MYSTERIOUS DEATH WATCH
MYSTERIOUS DEATH
WATCH
MY HUSBAND CHARLES BOOHER DIED FROM CJD MAY 18, 1996.
ON HIS OLDEST GRANDSON'S BIRTHDAY WHO WAS HIS NAMESAKE. HE NEVER
KNEW WHAT HIT HIM.
WE NEVER SAID GOODBYE, NEVER TOUCHED; IT WAS SO SAD
THAT HE BECAME NONFUNCTIONAL THINKING HE DID SOMETHING WRONG.
THAT IS WHAT THE DOCTORS LED HIM TO BELIEVE. THAT HE COULD SNAP
OUT OF IT WHEN HE WANTED TO.
I FOUND SOME NOTES CHARLES WROTE AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF HIS
ILLNESS. THE DOCTORS ENCOURAGED HIM TO KEEP A JOURNEL AS THEY
THOUGHT HE WAS DEEPLY DEPRESSED: "I FEEL I HAVE COME DOWN
WITH INSOMNIA FOR SOME REASON THAT IS DIFFICULT FOR ME TO
EXPLAIN. I PRAY FOR GRANDKIDS, THEY NEED MY LOVE AND ATTENTION. I
FEEL GUILT FOR NOT DOING A LOT OF ANYTHING. I DON'T WANT TO LET
THE FAMILY DOWN." THEN HE SAID, "ALL I WANT TO DO IS
JUST LAY AND KEEP MY EYES CLOSED. THAT WAY I DON'T HAVE TO FACE
THE WORLD."
CHARLES MADE AN APPOINTMENT WITH HIS DOCTOR DEC. 22, 1994, FOR
LACK OF ENERGY, NOT SLEEPING WELL, JITTERY, AGITATED, DEPRESSED.
THE DOCTOR PRESCRIBED PAXIL AND DID NOT TELL US OF SIDE EFFECTS.
CHARLES DID NOT SLEEP FOR 4 NIGHTS AND DAYS. ANOTHER DOCTOR TOOK
HIM OFF PAXIL AND PRESCRIBED TEMAZEPAN. STILL NOT MUCH SLEEP.
WENT BACK TO FIRST DOCTOR. STILL NO SLEEP, EYES FIXED, EXHAUSTED,
WALKS SLOWLY, REPEATS HE IS "SORRY." DOCTOR PUT HIM
BACK ON PAXIL. WE ASKED TO GO TO MENTAL HEALTH.
CATSCAN WAS ORDERED. MOOD SWINGS. PSYCHIATRIST THINKS THIS MEANS
MANIC. ADDED NEW MEDICINE (DEPAKOTE). HELPING WITH HOUSEWORK,
DOING YARD WORK, SLEEPING. DOES NOT WANT TO SHOWER. AVOIDS
PEOPLE.
BY MARCH 1996, SLOWLY GETTING WORSE. SAYS HE TAKES PILLS, BUT
DOESN'T. GETS NERVOUS, PARANOID, IRRITABLE. KEPT ME AWAKE GOING
THROUGH BATHROOM DRAWERS. DIDN'T KNOW WHY. VERY CONFUSED. INSISTS
THE TELEPHONE LINE TO HOUSE IS GOING TO BREAK, AND THAT WE HAVE
TERMITES. I HAD TO CALL ON BOTH TO SATISFY HIM.
WENT TO AF BASE HOSPITAL TO SEE IF THEY COULD HELP. HE SCARED THE
MENTAL HEALTH DOCTORS THERE. HE WAS SO PARANOID HE WOULD NOT SIGN
PAPERS. HE THOUGHT HE WOULD GO TO JAIL. ALSO TOOK HIM TO ANOTHER
PSYCHOLOGIST, AND HE REFUSED TO SIGN PAPERS.
IN MAY 1995, HE HAD A PANIC ATTACK. KEPT SAYING THIS CAN'T BE
HAPPENING.
