Body Positivity Influencer Can’t Believe Nurse Needs Team To Help Lift Her, Gets Her Feelings Hurt
Interview With ExpertEveryone deserves to feel confident in their body and be respected no matter what size or weight they are. The body-positive moment empowers people to feel comfortable regardless of the number they see on the scale. Unfortunately, some folks have taken this ideology too far and try to use it as a weapon against people who’ve hurt their feelings.
This is what a nurse faced when she had to take care of a 450-pound patient who had been hospitalized for surgery. A simple discussion between them suddenly took an ugly turn.
More info: Reddit
Doctors and nurses don’t just have to look after the health of their patients but their own health as well, but sometimes their patients can become an obstacle in the way of that
Image credits: Cedric Fauntleroy / Pexel (not the actual photo)
The poster, who is a nurse, explained that she had to take care of a 450-pound body-positivity influencer who wanted to record her entire hospital visit
Image credits: pikisuperstar / Freepik (not the actual photo)
During the patient’s stay, she had to use a bedpan but couldn’t lift her hips up, and the nurse wasn’t able to move the woman on her own, so she decided to ask a few staff members for help
Image credits: Lopsided-Inside-3984
The patient felt hurt and angry that a team of people would be needed to lift her, not realizing that the poster had requested their help for the sake of safety and not to hurt anyone’s feelings
The 30-year-old patient had been hospitalized after a major surgery. During that time, the nurse found out that she was a body-positive influencer, especially since the woman wanted to record and document her hospital stay. To learn more about the body confidence movement, Bored Panda reached out to Michaela Leitz-Aslaksen.
Michaela is an internationally acclaimed fashion consultant and advocate for size inclusivity. Evolving from a plus-size fashion stylist to a strategic force, she partners with brands to drive meaningful change towards diversity and equity. As a dynamic speaker and sought-after media figure, Michaela inspires confidence in women while promoting a future where fashion truly represents everyone.
We asked Michaela what the actual idea behind the body-positivity movement was. She told us that it “was sparked by black queer women, pushing back against bias and demanding equality for all bodies, especially marginalized ones.”
“It began as a radical stand against discrimination and has grown into a call to break narrow beauty standards and celebrate true diversity. At its core, it’s about making everyone feel seen, respected, and unapologetically themselves,” she added.
The poster and her team definitely seemed to be respectful of the patient. Only when it came time for the woman to use a bedpan did the OP have to figure out how to help her in the best way. Since she knew that she couldn’t lift the patient alone and that her pregnant nursing assistant shouldn’t risk doing it, she decided to ask a few people to help.
This was an extremely wise decision because research has found that around 72% of nurses suffer from chronic lower back pain. That’s why healthcare workers are supposed to either use lifting aids like mechanical devices or have two or more staff members present to help lift heavy objects or patients.
Image credits: Michael Coghlan / Flickr (not the actual photo)
Even though the nurse was only asking for help to lift the patient for the sake of safety, the other woman found it extremely insulting. She got mad at the OP and said that she wanted to complain to the charge nurse because her feelings had been hurt. It’s obvious that her idea of body positivity was quite warped if she was able to brush a legitimate safety concern aside.
Michaela Leitz also told us that “the body positivity movement has, unfortunately, been co-opted by brands, the beauty and fashion industry, and even some influencers who use it as a token to profit off marginalized groups.”
“They’ve turned a radical fight for inclusivity into a marketing trend, often centering the same narrow ideals the movement challenged in the first place. But at its core, body positivity still thrives in grassroots communities fighting for true representation and equity,” she explained.
Luckily, the nurse and her superior stood firm against the patient and told her that her feelings were not more important than their safety. Even though it might have hurt the woman’s feelings, hopefully, she got a wake-up call about the way she treated people.
We asked Michaela what she thought the body positivity movement should actually be about. She said that it should be “about feeling safe, confident, and beautiful in the body you have right now, free from the pressure of outdated, unattainable beauty standards designed to profit off insecurities.”
“It’s about challenging these norms and pushing society to accept and celebrate all bodies and all people, without exception. True body positivity uplifts everyone and centers on creating a culture of genuine inclusivity and respect,” she added.
That’s exactly what this situation should have been about. The body-confidence advocate could have easily spread her message while being aware of her limitations and respecting the people around her. Instead, all she got was a rude wake-up call!
