Re: Contemplating cause of death

From: Dr. Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD (andrew_at_heartmdphd.com)
Date: 08/20/04 

Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 23:32:05 -0400

Del Shannon wrote:
>
> "Dr. Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD" <andrew@heartmdphd.com> wrote in message news:<41228AA5.11B9334F@heartmdphd.com>...
> > Del Shannon wrote:
> >
> > > My elderly mother passed away last year at age 91.
> >
> > You have my condolences.
> >
> > > The year before she
> > > fell three times on the street while walking with me yet managed to
> > > get up.
> >
> > Uh-oh.
>
> >
> > Did she commit suicide?
>
> I recall her asking me about some pain medicine she had, how many
> times a day she should take to relieve pain. When I found the bottle
> in her bedroom dresser drawer sometime later, it was totally empty.
> Maybe she used more than she should have? She kept insisting her head
> was in pain most of the time. I also noticed she walked with a slight
> limp, as she wanted me to have a cane she had to match her height, a
> couple months before she died.
>
> I also noticed a bruise some inches to the side of her heart. This
> was before she passed away.
>
> >
> > You've got it.
>
> THanks fopr reply.

You are welcome :-)

All praises belong to my heavenly Father, whom I love with all my heart,
soul, and mind.

> THis is what I've been seeking. I have given it
> some thought last year and recently it came back to me.
>
> >
> > > Is 91 really a good age to die or
> > > could she
> > > she have lived longer?
> >
> > She lived longer than the average lifespan of a woman in the U.S. so that
> > one would tend to believe that your mother was in near-optimal health most
> > of her life.
>
> She was European-born.

Comparable.

> > > Was it their falls during the last year of
> > > her life
> > > which brought about her demise?
> >
> > They may have been signs of cardiovascular instability rather than the
> > proximate cause of death.
>
> Also, I recall there was a period of time I did not see her in July
> 2002.
> When I came in to visdit her, her TV was on full-blast and claimed to
> have
> lost her hearing for a little while. Maybe due to stress since she
> had not
> seen me?

Stress is not known to cause deafness.
 
> > You will be in my prayers, dear neighbor whom I love.
>
> Cardiovascular instabilty? Caused by what? Not taking heart meds all
> these
> years.

Possibly.

> My sister passed away in 1996 at age 56, which made her not
> herself
> for a period of time. She did not attend the funeral, though she
> covered
> the expenses.
>
> Believe me, I pleaded with her to see a doctor when I thought she
> couldn't hear well or heard noiese she insisted were there when I
> never heard any.
> Is it loneliness that killed her?

Loneliness is not a cause of death.
 
> Her landlord made some insinuations that she may have developed an
> early
> case of Alzheimer's? Is this possible?

You describe something that could ascribed to some kind of dementia.
 
> Thanks again.

You are welcome :-)

 
Servant to the humblest person in the universe,

Andrew 

--
Dr. Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Board-Certified Cardiologist
http://www.heartmdphd.com/
**
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Relevant Pages

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