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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday January 21, 2009 - 13 Living Oakville Beaver LIVING EDITOR: ANGELA BLACKBURN Phone: 905-845-3824, ext. 248 Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.com Breaking the cycle LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER RUNNING OUT OF TIME: Debbie Shallhorn King is overweight and unable to afford the surgery she believes could save her life. Morbidly obese woman fighting for her life back By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF There, but for the grace of God, go I. e are all a step away from calamity and usually we don't look it in the eye until it has overtaken us. Oakville resident Debbie Shallhorn King is 55. Born in Toronto and raised in Markham, she is the mother of a 22-year-old son attending university and a 16-yearold daughter in high school. She has been married more than 25 years to her husband, Andy, a former minister who now works in trucking. After graduating from Ryerson with top marks, she eased into a lifetime of working for a major Toronto daily newspaper. Today, she is hoping to have knee replacement surgery, but cannot get the surgery until she gains control of her W weight issue -- which now must be done through a stomach reduction surgery. Shallhorn King is a binge eater who is morbidly obese. She weighs approximately 340 pounds. Morbid obesity is not about laziness or a lack of self-control, but rather the inability to shed weight because of physical and/or psychological reasons. "I am dying. It would cost about $16,000 for a surgical procedure to save me, but all I have received is a form letter explaining that OHIP won't cover the operation. The same letter was sent to my minister, who has been advocating for me, along with my doctors," said Shallhorn King earlier this month. I am now very morbidly obese because of a severe eating disorder that I've been fighting since I was about six or seven," said Shallhorn King. "I am dying. It would cost about $16,000 for a surgical procedure to save me, but all I have received is a form letter explaining that OHIP won't cover the operation." Debbie Shallhorn King While she said she does qualify for a gastric bypass, Shallhorn King said her doctors have told her there is a good chance she may not survive the surgery. Shallhorn King said her medical advice has been that the gastric banding would present too high a risk for her as she has diabetes, high blood pressure, which is managed by drugs, sleep apnea and acute depression. The Oakville resident would prefer to have the lesser intrusive and less expensive lap band surgery, but it is considered cosmetic and isn't covered by provincial health funding. Shallhorn King can't afford the price tag of just under $20,000 and is hoping the Ontario government will bend its rules for reasons of compassion. It appears the rules don't bend easily -- even in the face of mortality or morality. Shallhorn King's case was pleaded by her minister, The Rev. Dr. Morar Murray-Hayes at Maple Grove United Church, to Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn. Both said they are doing what they can to assist. Shallhorn King said she can remember looking at her rear end in a mirror to ensure it didn't look too big in a skirt as young as age 10. She remembers worrying about being called fat at age 13. By her late teens, she was dieting, by starving herself, in response to a boyfriend's comment about her appearance in a bikini. Today, Shallhorn King said the days of worrying about bikinis on beaches are long gone for her. She admits she is a binge eater -- a problem aggravated by stress throughout her life and more recently exacerbated by significant stress in her life. Today, she weighs approximately 340 lbs. -- and with her knees having eroded under her weight -- does not often leave the living room of her modest family home. She is not supposed to go up and down stairs and while she does go up most nights to bed -- she is unable to use her home's only bathroom, upstairs, all day, so a commode is a living room fixture, along with her computer, television and phone. "I look out the window and I watch life going by. I want to go out See Woman page 14