I was surprised. I really did think he was going to walk again. He was so insistent.
Then I found out he died of heart failure, due to an infection, caused by a pressure sore, and I was really surprised.
A BEDSORE!?
He had a loving wife. He had a close family. He had money, which ought to have ensured that he received nursing care from competent people. How could he possibly have gotten a bedsore?
I have worked in nursing homes. I have provided home health care. I have worked on the crowded, understaffed wards of military hospitals. NO PERSON UNDER MY CARE EVER DEVELOPED A BEDSORE.
But Christopher Reeve got a bedsore. And it killed him.
4 comments:
- I was surprised about the bedsore, too. It didn't make any
sense. His wife was away at the time - do you suppose the hired help got
careless? If I were Ms. Reeve or the kids I'd be asking questions.
However, I wouldn't be saying anything on TV because - you know, libel
actions, the importance of not speaking hastily, having trouble saying
anything through the daze of grief, etc. So it's possible we'll hear more
later.
I took my paraplegic ex-boss's word for it that Reeve wouldn't walk again.
Even if the treatments and technologies his foundation finances and he was
guinea-pigging for do, eventually, allow nerve damage to be reversed, the
nature of the work almost guarantees that the pioneer won't live long
enough to reap the benefits. This is why we admire pioneers.
-- Peni R. Griffin
http://www.txdirect.net/~griffin
My grandma had big bedsores when she moved in with us. They were gone by
the time the visiting nurses finally arrived. I used some wierd water containing
bandage the doctor gave me, soaked the scab off daily, and rolled her over
frequently. Tha's all, folks!
-- Sarah Gentry
My husband Allen developed a bedsore, and he's not infirm. He got it on the back of his leg where he sits at the table. It was a staph infection & was very difficult to heal.
And, of course, it was the infection that killed Reeve, regardless of where it started. My father & father-in-law died of similar infections in the past two years, and they developed them because they were in a weakened condition.
So Reeve's death is not as surprising as you'd think. I was surprised at how bad Reeve looked in some recent photos. He was a very sick man.
By the way, I enjoyed your blog. Also, when I was searching for it, I came across other postings you had made at other blogs. Your comments were always thoughtful, but I don't think the people who replied were always as logical.
-- Jeanette M. Handling
A quadriplegic doesn't usually ever walk again, but Reeve was so *insistent*. I really thought he could make it happen, he seemed so sure of it himself.
Of course, if being passionately determined and totally sure of yourself were really enough to get what you want, Iraq would look like Epcot right now.
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