I TOOK HIM HOME TO TENNESSEE IN AUGUST, 1995, TO SEE IF HIS
FAMILY COULD TALK TO HIM AND FIND OUT WHAT WAS WRONG. WHILE WE
WERE IN THE MOTEL, HE WOULD HIT THE WALLS WITH HIS FISTS. HE
DIDN'T TALK MUCH TO RELATIVES. HE RETURNED EXHAUSTED. DIDN'T KNOW
WHERE WE WERE, ESPECIALLY AFTER WE LANDED AND I WAS DRIVING HOME.
SEPTEMBER, 1995, HE HIDES AND WATCHES ME AROUND CORNERS. ONE OF
THE PSYCHIATRISTS THINKS HE IS HAVING FUN. REFUSES TO SHOWER.
THROWS GUM IN THE AIR AND TRIES TO CATCH IT IN HIS MOUTH. HE ALSO
THROWS HIS GUM UP SO IT STICKS TO THE CEILING TO AMUSE THE
GRANDKIDS. WE CELEBRATED OUR 40 YEAR ANNIVERSARY BY TAKING THE
AMTRAK TO SEATTLE. HE WAS STILL ABLE TO WALK, TALK, ETC.
WE MET SOME FRIENDS UP THERE. WE WALKED ALL OVER
SEATTLE AND WENT OUT TO EAT, RODE THE FERRIES, ETC. HE STILL
TRIED TO HIT HIS FISTS IN THE WALL OF THE HOTEL. BUT WOULD STOP
WHEN I TOLD HIM WE WOULD GET THROWN OUT. REFUSED TO SHAVE AND
WOULD NOT TALK TO PEOPLE ON THE TRAIN.
MARCH, 1996. WHEN I LOOK BACK, IT IS ALMOST FUNNY HOW WRONG THE
DOCTORS AND PSYCHIATRISTS WERE. THEY KEPT TELLING HIM HE COULD
SNAP OUT OF IT. HE WAS PUT ON STELAZINE AND TOLD TO RETURN TO
COGNITIVE THERAPIST. THE PSYCHIATRIST THOUGHT CHARLES WANTED TO
BE IN CONTROL, THEREFORE, HE WAS SLOW WHEN I TRIED TO GET HIM TO
DO THINGS.
CHARLES DID IMPROVE AROUND THIS TIME, ENOUGH TO GO BACK TO WORK.
HE CALLED AND ARRANGED IT, AND GOT HIMSELF DRESSED EVERYDAY. BUT
THEY WERE DOING PAPERWORK HE COULD NOT HANDLE. HE FINALLY RETIRED
IN APRIL. HE SLOWLY BECAME WORSE. MORE PARANOID, WANTED TO STAY
IN BED CONSTANTLY, WOULD NOT TAKE A SHOWER.
WENT TO URGENT CARE. DOCTOR THOUGHT HE HAD A STROKE AND WE WENT
TO EMERGENCY FOR A CATSCAN AND BLOOD WORK. BLOOD SHOWED HIGH
TOXIC LEVELS. THEY WERE SURE HE WAS TAKING VALIUM. RECOMMENDED
NEUROLOGIST. CHARLES WAS ADMITTED TO A HOSPITAL FOR AN MRI AND
MORE TESTS. THE NEW DOCTOR SAID IT WAS A "CLASSIC
TEXTBOOK"CASE OF DEMENTIA AND THAT HE COULDN'T BELIEVE NO
ONE HAD TOLD ME IT WAS DEMENTIA. HE SAID CHARLES WAS HEALTHY
OTHERWISE. CHARLES WANDERED WHILE HE WAS IN THE HOSPITAL AND EVEN
GOT IN OTHER PEOPLES' BEDS. THEY PUT A SIGN WITH HIS NAME ON IT
ON HIS ROOM'S DOOR. THEY PUT HIM ON HALDOL WHICH CAUSED HIM TO
JERK.
APRIL, 1996, CHARLES WAS SENT HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL AND TAKEN
OFF ALL MEDICATION. HE STILL CAN'T FIND HIS ROOM; I HAVE TO LEAD
HIM AND DRESS HIM. HE DOES SLEEP GOOD AND HAS AN APPETITE. HE
STARTED A CHEWING MOTION WITH HIS MOUTH. DOES NOT KNOW WHEN HE
URINATES.
