The Odd Files

Doctors were desperate to diagnose a teenager who couldn’t even drink water without being violently sick, but what they discovered left them stunned. Medics treating Ayperi Alekseeva found a massive hairball blocking her digestive system. The 18-year-old needed emergency surgery, or she would have died from extreme dehydration and malnourishment. The hairball, which weighed 9lbs, was formed because the girl chewed the tips of her hair, and even ate hair and bits of wool she found on the carpet at home. Ayperi, from Batken Province in Kyrgyzstan, had to be transported to a hospital in the capital city of Bishkek for treatment. Doctors said that despite looking through 50 years of medical records, they have never been able to find a case involving a hairball this large. Prof Bahadir Bebezov, who performed the life-saving surgery, added: ‘The parents brought her in after she started losing weight, and she couldn’t eat anything. By the time we got her, should could not eve...

Mike Waudby, 31, went from 33st to a muscle-bound 15st after trying to kill himself - and is now a qualified personal trainer An obese man who tried to kill himself after a group of girls said he made them feel sick has lost 18st and become a gym instructor known as Mr Muscles. Mike Waudby, 31, turned into a recluse after ­revellers told him to leave a bar because of his bulging 33st body. He said: “I used to go out but, one night, a girl came up to me and asked me to leave. "I asked why and she said I was making her and her friends feel sick. “That was the last time I went out, apart from to the doctor’s, for seven years.” Too big to move and tortured by depression, Mike eventually decided to take his life, but even two bottles of whisky, eight cans of Stella and a handful of tablets did not have an effect on his huge frame. He said: “I remember waking up, no headache, no pain, just a sickening feeling that I was still here and not dead.” Af...

Joe Thompson was hypnotised to overcome his phobia after he refused to board a plane on four separate occasions A schoolboy jetted home to Britain today after being stranded in Abu Dhabi for more than a year because of a fear of flying.Joe Thompson, 12, was hypnotised to overcome the phobia after he refused to board a plane on four separate occasions. Hypnotherapist Russell Hemmings made the seven-and-a-half hour flight home with Joe today - after he again tried to back out at the airport in Abu Dhabi.Joe said after touching down at Heathrow: “I’m so happy to be home. I can’t believe how cold it is here. “I just want to get home and see my dog. I haven’t seen him for two years and I just want to give him a big hug. “My mum and dad have been great and I’m so grateful to Russell for taking the time to help me. I just can’t wait to get home and get back to my life.” Joe’s family moved to the United Arab Emirates in 2009 while dad Tony completed a contract as quali...

Joseph the German Shepherd was clinging to life when authorities rescued him. He was emaciated and dehydrated, his skin was covered with infection, and he had heart worms. Police say his owner left him chained to a tree for four straight years. The poor pooch -- whose name was changed from Toby by the folks at Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in Ohio -- is getting better. He's currently undergoing veterinary rehabilitation. Joseph's former owner, Jeremy Shane Temple, faces animal cruelty charges. "It's just hard, really, seeing a dog that skinny," Kassie Jadin, the facilities manager at PAWS, told HuffPost Crime. "It's just so pathetic all around. There aren't enough words to explain how sad it is." Officers told WCPO that they found the 5-to-7-year-old dog chained to a backyard tree in Middletown with no more than a few scraps of food and little water. Jadin says he was covered in fleas and painful bites. Temple r...

Xiao Feng's parents took the boy to the hospital when his stomach began to swell. After X-rays and MRI scans, it was discovered that Xiao had a parasitic twin with a fully formed spine and limbs. Had it continued to grow, it could have affected his breathing and even killed him. 2-year-old Xiao Feng was taken to the hospital when he developed a severely swollen belly, which turned out to be a parasitic twin. A 2-year-old Chinese boy has "given birth" after doctors removed a parasitic twin from inside his stomach. Xiao Feng, from Huaxi, was reportedly taken to hospital after his parents spotted he had a severely swollen belly and was struggling to breathe properly. Doctors discovered that Xiao was a foetus-in-foetu conjoined twin, which means the egg fails to fully separate. X-rays and MRI scans revealed he was carrying the undeveloped fetus of his own twin inside his stomach, reports Chinese media.  The parasitic twin had a fully formed spi...

A mother in Georgia is "mad as hell" after her daughter's body was found abandoned outside a mobile home following an apparently fatal asthma attack. Taylor Smith, 20, was out with friends in Jasper, Ga., Wednesday night when she began experiencing trouble breathing, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Investigators believe that instead of seeking medical attention, Taylor's friends tried to remedy the asthma attack with a cold shower. When that didn't work, they ditched her lifeless body. Taylor's mother, Tanya Smith, said her daughter suffered from severe respiratory problems. She also said the people Taylor was with didn't care about her at all. "She was two miles from a hospital," Smith said, according to ABC News. "Yeah, I'm angry. I'm mad as hell. As the days go by, I'm getting even angrier. It didn't have to happen." Following an investigation, police arrested Marty Gaddis, 38, on charges i...

Pic from Google... :) A Nanjing man was recently hospitalized with a ruptured esophagus after he prevented himself from vomiting during a party with friends, the Modern Express reported on July 18. The 30-something man underwent emergency surgery at Nanjing’s Jiangsu Province Hospital, where doctors found the contents of his stomach had come in contact with other organs, a condition that can cause the body to go into shock. The man was rushed to the hospital when he began to experience a sharp pain in his stomach after drinking only two bottles of beer at a friend's party. He later explained he resisted the urge to vomit out of embarrassment. "The patient has a very low tolerance for alcohol and used his glottis, or vocal cords, to suppress his vomit, causing high pressure in his esophagus," said Zhang Bin, deputy director of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery at the hospital. "He now has to be very careful when eating," said Zhang, who reminded the m...