Do you think the nurse handled this situation well? What would you have done in her place? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
People sided with the poster and said that she was right to look after her team’s well-being rather than pander to the other woman’s feelings
Image credits: rawpixel.com / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Poll Question
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It seems like the body positivity movement has morphed into something irrational. Yes, absolutely you should love yourself no matter what you look like, but understand reality: if you are morbidly obese, you need to buy two seats on a plane, you will need extra help in hospitals, or need an extra paramedic team to help you get on a gurney. Morbid obesity is extremely unhealthy and can cause extra strain for those who help you in various industries, and that's absolutely no moral judgment at all, simply a fact.
Body positivity is good and all, but there are limits to everything. And if you feel it's your right to be so massive that you can't even roll over to get on a bedpan you should maybe think a bit about your life choices before your habits kills you.
A hurt back lasts a lot longer than hurt feelings and I bet she'll tell you she's a picky eater.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Ahh. This was a good one. It's about time the "influencer" got a reality check. Maybe she'll finally see this as a wake up call to improve her health so she makes it past her 30's.
I'd rather she got a Darwin honourable mention, personally...
Load More Replies...NTA. I am disabled (and getting more disabled as time goes by). Before getting diagnosed, my doctors tried everything including steroids. I put on over 100lbs from it before discontinuing it - my condition has no therapy/treatment options. I have lost some, but not being able to exercise much makes weight-loss difficult. Anyway... I had a medical emergency and a couple of ambulances showed up. The specialized ambulance was two tiny (compared to me) women. They needed to move me from my wheelchair and I said "No offense, but my legs have no strength. I think we are going to need the guys." (Big, stereoypical firefighters.) It took both of the guys a lot of effort to lift me (265lbs of dead weight) onto the gurney. Then they helped get me into the ambulance. I apologized to them and they said it was their job. I accept that this is who/what my body is now and I am as okay with that as can be. But being "body positive" shouldn't mean ignoring the realities of your body.
You were polite and apologetic. The woman in the post was rude and unapologetic.
Load More Replies...To be so obese you can't even roll yourself over to go in pee without help, I would die if embarrassment if I needed someone to lift my fat a*s just so I could go to the bathroom.
Tbf she just had had surgery. Not saying complaining about "hurt feelings" wasn't s****y beaviour.
Load More Replies...I don't care if I am getting downvoted. That said, body positivity and body neutrality are not BS. Also , we the overweight are used to fight a lot in the medical circuit to be taken seriously. I am very down to earth and I know why certain things are done. Other thing is these statements, body positivity-body neutrality are used as an excuse to behave as this lady is doing.
My mother was a nurse (now retired) for many years. She had to lift patients all the time, and it was before many of the devices to make it easier were around. She now has a crooked spine and intense pain from it. Nurses, take care of yourselves. No one else will. That patient was abusive. Americans are only getting bigger.
As one of the commenters said, this "body positivity" thing sounds suspiciously like living in denial. Would the patient prefer it, if the doctors had simply shrugged and said "Well then, you won't be getting a new bedpan, see ya later." At least they wouldn't hurt her feelings then ;)
I have a friend who's a veterinarian and she has to tiptoe around discussing pet weight issues or risk an outburst because of the owner's weight issues.
So glad you mentioned this! I recently switched vets as my previous one retired. My new vet told me my chihuahuas were the first ones NOT over weight that he's seen in a long time! It's not bad enough we're killing ourselves but now we're killing our pets too!
Load More Replies...good god no. my mum picked up her elderly dad when he had fallen in the night once and that f****d up her arm and back, exacerbating issues
These unhinged f***s that high jacked the concept of body positivity fill me with nothing but vitriol. There are ppl like me and the many other children I saw at the "special cases" hospital I frequented as a kid... With deformities and aberrations that had nothing to do with the consequences of our own actions... The ppl who get disfigured in the line of work. The fire fighters,soldiers, plant workers etc... The ppl who get attacked by unhinged ppl in an attempt to ruin their lives... That is who body positivity exists for. Then there are these obese "influencers" who in 99.9% of the cases end up as what they are due to being to their own life choices or ignoring addictions to unethical food (Mostly American unregulated stuff) Yeh they deserve no sympathy and the source of their hurt feelings is them and their delusions...It is the twisting of a good concept to help ppl cope with the unfairness that is infinity unnerving to me. Completely disgusting behavior...
