This article was in the Chicago Tribune yesterday:
Boyfriend: Woman Lived in BathroomBy ROXANA HEGEMAN |Associated Press Writer5:46 AM CDT, March 13, 2008
WICHITA, Kan. - A 35-year-old woman who sat on her boyfriend's toilet for so long that her body was stuck to the seat by the time he called police had a phobia about leaving the bathroom, the boyfriend said.
"She is an adult; she made her own decision," said her boyfriend, Kory McFarren. "I should have gotten help for her sooner; I admit that. But after a while, you kind of get used to it."
The case drew nationwide attention after Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the Ness City woman's skin had grown around the seat in the two years she apparently was in the bathroom.
"We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital," Whipple said. "The hospital removed it."
McFarren, 36, said he can't be certain how long Pam Babcock stayed in the bathroom because "time just went by so quick I can't pinpoint how long." He said beatings she received in her childhood caused her phobia.
"It just kind of happened one day; she went in and had been in there a little while, the next time it was a little longer. Then she got it in her head she was going to stay -- like it was a safe place for her," McFarren said.
But McFarren said she moved around in the bathroom during that time, bathed and changed into the clothes he brought her. He brought food and water to her. They had conversations and had an otherwise normal relationship -- except it all happened in the bathroom.
McFarren said he finally called police Feb. 27 after he became worried because Babcock was acting groggy -- like she didn't know what was going on, except she was awake.
What emergency responders found when they went into bathroom has left residents of this small western Kansas town buzzing, and law enforcement officials incredulous.
Police found the clothed woman sitting on the toilet, her sweat pants down to mid-thigh. She was "somewhat disoriented," and her legs looked like they had atrophied, Whipple said.
"She was not glued. She was not tied. She was just physically stuck by her body," Whipple said. "It is hard to imagine. ... I still have a hard time imagining it myself."
She initially refused emergency medical services, but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital.
"She said that she didn't need any help, that she was OK and did not want to leave," he said.
Whipple said the county attorney will determine whether any charges should be filed against McFarren.
McFarren, who works at an antique store, said he has been taking care of Babcock for the 16 years they have lived together. He insisted that he tried to coax her out of the bathroom every day.
"And her reply would be, `Maybe tomorrow,'" Whipple said. "According to him, she did not want to leave the bathroom."
She was reported in fair condition Wednesday at a hospital in Wichita, about 150 miles southeast of Ness City. Whipple said she has refused to cooperate with medical providers or law enforcement investigators.
Babcock has an infection in her legs that has damaged her nerves, and there is a possibility she may wind up in a wheelchair, McFarren said.
James Ellis, a neighbor, said he had known the woman since she was a child, but that he had not seen her for at least six years.
"I don't think anybody can make any sense out of it," Ellis said.
Babcock had a tough childhood after her mother died at a young age and apparently was usually kept inside the house as she grew up, he said.
"It really doesn't surprise me," Ellis said. "What surprises me is somebody wasn't called in a bit earlier."
Far be it for me to judge other people's decisions and lives, but this article leaves me with a few questions.
1. What did the boyfriend think after two weeks of this behavior?
2. Why did he continue to feed her while she was on the toilet?
3. Where did he go to the bathroom
(question provided by Steak, thanks!) 4. What did she do all day?
A. Did she read?
1. Magazines?
2. Novels?
3. Text books?
4. Autobiographies?
B. Did she write?
1. Fiction?
2. A diary, later to be turned into an autobiography?
3. Fan letters?
C. Did she watch TV?
1. Was the TV already in there?
a. Did she bring the TV in there in preparation?
b. Did the boyfriend bring the TV in to make her more comfortable?
2. Did she watch TV shows?
3. Did she watch DVDs?
D. Did she knit?
5. Did she not have other friends and family who were worried about not seeing her for 2 years?
A. And if they knew where she was, why did they not call someone?
6. What kind of meals did she eat?
7. Did they take her to the hospital with the toilet seat still attached to her ass?
8. How does an ass grow into a toilet seat?
9. Did her and the boyfriend have conversations while she was sitting there?
10. Did people come over to visit the house?
A. If they did, what explanation was given about the situation?
11. How did the paramedics keep a straight face when they saw this?
12. What was their call into the hospital like?
13. What was the straw that broke the camels back and made the boyfriend take action after two years!
14. After two years, did he even remember she was in there?
15. Why did this lady decide to stay on the toilet, and not lay in bed?
16. When she went in there and sat down, did she knew she'd be staying indefinitely?
17. Did she change her clothes in all this time? Or was it the same sweatpants around her ankles when she came out as when she went in?
18. Did the couple celebrate their anniversaries in the bathroom together?
19 And holidays?! What did they do during the holidays?
20. Did they have conversations that consisted of anything else besides, "Honey, do you think today is the day you are going to get off the toilet?"
This could go on and on. And sadly, I will probably never know the answers to most of these questions. But I guess, what's life without a little mystery?