OUTPATIENT BRIEFING FROM HOSPITAL RECOMMENDED NEUROLOGIST. DOCTOR
NOTICED HIS LEFT ARM WAS STIFF. THIS IS THE FIRST LOSS OF HIS
PHYSICAL ABILITIES THAT OCCURRED EVERYDAY FROM THEN ON. WHEN THE
VISITING NURSE CAME, SHE THOUGHT HE HAD HAD A STROKE BECAUSE OF
HIS LEFT ARM AND HIS LEFT EYE DROOPED. HE WAS UNABLE TO TALK TO
ANYONE. HE FELL OUT OF BED AT NIGHT AND WAS FRIGHTENED -- YELLED.
WHEN HE WALKS, HE STEPS HIGH LIKE HE IS STEPPING UP STEPS. CAN'T
SEE TO SIT DOWN IN CHAIR OR TOILET. FALLS.
HIS BROTHER AND SISTER CAME TO VISIT HIM. HIS BROTHER TOOK A LOT
OF FURNITURE OUT OF THE HOUSE TO MAKE MORE ROOM TO WALK, AND HE
TOOK OFF THE GLASS SHOWER DOOR. JUST IN TIME, BECAUSE THE NEXT
WEEK CHARLES DID FALL OFF THE TOILET INTO THE SHOWER. HE WAS
DOCILE AND SWEET BY NOW AND I WOULD LEAD HIM WITH HIS HANDS ON MY
HIPS OR I WOULD WALK BEHIND HIM.
FINALLY SAW NEUROLOGIST WHO SAID CHARLES DID NOT HAVE DEMENTIA --
SOME KIND OF PSYCHOSIS WITH DEPRESSION. SENT US TO MENTAL HEALTH.
MENTAL HEALTH SAID NEEDED TO SEE A NEUROLOGIST FOR 2ND OPINION.
CHARLES BECAME INCONTINENT. PUT ON A DIAPER.
THIS IS THE LAST OF MY NOTES. AFTER THIS, I DIDN'T HAVE TIME. I
WAS TOO BUSY TAKING CARE OF CHARLES. HE BECAME RIGID TOO, I HAD
TO PRACTICALLY BEND HIM TO GET HIM TO SIT. HAD TO TIE HIM IN THE
WHEELCHAIR. HE SLID OFF THE COUCH ONE DAY, AND I HAD TO CALL THE
FIRE DEPARTMENT TO PICK HIM UP.
WHEN HE WAS SITTING IN FRONT OF THE TV WATCHING A MOVIE (I
THOUGHT), I GAVE HIM BITS OF AN APPLE TO EAT, WHILE I FIXED
DINNER. WHEN I WHEELED HIM IN TO EAT, AND HE OPENED HIS MOUTH,
ALL THE APPLE FELL OUT. THAT WAS THE MOMENT I KNEW HE HAD TO GO
TO EMERGENCY (THAT HE COULDN'T SWALLOW). I GOT THE NEIGHBOR TO
CARRY HIM TO THE CAR (WHICH WAS A MISTAKE, I SHOULD HAVE CALLED
AN AMBULANCE). WHEN WE ARRIVED AT EMERGENCY, WE COULDN'T GET HIM
OUT OF THE CAR. THEY FINALLY BROUGHT A BOARD AND SLID HIM OUT ON
IT AND CARRIED HIM IN. HE BECAME SO FRIGHTENED THAT HE STARTED
SHAKING AND WOULDN'T STOP. HE SHOOK VIOLENTLY FOR HOURS. WE WOULD
PULL HIM TO THE TOP OF THE GURNEY AND HE WOULD SHAKE DOWN TO THE
BOTTOM. NO ONE HAD ANY IDEA WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HIM.
HE WAS ADMITTED TO INTENSIVE CARE FOR ABOUT 10 DAYS, AND THEN TO
A REGULAR HOSPITAL ROOM. OUR CHURCH PEOPLE CAME MANY TIMES TO
ANNOINT HIM WITH OIL. THE STAFF STARTED TAKING HAIR SAMPLES TO
SEE IF I HAD POISONED HIM WITH ARSENIC. THEY WERE SO MYSTIFIED, I
HAD TO BRING EVERY BOTTLE OF VITAMS, ETC., HE HAD EVER TAKEN.
