Death
Two headlines today on Houston Chronicle:

Former Astro Ken Caminiti dead at 41 of apparent heart attack

and

'Superman' star Christopher Reeve dies at 52

Reading both articles, I feel much sadder about Ken Caminiti. Christopher Reeve had a tragic accident while doing something he wanted to do. In spite of an injury that would have killed him in another time, and a disability that is about as complete as it gets, he was able to continue to live, work, and be a political advocate. The newspaper says "In the last week Reeve had developed a serious systemic infection from a pressure wound, a common complication for people living with paralysis." What it doesn't say is how it developed and how it got so serious. Ken Caminiti, on the other hand, seems to have had a significant substance abuse problem. He got out of prison last Tuesday. The smart money would be on he had been on a huge binge since then, with a heart attack likely from cocaine. There's got to be a better way.
- posted by owlish @ 10/11/2004 07:22:00 AM