Hospital Used Children's Gowns Because Adult Turpin Children Were So Malnourished
The Turpin adults wore children’s clothes while recovering at a hospital since they were so underweight, Mark Uffer the CEO of the Corona Regional Medical Center told ABC News on Tuesday.
Uffer revealed shocking details about the seven Turpin adults’ recovery at the California hospital since getting rescued in January, ABC reported.
The adults spent two months at the hospital after spending most of their lives in captivity, allegedly being tortured and enslaved by their parents David and Louise Turpin.
The adult children were so badly malnourished they had to wear kid’s clothes.
The oldest Turpin child, 29, weighed only 82 pounds after getting rescued by police in January.
“What initially started out as patients coming in through the emergency room turned into sort of a higher calling for all of us,” Uffer said.
Hospital staff bought the clothing with their own money and even washed the garments at their homes, the CEO said.
The clothes the Turpins were wearing upon arrival at the hospital were so dirty that the garments had to be thrown away.
The children also had never owned shoes, according to Uffer.
The hospital staff bought them shoes and Uffer recalled they were paranoid that their belongings would get taken away from them. So, they slept in their shoes overnight.
“Maybe more than one night,” said Uffer.
“They were afraid that anything that they got was going to be taken away … anything that they got, there was always a question — at least from one or two of them — ‘Is anybody going to take my things?’” he added.
The seven adults stayed in their own wing of the hospital, which was guarded 24 hours a day. They had to be taught basic skills such as brushing their hair, teeth, using money, and even how to use seatbelts.
The Turpins mainly survived off peanut butter sandwiches while in captivity, according to ABC News. They allegedly had never seen tomatoes or other fruits and berries.
The children were released from the hospital Thursday and are currently living in a rural house in an undisclosed location with a guardian. It could take years before the children are able to live on their own.
David and Louise Turpin are currently both held on a $12 million bail, The Washington Post reported.
A version of this article previously appeared on The Daily Caller News Foundation website.
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