Woman on toilet for two years

“Woman Who Sat on Toilet for Two Years Still 'Very Sick'”
Thursday, March 27, 2008

WICHITA, Kan. — A woman who may have spent nearly two years in a bathroom, sitting on the toilet so long that the seat adhered to sores on her body, remains hospitalized and in pain from medical procedures, family members said Wednesday. Pam Babcock, 35, was found stuck to the toilet in late February after her boyfriend, Kory McFarren, 37, called authorities to say something was wrong with her. Police believe she sat on the toilet for about a month. McFarren was charged last week with a misdemeanor count of mistreatment of a dependent adult.

Pat Bollinger, the woman's aunt, said she calls daily to the hospital to ask how Babcock is doing and asks every day to talk to her. Babcock has agreed to talk to her only once for about 10 minutes, she said. During that one call, Babcock spoke little and mostly listened as Bollinger recounted happy family memories — time spent swimming, camping and boating — from the year Babcock lived with them in Arizona when she was in fifth grade. Babcock has not spoken about her bathroom ordeal, said Bollinger, the family spokeswoman. "I didn't bring up anything," Bollinger said. "I just let her know how much I loved her and cared for her."

Babcock's relatives said that no family members have been allowed to see her at the hospital, that they know little of her medical condition and that she spends much of her time sleeping at the hospital's intensive care unit. "Her wounds are still serious. ... She is not out of the woods by any means. She is a very sick girl," Bollinger said.
Via Christi hospital officials refused Wednesday to give an update on the woman's condition.

McFarren told authorities that Babcock feared leaving the bathroom and may not have left it in two years, although he said he was unsure how long she was in there. He said that he took her food and water daily. He said that he repeatedly asked her to come out but that she usually replied "maybe tomorrow."

"The only thing I am guilty of is I didn't get her help sooner," McFarren told The Associated Press this month. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

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“Sheriff Recommends Charging Boyfriend in Case of Woman Whose Body Became Stuck to Toilet”
By ROXANA HEGEMAN Associated Press Writer
NESS CITY, Kan. March 14, 2008 (AP)

A man should be charged for allowing his girlfriend to sit on their toilet so long that her body became stuck to the seat, the sheriff said Thursday. Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple was among authorities who discovered the woman last month living in the bathroom of a mobile home she shared with her boyfriend, Kory McFarren. "The house was cluttered but not in shambles," he said. "The smell was overpowering — a terrible smell about the house, obviously coming from where she was at."

McFarren, 36, told police his girlfriend, Pam Babcock, 35, had a phobia about leaving the bathroom and may not have left the bathroom in two years, although he's unsure how long she was in there. He said during that time, he brought her food, water, and clean clothes. "The only thing I am guilty of is I didn't get her help sooner," he told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The sheriff said that judging by the woman's condition — she had open sores on which the toilet seat would stick — it appeared she likely sat on the toilet continually for at least a month. "She would have to be sleeping on the toilet," the sheriff said.

Whipple asked the county attorney to charge McFarren for mistreatment of a dependent adult. The prosecutor did not return phone calls seeking comment. "The unfortunate thing is this truly is a case of two people, in my opinion, with diminished mental capacity," Whipple said.

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. The home has a second bathroom. McFarren said he finally called police Feb. 27 after he became worried because Babcock was acting groggy, as if she didn't know what was going on around her. What emergency responders found when they entered the bathroom has left many in the town of about 1,500 people buzzing and authorities incredulous.

Whipple said the seat was taken off the toilet so the woman could be transported to the hospital for treatment. Doctors at the Wichita hospital told the boyfriend an infection in her legs has damaged her nerves and may leave her in a wheelchair, he said.

The home of Kory McFarren is pictured on Thursday, March 13, 2008, in Ness City, Kansas, where the man's girlfriend was found in the bathroom having stayed there for long enough to become stuck to the toilet.