When I worked as a CNA we had one resident with diabetes who was morbidly obese. I mean to the point of using a hydraulic lift to move her from bed to wheelchair. Meanwhile, her daughter kept supplying her with chocolates....(had Texas $$, private room) Yes, I did hurt my back while working there. Not with this patient, and I was "doing it right" by wearing back brace and having another staff member help to move the person. No fun!
She denied a catheter? I didn't even know you could, nobody has ever asked me. Having said that, it is absolutely utterly painless an unobtrusive until it needs to be removed and even then, I've had needles that stung more than the couple of seconds it takes to remove.
I've got a lot of morbidly obese family members. Catheters are.. a bit more challenging to insert/maintain in the morbidly obese patient. Things are quite literally squished together in unnatural ways "down there", often by fat rolls that are not normally present in someone of standard weight, and oftentimes the cath or its tubing can be dislodged (or otherwise disturbed from its normal positioning) by the obese patient's bodily structure. Sometimes the patient is so obese that there is no way to prevent the outflow tube from getting crushed shut. Also, it is difficult for morbidly obese patients, especially those with vaginas, to maintain hygiene in that region. A lot of times they live with chronic infections/irritations of the skin and tissues both on the outside and inside of that area, so it may not be feasible or safely possible to insert a cath. I wish I didn't know of all of these things so well, but there are a LOT of health issues in my family members due to their obesity.
Load More Replies...Body positivity or not, 450 pounds is a lot of weight, and far to much to expect two people to safely roll by themselves. Not only could the nurses hurt themselves, but they are not going to be able to safely roll the patient without a risk of the patient rolling too far, and right out of bed. The nurse isn't shaming you by saying two people can't safely roll you, the nurse is just being safe.
All day. Every day. Lectured, cursed at, reported, but I’d already had an injury moving a patient and refused to move obese patients without appropriate help. Worked in a unit that didn’t have the lifts and other tools that most did. Had 400 plus pound patients demand me lift them from cars. This is not isolated to influencers. Was cursed out when I refused to lift a patient on my shift after getting pinned to the wall by the throat by a confused patient. Explained I had an injury and would need to get some help. Was accused of burdening my patient with problems that weren’t hers. She reported me. Healthcare is HARD. This was before the body positivity movement.
Genuine question but if she's too large to roll and can't get to the toilet herself, why not catheterize her? Even if she's not going to be inpatient for long she'd likely have the same issue at home so it might be best until she's at least mobile on her own.
I don't subscribe to body positivity. What we need is body neutrality. Your body size does not define your worth as a person, and you are entitled to be treated with courtesy and compassion. Your medical team needs to be able to be respectful of your dignity as a person and still give you reality-based care. "We will need to get a team/hoist in order to lift you. You are at increased risk during surgery. Your obesity is contributing to/causing your mobility issues/pain/ symptoms." Also, hospitals need to have a hoist available on each floor/ward for lifting bariatric patients, because high numbers of patients are obese. They deserve to be cared for safely, and without being made to feel guilty or humiliated or shamed because they need more assistance than is easily available. Pre-position a sling under the patient when they're initially transferred to the bed. Then one nurse can wheel over and attatch the hoist, and raise and lower the patient safely, however often they need.
I have a family member who was a nurse who permanently wrecked her back in this very situation. Nowadays they would use equipment and extra staff to move a patient but this was maybe 25-30 years ago. You only get one back and it’s not worth the risk.
WHOA! No lifting or rolling this weight alone. I was in a hospital and my roommate kept asking me to lift her to go to the bathroom. I said no, The nurses said no, the patients can't help other patients. Nurse came to help my roommate. This influencer has her body as an excuse for everything. Sorry for the nurses who had to deal with her.
"Everyone deserves to feel confident in their body and be respected no matter what size or weight they are." I'm not sure I agree with this
I would let her p**s herself. Body positivity is one thing, rude behavior is another. It's amazing that some people actually think that they'll get what they want by acting like a spoiled brat.
I find the whole story suspect. Why would a patient that heavy not have a catheter after 'major' surgery? If she were in pain, frightened, and already concious of the attitudes towards obese people (particularly in the medical field), I find it very difficult to believe she would have the energy for the kind of pettiness the OP claims (with obvious disgust and anger). I say this both as a ('normal' bmi) patient who has endured 40+ years of healthcare - including 35 major abdominal surgeries and a liver transplant - and worked in emergency medicine and pharmacy for more than 20 years. I think the OP hates obese people and made 90% of this c**p up.
