Michael Jackson 911 Call
By now you have all probably heard that on Thursday two pop stars lost their lives. Farrah Fawcett lost her three year battle with cancer Thursday morning and Michael Jackson died Thursday afternoon of an apparent heart attack.
One of my readers asked if I would be posting about Michael Jackson and, at the time, I didn't think I would be. Communication FUNdamentals is mostly about humor and communication skills. Other than a few media stories in recent years, I haven't really followed Mr. Jackson's life so I wasn't going to comment. However, shortly after his death, there appeared to be some conflicting communication about the cause of his death coming from the transcripts of the 911 tape. It appeared that more was revealed by what was not said and not done.
I heard the 911 tape and was suprised at what it revealed. I have no medical training at all so, at first, I felt I may not be able to properly discern anything from the tapes. But a medical expert on the Sean Hannity Show expressed the same concerns and added one more piece of medical information that further shocked me.
The first thing that struck me about the tape was how polite the caller was taking the time to call the 911 operator "sir" often as if it was his nature. You could tell he was nervous and not sure what to say because he repeated himself and the 911 operator several times. Another thing that struck me odd was that this very polite unidentified man didn't identify Mr. Jackson, but just called him "a gentleman here." Since he did know his age when asked (without having to ask the doctor for that information), it seemed to me that he was told not to identify him by name due to his fame.
The most distressing thing to me was when the 911 operator was told that there was already a doctor on the scene! I was wondering why on earth that doctor wasn't on the phone with 911 instead of this poor man. I thought it would certainly speed treatment along to have the 911 operator briefed by a medical doctor who was with the patient at the time. In fact, we find in the next few lines of the transcript/audio that the doctor was the ONLY one with Mr. Jackson when it happened. The medical expert on the show said that, if it were his patient, he personally would be on the phone with 911 instead of giving that job to someone else.
The caller said that Mr. Jackson was on the bed and that the doctor had already tried CPR and was "trying to pump him." This sounds to me as if the doctor was currently performing CPR on the bed. The medical expert on the show pointed out something that I had forgotten from my one and only CPR training. You're supposed to do CPR on the FLOOR!
Apparently the initial report on the cause of death didn't show any heart disease that would be consistent with a heart attack so they are deferring the cause of death until more tests can be done. The communication from the 911 tape suggests negligence on the part of the attending personal physician. Some reports say that Mr. Jackson had allegedly been receiving regular injections of very strong pain killers which might have caused a heart attack. How very sad.
Farrah Fawcett was only 62 and had been fighting cancer for three years. Michael Jackson was only 50 years old. My prayers go out to their families and to this doctor as well.
7 comments
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Thank you for your thoughtful post, JoJo. I must admit I rarely follow news reports, so this was new news to me. I am praying for the families.
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I thought about that too Carla. In fact, when I heard they both died on the same day, I figured he would out fame her. She hasn’t really been in the public eye much lately.
You are right Cindy, everyone dies. And Carla makes a good point too, you hear more about the death of celebrities than you do those who gave their lives in service to others. Unsung heroes.
So I challenge all my readers out there. If you know an unsung hero, sing his praises on your blogs. Do so BEFORE they die so we can celebrate their life and what it means. Then come back here to Communication FUNdamentals and share that with my readers too.
God bless all the soldiers who keep us safe, God bless their families who live in fear, God bless all the other unsung heroes too. The fathers who provide for their families and take time for their children, the mothers who sacrifice so much to do what is right for their children no matter the cost, time and trouble. The sisters and brothers who help when their families are struggling. God bless all our unsung heroes!
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I’m glad you wrote on this too. I was not aware of that call until reading it here. Very distressing news indeed. We watched a Farrah special last night about her battle and both of these events have shaken our worlds and again reinforced the fact that beauty is fleeting and that fame and fortune cannot save us – everyone dies it’s just a matter of when.
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There have been rumors for years that MJ was under the care of unscrupulous physicians; again, only rumors. . . no proof that I have ever read. We aren’t going to know what really happened for a long, long time, if ever. I read that the tox screen and autopsy report will take 2-3 weeks to complete. If anything unusual is found in those reports, there will be a media circus all over again. Regardless of the cause of death, I would hope that the media would let his family grieve in peace. Guess not, huh? I hope he found his peace with God at the end. He never seemed to have much peace in this life.
Did you notice how Farah’s death was immediately relegated to Page gazillion-and-9, under the fold, after news of Jackson’s death got out? He had the bigger media presence, so she was forgotten in a flash. Makes you think a lot about life. Talk about here today, gone tomorrow. Tomorrow is promised to no man. Who knows when it will be your last morning?
The one thing that galls me in all of this. . . and, yes, I am VERY sorry that they died so young. . . is that we have brave men and women dying overseas every day and nobody says a word. It has always gotten my goat that just because someone can read lines with emotion or sing well, their lives and deaths are more important than the normal “Joes” of this earth. So, again, I am very sorry that Michael Jackson, a big talent in a tortured soul, died so young and, also, that a nice lady and good actress like Farah died after 3 torturous years of a horrible disease at only 62. Still, what about our soldiers? They are our sons, daughters, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and every other relation. They are VOLUNTARILY giving their very lives to protect freedom in this country and on this earth. I think we need a little more fanfare over their passing. But then, what do I do, eh?
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Good post. Thank you for taking the time to write it. It’s disturbing to think of the unprofessional way that this ‘personal’ doctor handled the situation.