THEY WERE SUSPICIOUS BECAUSE I HAD KEPT NOTES OF HIS HISTORY AND
I TRIED TO GIVE THEM TO THEM TO HELP. ABOUT THIS TIME, THE
NEUROLOGIST SUSPECTED CJD. HE WANTED TO DO A BIOPSY, BUT WE
DIDN'T WANT CHARLES TO BECOME PARALYZED (WHICH THEY SAID COULD
HAPPEN). SO THEY LOOKED FOR A NURSING HOME TO PUT HIM IN. THEY
HAD A HARD TIME FINDING A HOME TO TAKE CHARLES SINCE THEY WERE
DIAGNOSING CJD NOW. THEY FINALLY FOUND ONE OUT IN THE COUNTRY; A
THREE BED ROOM AND CHARLES WAS THE ONLY ONE IN IT. HE WAS IN A
COMA BY THIS TIME AND LASTED A COUPLE OF WEEKS. I SAT BY HIS BED
AND READ THE BIBLE TO HIM AND PLAYED MUSIC HE LIKED, BECAUSE I
HAD HEARD THE HEARING IS THE LAST TO GO. I GOT THERE WHEN CHARLES
WAS DYING, AND SAT WITH HIM WHILE THEY TRIED TO FIND A MORTICIAN.
IT TOOK 4 HOURS. THE MORTUARY REFUSED TO EMBALM HIM SO HE WAS
BURIED IN A SEALED COFFIN. AN AUTOPSY WAS PERFORMED AT UCLA AND
THEY FOUND VERY "DIFFUSE" CJD.
I CANNOT CLOSE WITHOUT TELLING YOU WHAT A WONDERFUL MAN CHARLES
WAS. A WONDERFUL HUSBAND AND FATHER AND GRANDFATHER. HE CARED SO
MUCH ABOUT HIS FAMILY. I SOMETIMES THINK WE PUT TOO MUCH ON HIM.
WE ALL DEPENDED ON HIM. HE WAS SO GOOD. HE WAS VERY CLEAN AND
PRECISE. HE DEMANDED THE BEST OF HIS PEOPLE AT WORK. HE WAS A
WORKAHOLIC -- LOVED HIS JOB. IN FACT HE WAS NEVER DEPRESSED. HE
WAS A TRUE OPTIMIST. HE LOVED TO FISH, AND DID STOP THAT A COUPLE
OF YEARS BEFORE HE WAS SICK. I DIDN'T THINK MUCH ABOUT IT. HE WAS
IN THE USAF 23 YEARS, AROUND JET ENGINES. THEN HE WAS IN PUBLIC
WORKS, WITH CONCRETE, ASPHALT, ETC. HE WORKED WITH A LOT OF
COPPER WIRE. HE CHEWED LOTS AND LOTS OF GUM, WAS ADDICTED TO
WHOPPERS, ATE MORE THAN HIS SHARE OF SAUSAGE BISCUITS, HAD A
HIATAL HERNIA, HAD TO HAVE HIS ESOPHAGUS STRETCHED PERIODICALLY,
USED TO COLLECT COINS TO EXCESS. HOPEFULLY THESE THINGS WILL
STRIKE A COMMON BOND.
BUT LET ME CLOSE BY TELLING YOU THAT I LOST A LOYAL, CHRISTIAN,
LOVING MAN IN A VERY CRUEL WAY. I HOPE THAT NO ONE ELSE HAS TO
EXPERIENCE THE CRUELTY THE DOCTORS SHOWED US. MY GREATEST
HEARTACHE IS THAT I NEVER GOT TO HUG CHARLES IN THE END. THE
DOCTORS SAID WHAT HE HAD WAS SO CONTAGEOUS I COULD NOT EVEN TOUCH
HIM. THIS AFTER I HAD HELPED HIM GO TO THE BATHROOM, BATHED HIM,
AND CHANGED HIS DIAPER. I AM THANKFUL TO HAVE SPENT 40 YEARS WITH
HIM.
HIS WIFE, MARY