And?? No one is forcing you to look at this website.
Load More Replies...It seems like the body positivity movement has morphed into something irrational. Yes, absolutely you should love yourself no matter what you look like, but understand reality: if you are morbidly obese, you need to buy two seats on a plane, you will need extra help in hospitals, or need an extra paramedic team to help you get on a gurney. Morbid obesity is extremely unhealthy and can cause extra strain for those who help you in various industries, and that's absolutely no moral judgment at all, simply a fact.
Body positivity is good and all, but there are limits to everything. And if you feel it's your right to be so massive that you can't even roll over to get on a bedpan you should maybe think a bit about your life choices before your habits kills you.
A hurt back lasts a lot longer than hurt feelings and I bet she'll tell you she's a picky eater.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Ahh. This was a good one. It's about time the "influencer" got a reality check. Maybe she'll finally see this as a wake up call to improve her health so she makes it past her 30's.
I'd rather she got a Darwin honourable mention, personally...
Load More Replies...NTA. I am disabled (and getting more disabled as time goes by). Before getting diagnosed, my doctors tried everything including steroids. I put on over 100lbs from it before discontinuing it - my condition has no therapy/treatment options. I have lost some, but not being able to exercise much makes weight-loss difficult. Anyway... I had a medical emergency and a couple of ambulances showed up. The specialized ambulance was two tiny (compared to me) women. They needed to move me from my wheelchair and I said "No offense, but my legs have no strength. I think we are going to need the guys." (Big, stereoypical firefighters.) It took both of the guys a lot of effort to lift me (265lbs of dead weight) onto the gurney. Then they helped get me into the ambulance. I apologized to them and they said it was their job. I accept that this is who/what my body is now and I am as okay with that as can be. But being "body positive" shouldn't mean ignoring the realities of your body.
You were polite and apologetic. The woman in the post was rude and unapologetic.
Load More Replies...To be so obese you can't even roll yourself over to go in pee without help, I would die if embarrassment if I needed someone to lift my fat a*s just so I could go to the bathroom.
Tbf she just had had surgery. Not saying complaining about "hurt feelings" wasn't s****y beaviour.
Load More Replies...I don't care if I am getting downvoted. That said, body positivity and body neutrality are not BS. Also , we the overweight are used to fight a lot in the medical circuit to be taken seriously. I am very down to earth and I know why certain things are done. Other thing is these statements, body positivity-body neutrality are used as an excuse to behave as this lady is doing.
My mother was a nurse (now retired) for many years. She had to lift patients all the time, and it was before many of the devices to make it easier were around. She now has a crooked spine and intense pain from it. Nurses, take care of yourselves. No one else will. That patient was abusive. Americans are only getting bigger.
As one of the commenters said, this "body positivity" thing sounds suspiciously like living in denial. Would the patient prefer it, if the doctors had simply shrugged and said "Well then, you won't be getting a new bedpan, see ya later." At least they wouldn't hurt her feelings then ;)
I have a friend who's a veterinarian and she has to tiptoe around discussing pet weight issues or risk an outburst because of the owner's weight issues.
So glad you mentioned this! I recently switched vets as my previous one retired. My new vet told me my chihuahuas were the first ones NOT over weight that he's seen in a long time! It's not bad enough we're killing ourselves but now we're killing our pets too!
Load More Replies...good god no. my mum picked up her elderly dad when he had fallen in the night once and that f****d up her arm and back, exacerbating issues
These unhinged f***s that high jacked the concept of body positivity fill me with nothing but vitriol. There are ppl like me and the many other children I saw at the "special cases" hospital I frequented as a kid... With deformities and aberrations that had nothing to do with the consequences of our own actions... The ppl who get disfigured in the line of work. The fire fighters,soldiers, plant workers etc... The ppl who get attacked by unhinged ppl in an attempt to ruin their lives... That is who body positivity exists for. Then there are these obese "influencers" who in 99.9% of the cases end up as what they are due to being to their own life choices or ignoring addictions to unethical food (Mostly American unregulated stuff) Yeh they deserve no sympathy and the source of their hurt feelings is them and their delusions...It is the twisting of a good concept to help ppl cope with the unfairness that is infinity unnerving to me. Completely disgusting behavior...
