beyond words.

People never cease to amaze me. I don't understand how a person can let it get this bad.

Yesterday, we were called out to a house by a local city inspector. In his words, "the house is filled with feces." One of our inspectors asked, "what kind," to which he responded, "all varieties." How could I pass this up.

When we arrived on the scene, we were joined by the city inspector, a code enforcement officer, a police officer, two firemen, and two EMT's. This was going to be a treat. The day before, the fire department had been called when the resident, a 350 pound man in his late 50's, got stuck in the hallway between the bedroom and the living room. It took five firefighters to remove him on a tarp, two of whom were injured in the process. We could smell the house 20 feet away. From the baby panda sticker in the front window, who would have expected what lie on the other side of the door.

The power of attorney opened the front door and a wave of stagnant air belched forth, contaminating the oxygen outside. I watched as each of the men walked into the residence, turning back for one more gasp of fresh air before confronting the horrors inside. The city inspector (a former police officer) came right back out, trying to keep his cool demeanor, but began gagging and coughing, spitting in the yard. I had to check this out.

When I walked in, it was like a scene from a horror movie. There was a path approximately 12 inches wide through the house where the former resident waded through the garbage, cat food cans, and filth. The odor was a mixture of a hog lot, body odor, and sewage. There were roaches crawling through the debris in broad daylight. not a good sign. In the kitchen, there had apparently been a fire on the stove, which had burned the wall and cabinets. No need to call the fire department though, or even attempt to clean up. The kitchen table had a pile of garbage and empty frozen food container approximately 2 feet deep. The carpet had been warn away to nothing. The toilet and tub plumbing hadn't worked in years and the power of attorney said the last time he was in the building, they had pulled the stool off the sewer pipe and were just "going" in the empty pipe, which had filled to the brim. I didn't even venture into the bedrooms.

My question is how do you come to the point where nothing matters anymore? Not even living in your own filth. When it becomes too much of a chore to take out the trash and it's easier to just surround yourself with it? It's sad.

I'm glad I don't see this everyday. When the emergency personnel are grossed out, you know it's bad.