275-Pound Woman Says Hospital Told Her to Use Zoo MRI

[Amby 490]

When a 5-foot, 275-pound woman found out she had a tumor on her spine, she was told by her local hospital to go the zoo to have a MRI because a regular MRI machine could not hold her weight, MyFOXKC.com reported.

Carolyn Ragan told the television station she discovered the tumor two years ago and, after the hospital told her she could not use their MRI machine, a medical assistant said he would help her find a solution.

“So he suggested the Kansas City Zoo,” Ragan said. “I thought, I know I’m big, but I’m not as big as an elephant. And my husband got mad.”

The University of Kansas Hospital would not comment on Ragan’s claim, but said its MRI department does not know of any animal MRI in the Kansas City area that would scan a human.

Ragan’s problem was two-fold: She was too heavy for the table and too wide to slide through the opening.

Medical Imaging in Kansas City North, which has both closed and open MRI machines can typically hold up to 440 pounds, but sometimes a person who weighs less can still be out of luck, according to an MRI technician.

“It depends on how they are built a lot of times and what part of their body we’re scanning,” said technician Sarah Abbott of Medical Imaging. “(The machine) can only be so open before the magnetic field dissipates into the room.”

Ragan, who ended up having two surgeries and some paralysis, said she finally found an open MRI machine that held her weight, but it was embarrassing and frustrating.

“They should have machines that fit most everybody,” she said.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,479782,00.html

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Ragan, who ended up having two surgeries and some paralysis, said she finally found an open MRI machine that held her weight, but it was embarrassing and frustrating.

“They should have machines that fit most everybody,” she said.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,479782,00.html

And she should stop stuffing her mouth with chips. Really.

[Amby 490]

Ragan, who ended up having two surgeries and some paralysis, said she finally found an open MRI machine that held her weight, but it was embarrassing and frustrating.

"They should have machines that fit most everybody," she said.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,479782,00.html

And she should stop stuffing her mouth with chips. Really.

275lbs is huge at only 5ft. I agree with Len. Please don't expand lady.

[Mags 112]

She has a BMI of 53.7.

[EstebanTrabajos 7]

Damn cow,

yeah I said it so what

[Mags 112]

I'm not anti-fat people at all, but to be sure that she obtains optimum health she really should try to lose some weight. Her BMI is classed as morbidly obese.

Anyhoo, glad she managed to get treated. And not in a Zoo!

Edited January 14, 2009 by Magenta

[Amby 490]

I'm not anti-fat people at all, but to be sure that she obtains optimum health she really should try to loose some weight. Her BMI is classed as morbidly obese.

Her BMI is WAY over being morbidly obese. She needs help or she will probably die very early.

[Niels Bohr 72]

Well, she'll soon find out how she made a jackarse of herself by letting the news station know.

[Donna A 4]

she is a big woman but bmi's are also misleading. they cant determine whether u r fatty mass or lean mass. my husband used to lift weights and is very muscular because of it. but on a bmi scale he would be listed as obease acording to his weight. he really isnt obease but muscular.

[Jasman0717 9]

5 foot....275

[Chica Yeyé 41]

5 foot....275

I know. indeed.

[chri'stina 190]

I bet you she's a God believer too...fat ppl believe in God, along with the poor and ugly.

[Sprailenes 47]

I bet its not a tumor, I bet its that sandwich she lost years ago... lift up the rolls!

[chri'stina 190]

Classy...

[alienlovechild 75]

I bet you she's a God believer too...fat ppl believe in God, along with the poor and ugly.

That's from the Sermon on the Mount. Blessed be the fat azzes for they shall inherit the leftovers.