Re: The Widow Lewis At It Again

[Kim Malo <kimmalo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 09:27 PM 9/12/2003 -0400, Snoopy the Celtics Beagle wrote:
> At 07:42 PM 9/12/03 -0400, Kim Malo wrote:
> >At 01:35 PM 9/12/2003 -0400, Snoopy the Celtics Beagle wrote:
> >
> To be fair--and accurate, on my part--a lot of this is based on what I
> recall from that time, not any recent info.  But the impression I recall
> was that Reggie had talked to several different doctors before Mudge.

Mudge at Brighams was the personal choice of the hospital administrator 
there who Donna turned to because she had worked under him, and that was 
while Reggie was still at NE Baptist. There were other doctors brought in 
to consult with him, but Donna didn't shop all over the place at that point.

>  I
> question the assessment that the "dream team working for the C's had the
> C's interest coming first", since they essentially said Reggie's condition
> was extremely serious and his playing days might be over, as best I remember.

But I didn't say that was my assessment. I said that was apparently the 
Lewis's assessment. And look Snoop, you're looking at this with a lot of 
hindsight about consequences. Accurate or not, there were a lot of things 
that could have been seen that way if one wanted to and the Lewis' were 
already less than enamoured with Cs management over other issues, mostly 
having to do with not feeling Reggie got enough respect. And at bottom this 
was another respect issue.

> >I agree about the drug user perception, but I think you're way out of line
> >in talking about his obvious refusal to treat his condition seriously.
> >Seriously enough, perhaps. But part of the reason for that has to be laid
> >to Mudge's door. And what was said in public doesn't necessarily fully
> >reflect what anyone thought.
>
> Possibly, but wasn't it established at some point that Reggie kept info
> about his drug use from his doctors?

I never denied that.

>  To me, that, plus the fact that while
> looking for a second opinion closer to what he wanted the diagnosis to be,

No. He looked for a second opinion. And got a more palatable one that they 
were too quick to accept for whatever reasons - because they wanted to, 
because Mudge was persuasive, because they did not trust the Cs dream team 
of doctors or whatever - that does not mean the only reason he went looking 
for a second opinoin was to keep trying until he found one he liked.

> he kept working out, after leaving the hospital against medical advice,

He left one hospital under medical advice from one hospital to move to 
another hospital. He did later have permission to work out from Mudge, but 
reportedly not as strenuously as he actually did. At the same time, under 
Mudge's own diagnosis, the risks shouldn't have been that high...

> tells me he wasn't taking his problem seriously.

*shrug* your interpretation. I said maybe not seriously enough, but I don't 
think he didn't take it seriously at all. And again, you're looking at this 
with hindsight and did not hear whatever he was really hearing from Mudge 
any more than I did. Reports, including the globe 4 parter I keep talking 
about, were that he took it seriously and realized his career might be 
over, but it was only a "might be" from what he was being told and he had 
to find out for sure. The Lewises may have been too willing to go along 
with him, but Mudge really has to get a lot of blame in this. Especially 
because, as I said before, the dream team got it right without needing to 
be told about the drugs. All knowing about the drugs does is provide a 
possible cause of the damage. It's not necessary to diagnose the fact of it.

And in fairness, a lot of what you're saying is the way some of the press 
reports spun this all. I had the advantage of all the Boston media, 
including people like Jimmy Meyers going perhaps overboard the other way to 
balance things out.

> The really sad thing is, given what happened to Reggie, and Len Bias--not
> to mention Roy Tarpley--you'd think by now even someone who only got into
> college because they can play a game well would have figured out that drug
> abuse is a bad idea, but nooooo...

And what if it WAS an infection that was primarily responsible for the 
heart damage, as it could have been, even assuming the reports of cocaine 
are true. or mostly based in birth defects from an admitted addict mother. 
What if Bias just tried it that once. What if...(BTW Tarpley is a better 
choice for your case, because he's had his repeated chances and warnings 
and still kept after it.) And it's hardly just drugs - doesn't look like 
Magic stopped jocks from getting sex wherever and whenever they can either. 
People with lung cancer doen't stop them from smoking. etc etc etc  Part of 
it's the jock culture where you're encouraged to believe you're invincible. 
Bad things always happen to someone else.

I'm not saying Reggie's blameless, I'm just saying I don't think it's that 
simple. While what ifs in hindsight are far too easy. The sad thing is that 
Reggie had to learn the lesson of his life the hard way with no chance to 
recover.
Kim