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March 19, 2005
details, details
Since WBEZ is airing TOE_02 this weekend I am going to post this email I got in regards to my ..er investigative fiction report about Operation Real World. It is important to get the details correct!
Dear Benjamin,
I'm writing this to correct an error in your story about the CIA's
relationship with US art. In that story you stated that the actor John
Ritter died of a heart attack. This is false. John Ritter died of an
aortic dissection, which is very different from a heart attack.
Aortic dissection occurs when the tissue of the aorta (the main blood
vessel leading out of the heart to the rest of the body) tears apart and
ruptures. I am very familiar with this pathology as I have Marfan
Syndrome, a genetic condition that predisposes one to aortic dissection.
In the 1960s the average life expectancy of someone with Marfan Syndrome
was 36. Today it is 70, thanks to diagnostic and surgery procedures to
detect and repair aortic dissection before it becomes fatal.
John Ritter was mis-diagnosed and consequently denied treatment that could
have saved his life. So too was Jonathan Larson, the playwright who died
the day before his internationally praised musical, Rent, opened. Thus
John Ritter's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
You can read more about this here:
http://www.marfan.org/nmf/PreviewPressReleaseInfoRequestHandler.do?press_release_id=15
These are significant facts that were not mentioned in your story. In the
interests of accuracy, and of helping to prevent others from suffering the
same fate as Ritter and Larson, I hope that you will mention this on your
website, at least. Regardless of possible CIA involvement, Ritter's death
was preventable. Further, it is clear more people will die from future
mis-diagnoses until the word gets out. Rather than contribute to public
ignorance by repeating flasehoods such as saying Ritter died of a heart
attack, you and TOE can help get the word out about aortic dissection and
be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Cheers,
Posted by bw at March 19, 2005 03:25 PM