Gary Coleman's Quick Removal off Life Support and Resulting Death Raises Questions

Commentary by Matthew Cullinan Hoffman



May 31, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The death of Gary Coleman has elicited reactions of surprise and sadness from Americans who had come to know and love the actor through his role on the popular situation comedy Diff'rent Strokes during the late 70s and early 80s.



However, what is not being discussed in the mainstream media, what is being assiduously avoided, are the obvious questions: is it certain how Coleman sustained his deadly head injury, and why did his wife "pull the plug" on her husband only hours after he was put on life support, and only two days after he entered the hospital?



Coleman was hospitalized on May 26 after sustaining a traumatic head injury that was severe enough to cause bleeding inside of his skull. The injury was said to have resulted from a fall. Still, the severity of the injury, other issues surrounding his death and events in the recent past would seem to have called for at least a preliminary police investigation.

It is public knowledge that the Coleman and his much larger wife, Shannon Price, had a stormy, conflictive relationship that led to her arrest in 2009 on charges of domestic violence. Coleman, who was also irascible, was also arrested on abuse charges early this year.



Despite the disturbing circumstances surrounding Coleman's death, the Santaquin police chief, Dennis Howard, told People Magazine that "there was absolutely nothing suspicious about [Coleman's] death. There is no [criminal] investigation going on."



Coleman has been presented in the media as a man whose life and health were in decline. However, his health problems were fundamentally related to his kidney disease, which reportedly required regular dialysis. Kidney diseases do not cause traumatic head injuries -- that requires a heavy force applied to the head. That force could have resulted from any number of causes, ranging from something as innocent as a slip in the bathtub, to something as sinister as a blow from a heavy blunt object.



After his arrest in January of this year on domestic abuse charges, Coleman appeared on The Insider, a celebrity gossip show, to give his own side of the story. During a heated exchange with one of the show's guests, who insisted that he answer the question of whether or not he had abused his wife, Coleman strangely pointed to an injury on his head and said that he had received the wound from a fall down the stairs, and didn't want anyone to think that his wife had hit him -- a comment that was taken by some to indicate that he was implying the opposite in an attempt to defend himself.



Days after the incident that eventually took his life, Price and her family have been strangely reticent about giving details regarding the cause of his injury. They only claim he somehow "fell," with no further explanation.



The apparent ease with which Coleman's life was ended especially raises questions about the culture of death that has seemingly become the norm in American and European hospitals.

A person on life support, even for a few hours, is vulnerable to being dismissed as a "vegetable" and his life terminated on the most flimsy criteria. Not only does such a standard indicate a distressing contempt for the sanctity of human life, but it also opens the possibility of serious abuses by relatives or friends, who might have a conflict of interest in making such a decision.


URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/may/10053109.html

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TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: coleman; garycoleman; moralabsolutes; prolife

1 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 12:08:23 PM by GonzoII
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To: GonzoII

Or he slipped in the tub and had told everyone “do not keep me on life support”.

2 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 12:12:24 PM by TheZMan (Just secede and get it over with. No love lost on either side. Cya.)
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To: GonzoII

3 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 12:12:36 PM by null and void (We are now in day 494 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
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To: GonzoII
That force could have resulted from any number of causes, ranging from something as innocent as a slip in the bathtub, to something as sinister as a blow from a heavy blunt object.

... or a dwarf toss gone bad.
4 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 12:16:36 PM by gov_bean_ counter (Obie Wan Nairobi from the 1/2 dark side. The farce with this one strong, it is...)
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To: GonzoII

Well, the wife can’t just say I want him off life support, if there was no brain wave activity, then life support doesn’t do anything for anyone...... these decisions are not made in a vacuum...

5 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 12:21:30 PM by Arizona Carolyn
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To: GonzoII

Check the life insurance policies....

6 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 12:21:33 PM by ChinaGotTheGoodsOnClinton (To those who believe the world was safer with Saddam, get treatment for that!)
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To: GonzoII

I hope someone looks into this. After reading this, I am reminded of how I wondered if he was murdered. It was just a thought that popped into my mind, but I dismissed it.

7 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 12:27:50 PM by PghBaldy (Like the Ft Hood Killer, James Earl Ray was just stressed when he killed MLK Jr.)
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To: GonzoII

Hmmm, the first reports I heard attributed his death to a brain hemorrhage. Mentioned previous health problems, but no mention of any accident or blow to the head.

8 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 12:27:51 PM by Will88
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To: GonzoII

9 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 12:28:46 PM by Tai_Chung
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To: GonzoII

Perhaps you should call up Dr. Frist to watch him on TV and give a “diagnosis”?

