said today, as quoted by Detik.
That said, Dr Suyuti will see that Titi gets to a hospital soon, but therein lies another challenge.
“We need to disassemble the house door, or we can get her out through a window, as long as her family allows it,” he said.
Based on a meeting with the province’s Health and Social agencies, Dr Suyuti said there’s a possibility that a forklift truck could be used to transport her from her home to the hospital.
We hope Titi gets the help she needs as soon as possible.