I have never seen an episode of Survivor (not really my thing), but I have been following Todd since his first appearance on Dr. Phil. He truly breaks my heart! This addiction has swallowed him whole and sadly I don't think he is going to make it (I hope that I am wrong).
shareHe did say he'd been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver which is pretty much a death sentence I'd think. But he's young and the liver can regenerate if he never touches alcohol again.
I'm thinking winning Survivor is not always a good thing. Hope he makes it.
I agree 100%.
I have such a soft spot for him. I think its because he still looks like a baby (even though he is 31)
Todd is not going to die anytime soon, he's got a good thing going with Dr. Phil.
Man he is good, probably the best. The whole thing is the best of the best in terms performances on a reality TV show (Dr. Phil).
If Todd is as good as I think he is, or truly could be, he'll stop milking this alcoholic reality story, and find something else that Dr. Phil can cure him from. Dr. Phil needs to save people from a specific problems, so Todd can't keep playing the alcoholic and expect that Dr. Phil will keep having Todd on the show. Say, for example, Todd becomes a schizophrenic, then that will give Dr. Phil a new illiness to cure and a reason to bring Todd back for a whole new series of episodes.
Todd will be back for at least 1 more episode in the near future where, of course, he's clean & sober, and tells Dr. Phil how wonderful life is now, etc, etc, along with some pretty good horror stories about how he's died many times over, only to be revived to live yet again. Maybe he'll even find God, and preach how all this led him to the promised land.
Will this be just round three of falling off the wagon, and Dr. Phil rushes to his rescue? Hard to say how many rounds Dr. Phil has in him, which is why I say Todd needs to find some other illness for Dr. Phil to cure. I suggest schizophrenia because then Todd can go on the show and talk to dead people, etc.
I sincerely hope that your friends and relatives have other people to turn to in their time of need.
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We can all be quiet heroes living quiet days
Walking through the world changing it in quiet ways
I am just suggesting that what we saw on Dr Phil was not as dire as it was portrayed.
Dr Phil is reality TV entertainment, not a documentary show about a doctor that provides professional help. Because the #1 focus is to entertain, everything comes second. This means there is a lot of manipulation of reality to create entertainment value (high ratings) much like Survivor and other reality TV shows. Its a bit like watching a illusionist\magician doing the impossible (Make airplane disappear, etc), yet it appears he does the impossible. The audience is shown\told things to make what they see seem totally real, but its not a real as it seems (Airplane does not really vanish).... Does Survivor Todd have a problem? probably does. Is it life threatening? Probably not even remotely close. Because Todd was on Survivor and won, he understands how such reality TV shows work (there are rehearsals, retakes, events are edited out of order, etc) and he is doing his part to be on Dr. Phil.
I am highly confident that Todd is no real danger, and will be back on Dr. Phil to show us his amazing recovery. Don't be surprised that Todd develops some other problem that needs Dr. Phil help after he becomes a sober person. The audience likes him, so he'll be back.
Definitely it's all about showcasing the hero/savior Dr. Phil. He makes it all about himself no matter who he has as a guest.
But my heart went out to Todd's desperate mother. If she was just acting... then give her an Oscar. I believe Todd has a drinking problem and I hope he gets help before it's too late.
I'm not sure how effective those 'my gift to you' type rehab centres are. We rarely see follow ups.
Saving people, hunting things, the family business
I agree the show is about Dr Phil, and his guests are like guests stars for that episode.
If there are to be any followups similar to what is shown on OWN for Oprah's past guests, they will highlight those Dr. Phil's former guests that have turned their life around, and maybe thrown in couple of guests that are still a work in progress. My speculation is that many guests revert back to their old ways over time, even if they initially get their act together after the show.
I think it is likely that Todd is an alcoholic, but not to the degree shown. My thinking is that he and the show are hyping the problem into a tabloid story. It's more likely he has far more control over his problem than what the audience was led to believe. It's a bit like catching a 5lbs rainbow trout fish over a 5-10 minute period, but when the story is told, it becomes 8-10 hour battle with a King Salmon that is 55" long and 125lbs.
Here's my rational: Dr. Phil and the producers are not going to have any guest that is extremely drunk on camera with a significant risk that he could die on the show or immediately after the taping. I firmly believe Todd passed several medical exams before the taping to ensure he mentally\physically OK. Producers might have gone so far to let Todd know where the line was days\weeks before the studio tape because the doctors\lawyers\insurance would not permit him to be on camera if he was too unfit for the shows standards.
It's more likely he has far more control over his problem than what the audience was led to believe.I think the mother did indicate that there are chunks of time when Todd doesn't drink at all, then he goes on a binge. And I did find it a bit odd when he said to mom 'Look, they put me in a wheelchair'.
Definitely it's all about showcasing the hero/savior Dr. Phil. He makes it all about himself no matter who he has as a guest.
I don’t watch the show that often but I do have to smile to myself when the person in the hot seat makes a valid point. They are immediately shot down by Dr. Phil who becomes suddenly incensed and demands if they are there for help or not and then rattles off his qualifications.
He also doesn’t like it when the guest agrees with him too early in the show. Dr. Phil wants argument. One catfish woman agreed right away she had been a fool and it was probably all fake. It kind of took the wind out of Dr. P’s sails. He had a wall full of statistics that all fell flat.
MeganCraft -
Your second post comes across to me as much more reasonable.
The first post reminded me of someone who rationalizes their decisions not to help people, when in fact, the real reason is that it's just the easier option.
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We can all be quiet heroes living quiet days
Walking through the world changing it in quiet ways
I am highly confident that Todd is no real danger
It's too bad that you can't go on the show with your tremendous medical expertise.
Next time buy the 50 cent medical certificate from the gumball machine instead of the one that costs a dime.
You seem to be confusing one's medical condition with the purpose of the show, whatever it may be.
Again, though, maybe they are hiring and can use your amazing, extensive medical knowledge, especially when it's so amazing that you can make a diagnosis from about 20 or 25 minutes of his TV screen time. That's what I call talent!
Time wounds all heels.
LOL, but what about Josh and his dog. Think about that for a second. He was on Oprah, then Dr. Phil. And lets not forget about the Bachelorette, that's all part of it. Every once in a while things just make sense if you spend enough time thinking about it, but the brain can't always process things fast enough.
shareEven though I thought that was the most fake seizure ever (I mean, he was sitting in a wheelchair, why didn't they wheel him off stage instead of walk him offstage? I am not medically versed on seizures so I could be way off base. I hope so!) I truly do hope Todd gets sober once and for all. It was sad to see him back on Dr. Phil after relapsing. He looked so good when he had been sober for over 100 days! Hopefully he finds something to live for, especially himself, because he seems like a good person. I didn't watch him on Survivor but it doesn't seem like winning was a good thing for him.
shareWinning Survivor gave him nothing else to strive for, I guess. I just hope he gets well before his mother passes away. That would be a great gift to her. I realize addicts don't always think about the people around them, but hopefully Todd can before its too late.
shareYes I think you're right, then she can have some sort of peace. I know addicts can seem selfish but I can see he does care for his family. I truly hope this trip to rehab helps him once and for all.
shareThere are different types of seizures, as are there varying degrees of severity. The type he was having weren't the type that locks someone up to where they can't walk or whatnot. They probably wanted to get him off the stage as quickly as possible and taking the time to put him in the chair, then roll him off, would mean it would take longer to do so.
Time wounds all heels.