"One of the SICKEST families the doctors have ever met"

Thu, 30 March 2017

In episode four of Doctor In The House, we met the Haskins family, mother and daughter duo Geraldine (54) and Amanda (31) living in Walkinstown.

Geraldine and Amanda are both significantly over weight and are in drastic need of a life overhaul. Amanda was taught as a child to never leave anything on her plate and has an extremely unhealthy relationship with food, a self-confessed binge eater. In the space of nine years Amanda has struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts, gaining a colossal eight stone, bringing her weight up to twenty four stone, consuming 7,000 calories per day!! She is worried she will soon not be able to walk, potentially needing a wheelchair. Amanda also smokes up to thirty cigarettes a day and stays up after everyone has gone to bed to binge on snacks due to her “habit of rooting through the presses”. The doctors are concerned she will not make it up the aisle with her fiancé, Jacob, because she will not be around to do so, not because she will not fit in the dress.

Geraldine thinks of food as being part of her culture and associates it with a “happy night”, although she makes home cooked meals for everyone in the house most nights, the ingredients include high calorie, fatty sauces and every Friday the family succumb to a take away.

After being assessed by the experts and being labelled as “one of the sickest families the doctors have met”, Geraldine finds out that she is in the second highest category of obesity and Amanda is in the third – the highest category possible, with over 50% of her body consisting of fat. Both mother and daughter discover they both have fatty livers, which increases their risk of cardiovascular disease. Amanda’s habit of smoking indoors is increasing Geraldine’s chances of developing lung cancer by 20% and the worst news of all is that that Amanda has been diagnosed with full blown type two diabetes and needs urgent attention.

The pair leave the studio under strict instructions to stick to doctors’ orders; no smoking, no takeaways and to start exercising in order to lose the 5-10% body fat that is required of them. 

During the 8 weeks Amanda is struggling to shift any weight and there is speculation she may not be sticking to the programme and potentially giving in to her addiction. Geraldine is experiencing crippling pains in her legs and there are fears she could be experiencing vascular problems causing the narrowing of her arteries which could lead to stroke.

After eight weeks they return to the Consultation Room to find out whether their efforts have paid off or if they have completely fallen off the wagon!

Watch the show below:

Catch up on the rest of the series now over on 3player

Doctor in the House continues Wednesday 4th April at 8pm on TV3 and 3player