Educated Judgement?

Canada from Google+ & Winston Wong

The above photo based on the water body is likely from Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal...

That is assuming 'Canada' is correct at all. I place no great faith in Facebook and Google+ for photo locations. But at least I can document the photos as being publicly available on these social networking sites.

I appreciate the Facebook and Google+ 'Likes' received, thank you.

If there is progress, that is good...

Educated Judgement?

Daily Mail on Facebook: Colombia's fattest baby who weighs the same as a six-year-old rescued by charity after mother said she kept feeding him every time he cried

Cited:

'Colombia's most obese baby - who weighs the same as a six-year-old child - has been ‘rescued’ by a charity so he can undergo life-saving treatment. Santiago Mendoza, eight months, already tips the scales at 3.1-stone, was flown from his home in the northeastern city of Valledupar to the capital Bogota on Sunday.

Volunteers from Medellin-based Chubby Hearts foundation (Gorditos de Corazon) stepped in to transport the boy after his mother Eunice Fandiño wrote in asking for help.'

Cited:

'She confessed that her own ‘ignorance’ had led to her son's unhealthy weight gain and that, every time he cried, she gave him food or milk to calm down.

‘He was born with an anxiety, so if he cried I just fed him,’ she added.'

'Caracol Radio reports that Santiago has suffered medical complications due to his weight since he was born, and has already been hospitalised on several occasions.

Chubby Hearts director Salvador Palacio González said the child would be evaluated by specialist doctors at the Colina Clinic.'

Cited:

'‘Likely, what he will need is a long-term treatment, education, healthy food, and when he is older physical activity,’ surgeon Cesar Ernesto Guevar told El Espectador.

‘Otherwise, in the future, he could suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure and severe problems with his joints,’ he added. Fandiño revealed that she was practically confined to her home as the baby was ‘too heavy’ to take out and about. But she added that she was ‘optimistic’ about the help she was receiving and has promised to follow the instructions she's given by doctors.'

End citations:

Fat jokes do not seem appropriate in regard to this story because this is a baby and not an adult, or even near adult that has some rational idea of the health risks involved in being obese at such a young age. It appears the Mother is taking much of the blame in supposed ignorance, although she observed his drastic weight gain, but I and many observers are not aware of the baby's medical conditions which may or may not have contributed to his obese state.

Therefore I am not going to judge in any firm sense, but only state and opine that it is good the baby is being medically treated.

I have to admit that even though I lived in England for a couple of years and have been to the United Kingdom, and Europe several times, when I see '3.1 stone' it provides me this mental image of a baby that has 3.1 stones contained within.

'Stoned' weight therefore always sounds heavy to me...

This story is an example I suppose of where a firm judgment should not be made because some evidence is missing.

This reminds me of what a mentor Professor of mine from Columbia Bible College told me.

At times there needed to be 'theological tension' on unclear issues and therefore non-dogmatic views should be taken with hesitant, non-firm judgements.

This story would be an example of requiring 'philosophical tension' as assuredly by the Mother's own admission, even in ignorance she is greatly at fault here, but without medical and dietary expertise in general, and in regard to this baby in particular, one does not have knowledge of the biological medical condition (s) of the baby that may make him more prone to being obese.

I can use myself as a much less serious example. When I was four years old, my Mother informs me that at the time she took me to our medical clinic, incidentally the same one I still use, although she goes to a closer one, because my loud snoring was bothering my older brother. We slept in the same room for a few years.

I do not remember having any serious sleeping issues as a child, although I was usually tired at school and would nap after school if not playing street hockey.

At the time when I was four years old, the medical doctors did nothing about my snoring issue, not finding a serious problem. They suggested my tonsils be perhaps removed at a later date.

In my twenties I started mysteriously gaining weight even though I exercised with martial arts and/or ball hockey daily and ate moderately.

I was tested for sleep apnea more than once and did snore and lost my breath thirty plus times in 1.5 hours and this could last for over thirty seconds.

It turned out I had undiagnosed sleep apnea and had to have serious Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) and Rhinoplasty surgeries and spent the standard one night each in ICU.

This would have been nice by the way as a nurse virtually sits by your bed, or in the other room, monitoring your vital signs for the slightest change.

Would have been nice except the surgeries are painful and one is heavily under pain medication.

Even when home after the UPPP surgery the first day or so my literally torched throat made it too difficult to eat, sleep or even drink water. I forced myself to take the liquid medicine.

With the help of some short term weight loss medicines, my metabolism is back to what appears to be normal. I continue to look thinner and more 'ripped' as in a muscular sense. Although no Bobby Buff, here.

Thankfully.

My sleep apnea surgeon stated post-surgeries and after my last sleep study that I did not have sleep apnea anymore.

And that was prior to a three years of taking the medicine to lose weight, primarily in the neck.

However, through those years of undiagnosed sleep apnea, and the following years where I tried CPAP and also a fitted dental appliance, medical doctors and others alike, opined, some in judgemental tone that I must overeat.

The philosophy being that a calorie can be burned with sufficient exercise.

But the problem with that view is that it 'assumes' a body that works properly with proper metabolism.

I assured them that when my sleep apnea was, for once, treated properly and my metabolism was back to normal, that I would lose weight and look the muscular fit person that I am.

I was correct, although this is still in process (my online photos attest), but the point is that judgement needed to be withheld on my condition by some because they lacked evidence.

Rather a philosophical tension should have been held to.

An educated judgement was needed.

The fact I look younger than I am, relative to many my age, is because I exercise much and live a healthy lifestyle, by God's grace.

End

Personal note for the day:

When I was a child and new adult I had a German Shepherd Husky that would break through, dig under or jump over the fence and then wander around the neighbourhood, bouncing off cars, chasing cats, attempting to mate with female dogs and fighting male 'bruisers'. Equally annoying.