10 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 12:31:18 PM by PatHimself
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To: GonzoII

I have had to make that same decision for a family member and would never judge another person who was faced with the same decision.

11 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 12:32:37 PM by trumandogz (The Democrats are driving us to Socialism at 100 MPH -The GOP is driving us to Socialism at 97.5 MPH)
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To: GonzoII
RIP, Gary Coleman. Other than some money (most of which was pilfered by others) and fame as a child actor, he was dealt a pretty lousy hand in life. He did the best he could with it.

And by the way: Making jokes about a guy right after his untimely death... well, that just ain't right.
12 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 12:38:23 PM by Mike-o-Matic
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To: GonzoII

Or .. his wife was tired of the fighting .. tired of the daily treatments .. and all the money that was being spent on somebody who was apparently close to the dying process.

I’d follow the money .......

13 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 1:12:51 PM by CyberAnt (God Bless Our Troops Who Have Given the Ultimate Sacrifice!)
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To: Arizona Carolyn

Yes, in fact the next of kin can and often does decline extraordinary life support measures.

“[N]o brain wave activity” is very much not the standard used.

14 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 1:16:51 PM by iowamark
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To: PatHimself

*rim-shot*

15 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 1:20:06 PM by Eyes Unclouded ("The word bipartisan means some larger-than-usual deception is being carried out." -George Carlin)
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To: trumandogz
“I have had to make that same decision for a family member and would never judge another person who was faced with the same decision.”

Thank you for sharing this. It really hit home.

Sadly, I had to make such a decision of removal off life support for my only brother this morning, only hours after he was admitted to the hospital.

There were limited options given to us by the physicians but the end results would all be the same.

It was one of the most terrible things I ever had to deal with, but I know in my heart it was the right decision.
16 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 1:22:34 PM by ThE_RiPpEr.
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To: iowamark

I just went through this last October with my husband.

17 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 1:22:51 PM by Arizona Carolyn
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To: GonzoII

I wonder if she was strongly advised by doctors to be that hasty??

18 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 1:36:36 PM by Sun (Pray that God sends us good leaders. Please say a prayer now.)
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To: Arizona Carolyn; ThE_RiPpEr.

May God bless you both, that is a hard thing to do.

19 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 1:37:44 PM by Irish Eyes
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To: ThE_RiPpEr.
I'm sorry for your loss and I know it must have been all the much more difficult due to the suddenness of his health crisis.

With my dad, I knew it was the right decision medically and I knew it was he would have wanted. Even with that, it was not an easy decision.
20 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 1:38:53 PM by trumandogz (The Democrats are driving us to Socialism at 100 MPH -The GOP is driving us to Socialism at 97.5 MPH)
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To: GonzoII

Stories like this take away from Life Site’s credibility, at least with me. To publish a sinister speculative article within days of Coleman’s demise, to question the family’s decisions about life support is really tasteless.

21 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 1:41:12 PM by EDINVA
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To: iowamark

My father has insisted that ‘DNR’ be entered into his medical records. For those who are unaware of the meaning, that is ‘Do Not Resuscitate’.

I disagree with it totally but have to respect his wishes.

22 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 1:41:56 PM by SatinDoll (NO Foreign Nationals as our President!!)
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To: Irish Eyes

Thank you.... yes, very, but as much as I miss him, I would not have him live as a vegetable, it was not what he wanted nor what I would have wanted to subject him to... it is actually something we discussed with each other more than once.

23 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 1:41:58 PM by Arizona Carolyn
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To: GonzoII
Chronic renal disease does cause osteoporosis, so he could have had a skull fracture and bleed, e.g. a sub dural hemorrhage from a minor fall. Common in the elderly (my aunt had one...) but with his long history of renal failure, his body was pretty old.

But the stories originally said he had a sub arachnoid hemorrhage, which can be from high blood pressure or from an aneurism.

The original injury is bad, but what kills the patient in all of these things is the swelling of the brain, which usually occurs on one or two days later.

I don't have a problem with the case, knowing that the chance of making it through after brain death was declared is low to zero...

His chronic renal disease might mean he was prone to bleeding problems and high blood pressure. Was he on dialysis?
24 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 2:06:08 PM by LadyDoc (liberals only love politically correct poor people)
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To: TheZMan

I have it written in my will and in the Power of Attorney for health care, No Heroics...that includes machines and definately NO CODE I also told my doctor.....I am not quick to jump to conclusions on what he may have told his family...

25 posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 2:15:08 PM by goat granny