When I worked as a CNA we had one resident with diabetes who was morbidly obese. I mean to the point of using a hydraulic lift to move her from bed to wheelchair. Meanwhile, her daughter kept supplying her with chocolates....(had Texas $$, private room) Yes, I did hurt my back while working there. Not with this patient, and I was "doing it right" by wearing back brace and having another staff member help to move the person. No fun!
She denied a catheter? I didn't even know you could, nobody has ever asked me. Having said that, it is absolutely utterly painless an unobtrusive until it needs to be removed and even then, I've had needles that stung more than the couple of seconds it takes to remove.
I've got a lot of morbidly obese family members. Catheters are.. a bit more challenging to insert/maintain in the morbidly obese patient. Things are quite literally squished together in unnatural ways "down there", often by fat rolls that are not normally present in someone of standard weight, and oftentimes the cath or its tubing can be dislodged (or otherwise disturbed from its normal positioning) by the obese patient's bodily structure. Sometimes the patient is so obese that there is no way to prevent the outflow tube from getting crushed shut. Also, it is difficult for morbidly obese patients, especially those with vaginas, to maintain hygiene in that region. A lot of times they live with chronic infections/irritations of the skin and tissues both on the outside and inside of that area, so it may not be feasible or safely possible to insert a cath. I wish I didn't know of all of these things so well, but there are a LOT of health issues in my family members due to their obesity.
Load More Replies...Body positivity or not, 450 pounds is a lot of weight, and far to much to expect two people to safely roll by themselves. Not only could the nurses hurt themselves, but they are not going to be able to safely roll the patient without a risk of the patient rolling too far, and right out of bed. The nurse isn't shaming you by saying two people can't safely roll you, the nurse is just being safe.
All day. Every day. Lectured, cursed at, reported, but I’d already had an injury moving a patient and refused to move obese patients without appropriate help. Worked in a unit that didn’t have the lifts and other tools that most did. Had 400 plus pound patients demand me lift them from cars. This is not isolated to influencers. Was cursed out when I refused to lift a patient on my shift after getting pinned to the wall by the throat by a confused patient. Explained I had an injury and would need to get some help. Was accused of burdening my patient with problems that weren’t hers. She reported me. Healthcare is HARD. This was before the body positivity movement.
Genuine question but if she's too large to roll and can't get to the toilet herself, why not catheterize her? Even if she's not going to be inpatient for long she'd likely have the same issue at home so it might be best until she's at least mobile on her own.
I don't subscribe to body positivity. What we need is body neutrality. Your body size does not define your worth as a person, and you are entitled to be treated with courtesy and compassion. Your medical team needs to be able to be respectful of your dignity as a person and still give you reality-based care. "We will need to get a team/hoist in order to lift you. You are at increased risk during surgery. Your obesity is contributing to/causing your mobility issues/pain/ symptoms." Also, hospitals need to have a hoist available on each floor/ward for lifting bariatric patients, because high numbers of patients are obese. They deserve to be cared for safely, and without being made to feel guilty or humiliated or shamed because they need more assistance than is easily available. Pre-position a sling under the patient when they're initially transferred to the bed. Then one nurse can wheel over and attatch the hoist, and raise and lower the patient safely, however often they need.
I have a family member who was a nurse who permanently wrecked her back in this very situation. Nowadays they would use equipment and extra staff to move a patient but this was maybe 25-30 years ago. You only get one back and it’s not worth the risk.
WHOA! No lifting or rolling this weight alone. I was in a hospital and my roommate kept asking me to lift her to go to the bathroom. I said no, The nurses said no, the patients can't help other patients. Nurse came to help my roommate. This influencer has her body as an excuse for everything. Sorry for the nurses who had to deal with her.
"Everyone deserves to feel confident in their body and be respected no matter what size or weight they are." I'm not sure I agree with this
I would let her p**s herself. Body positivity is one thing, rude behavior is another. It's amazing that some people actually think that they'll get what they want by acting like a spoiled brat.
I find the whole story suspect. Why would a patient that heavy not have a catheter after 'major' surgery? If she were in pain, frightened, and already concious of the attitudes towards obese people (particularly in the medical field), I find it very difficult to believe she would have the energy for the kind of pettiness the OP claims (with obvious disgust and anger). I say this both as a ('normal' bmi) patient who has endured 40+ years of healthcare - including 35 major abdominal surgeries and a liver transplant - and worked in emergency medicine and pharmacy for more than 20 years. I think the OP hates obese people and made 90% of this c**p up.
And?? No one is forcing you to look at this website.
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