I'm not a doctor...
...but I am a nurse and, like the rest of the world, I've been following the Michael Jackson story. Listening to the news is giving me an idea of what may have happened to Michael.
Obviously, drugs seem to have been involved. But a few other details are coming to light that very well may explain what happened in the hour preceding the 911 call placed from Jackson's home.
In the 911 call, the caller mentioned that Michael was on the bed being "pumped". If that is the man's word for CPR, I think it should be quite obvious that pumping a man lying on a bed will do no good whatsoever without a backboard underneath so that the body absorbs the compressions, not the mattress. That's why the 911 dude told the caller to put Michael on the floor. I've heard that Michael was taken off of the floor and put on the bed. I don't know if that's true or not, but if it is true, it was a bonehead thing to do.
I've also heard that there was a bottle of lidocaine on the floor in the room. Once again, I'm going on what the news has reported so if my facts are wrong, you can blame CNN and FoxNews. The news people wondered if the lidocaine was used along with Demerol to help ease Michael's pain. That's highly unlikely although it is a possibility. But, I would think that it's more likely that the doctor, in a panic over seeing his famous patient in cardiac arrest, used the lidocaine in an attempt to revive Michael a la Pulp Fiction. After all, this guy was a cardiologist, not a pain control doctor. Cardiologists would consider the cardiac benefits of lidocaine, not so much it's pain relief qualities.
I've seen lidocaine used for pain relief, but never by intramuscular injection, only by intrathecal infusion. Even intrathecal lidocaine infusion is only used near an ICU with lifesaving equipment on board. And I don't think Michael would have been happy with anyone giving him lidocaine for pain...there is no buzz attached to it and that seems to be more along the lines of what the man was seeking.
My guess, and it's only a guess, is that Michael was given a dose of Demerol on top of whatever pills he was taking and that caused him to go into respiratory arrest leading to a cardiac arrhythmia that was NOT going to be helped by lidocaine. That arrhythmia is called ventricular fibrillation. A heart in V-Fib simply cannot perfuse the brain with enough oxygen to support life.
It would appear that the doctor panicked and he may or may not have had Narcan with him which would have immediately reversed the effects of the narcotics in his system. If Michael was given parental Demerol in a setting that did not have Narcan, there is absolutely a problem. If the doctor refrained from calling 911 and instead tried to revive Michael himself, there's another problem. Of course, those problems are piled on top of the fact that Michael had drugs usually reserved for cancer patients and post-operative patients.
I don't know how you convince a person that they are absolutely subject to the rules of mortality but I do know that someone needs to do a PSA specifically for famous yahoos surrounded by "Yes people". Shame on everyone who sat back and allowed this to happen.
...but I am a nurse and, like the rest of the world, I've been following the Michael Jackson story. Listening to the news is giving me an idea of what may have happened to Michael.
Obviously, drugs seem to have been involved. But a few other details are coming to light that very well may explain what happened in the hour preceding the 911 call placed from Jackson's home.
In the 911 call, the caller mentioned that Michael was on the bed being "pumped". If that is the man's word for CPR, I think it should be quite obvious that pumping a man lying on a bed will do no good whatsoever without a backboard underneath so that the body absorbs the compressions, not the mattress. That's why the 911 dude told the caller to put Michael on the floor. I've heard that Michael was taken off of the floor and put on the bed. I don't know if that's true or not, but if it is true, it was a bonehead thing to do.
I've also heard that there was a bottle of lidocaine on the floor in the room. Once again, I'm going on what the news has reported so if my facts are wrong, you can blame CNN and FoxNews. The news people wondered if the lidocaine was used along with Demerol to help ease Michael's pain. That's highly unlikely although it is a possibility. But, I would think that it's more likely that the doctor, in a panic over seeing his famous patient in cardiac arrest, used the lidocaine in an attempt to revive Michael a la Pulp Fiction. After all, this guy was a cardiologist, not a pain control doctor. Cardiologists would consider the cardiac benefits of lidocaine, not so much it's pain relief qualities.
I've seen lidocaine used for pain relief, but never by intramuscular injection, only by intrathecal infusion. Even intrathecal lidocaine infusion is only used near an ICU with lifesaving equipment on board. And I don't think Michael would have been happy with anyone giving him lidocaine for pain...there is no buzz attached to it and that seems to be more along the lines of what the man was seeking.
My guess, and it's only a guess, is that Michael was given a dose of Demerol on top of whatever pills he was taking and that caused him to go into respiratory arrest leading to a cardiac arrhythmia that was NOT going to be helped by lidocaine. That arrhythmia is called ventricular fibrillation. A heart in V-Fib simply cannot perfuse the brain with enough oxygen to support life.
It would appear that the doctor panicked and he may or may not have had Narcan with him which would have immediately reversed the effects of the narcotics in his system. If Michael was given parental Demerol in a setting that did not have Narcan, there is absolutely a problem. If the doctor refrained from calling 911 and instead tried to revive Michael himself, there's another problem. Of course, those problems are piled on top of the fact that Michael had drugs usually reserved for cancer patients and post-operative patients.
I don't know how you convince a person that they are absolutely subject to the rules of mortality but I do know that someone needs to do a PSA specifically for famous yahoos surrounded by "Yes people". Shame on everyone who sat back and allowed this to happen.
posted by Meg Kelso | 6:42 AM
2 Comments:
Why the missing pages? I was worried abot you. I am a regular and have been hooked for 30 days
Chef!
Well I didn't mean to worry you! I spoke with a friend of mine today who is a law professor and he told me to take them down. He gave me some other intriguing legal advice as well!
:):):)
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