Kathie Lee and Hoda

So I have not blog in a reallyreally really long time. But today I felt the need. More out of fustration thananything else.

If you have followed my blog, whichI am not sure why you would since I have become terrible at updating it, youknow that Riley had a feeding tube for alomst 2 years due to reflux andaspiration. Kathie Lee and Hoda on the Today show seem to think that feedingtubes are something to laugh at. AND I AM PISSED!!!!

Ok so a little back story:

The New York Times ran an article byLinda Lee called "Desperate brides try feeding tube diet."  It's about all these crazy fad diets bridesare using to loss a few pounds before their wedding day. It lists several diets(Master Cleanse, HCG, Atkins, etc.) and gives examples of women who have beenable to lose a quick 15 or 20 pounds before their wedding. 

It then goes on to talked about thisdoctor in Florida who has started offering a "feeding tube diet" topeople who want to lose weight quickly. It’s called the K-E diet"ketogenic enteral nutrition" diet. It goes go about a woman whowanted to lose weight quickly so that she could go dress shopping for herwedding that is a few months away.  Shespends $1500, and the doctor places a nasogastric (NG) feeding tube. She thenis fed a special formula that only has 800 calories per day for 10 days anddoesn’t eat any other food while the NG tube is in.  Does this sound like a bad idea to anyoneelse?  So these women who do this are notvery smart.  I mean come on as soon asthey start eating again they are just going to put all the weight and probablemore back on.

Ok so you might think that would beenough to piss me off.  But Kathie Leeand Hoda had to take it a step further.

They started out saying that thesebrides are doing this a new diet using feeding tubes. Hoda thinks it is"actually kinda sick" (as I diet I don’t disagree with her) andKathie Lee thinks it is "ingenious." They go on to talk about how thewomen get the tube put in their nose and have to carry a bag (which she calls asack first, then a purse, then a bag) with their calories in it.  I mean come on that can’t even do theresearch to find out what is in the back or how the women get thecalories.  They are think that these women have to sleep with it and take it to work with them.  They don’t seems to know anything about thediet, when they are talking about the diet they call it “the whatever K diet.” Didthey do any kind of research about this at all, it sure doesn’t seem like.  This is great journalism NBC.

When they show a clip of. a womanhaving the NG tube place Hoda actually says ; Don’t look, la la la.  Look away but then look back at us.”  Really, really if you are that turn off by itWHY ARE YOU DOING THE STORY!?!  Hodastarts to talk about the risk of infections with the NG tube but then wrinklesher nose in disgust and asks, "And if it gets knocked out? What if youfall down?" THEN LAUGHS. It all a big joke to them.

THIS NOT  A JOKE TO THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE THAT NEEDTHESE NG OR G-TUBES OR J-TUBES TO SURVIVE!!!!!

They think it ok to laugh andjoke.  By they have never had to livewith a child who has one of these tubes. Or had to deal with people staring at your child as you feed them througha tube.  And I can you people stare andthey don’t think you notice.  WENOTICE!!!  You have never had to pin yourchild down and the tube up her nose and down her throat while she cries andgags and chokes and screams. Then try to hold it down in place with one handwhile sticking a piece of tape on it with the other hand and then get out astethoscope to listen to their stomach and make sure it's in place.  Or had the fear that a g-tube will be pulledout because you child is being a child and sliding off a couch and have itcatch.  Or had to take you child to theER to have a J-tube replaced.  No butthose are all things that we are parents of tube feed kids go through.

So maybe NBC you should do some moreresearch before you put a story on the news. And maybe, just maybe your “talent”should be more concerned with some respect their viewers and less about upsettingBrad and Angelina by calling them Brangelina. Hmm