John Judge has died

[Peter Lemkin]

Dear Friends ~


I have at long last received John's final autopsy report. The summary page lists the Manner of Death as "NATURAL" and the Cause of Death as "HYPERTENSIVE AND ATHEROSCLEROTIC CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE."


I forwarded the entire autopsy report to Dr. Cyril Wecht as soon as I received it, for his review and comment. You should also know that Dr. Wecht spoke several times with Dr. Pestaner, the forensic pathologist from the DC Medical Examiner's Office who actually did John's autopsy. Dr. Wecht asked questions and gathered information, to assure himself that the autopsy was thorough and complete, and no stone was left unturned.


According to Dr. Wecht, the cause of John's death, in layman's terms, was that his heart was greatly enlarged (about twice the size of a normal heart), and the arteries around his heart were significantly narrowed. Three of his coronary arteries were 40-60% blocked, and his right coronary artery was 90% blocked. Dr. Wecht told me that John's heart was a "ticking time bomb," and that ~ even if John had not had a stroke in March ~ he could have died at any moment from that level of heart disease.


We all know that John's obesity worked against him, and that many of his health problems stemmed from the fact that he spent his days in a chair working at his computer, didn't get much exercise and didn't eat well. Some of the responsibility for John's death lies with him.


Dr. Wecht says he sees nothing suspicious in the cause of John's death. He also says, given the condition of John's heart and arteries, there is no reasonable cause of action against either George Washington University Hospital or Washington Center for Aging Services for any negligence in John's death. Not being a medical expert, I certainly defer to Dr. Wecht's expert opinion. I, like many of you, have the utmost respect for his integrity, ability and judgment. I am deeply grateful for his help in this heartbreaking situation.


This autopsy report, however, leaves me deeply troubled. I don't mean that I suspect anything nefarious ~ though some will still believe this is a possibility, and even Dr. Wecht's impeccable credentials will not be able to dissuade them from this belief.


What I think happened to John is even more insidious than foul play, and it happens to many people in this country every day. I think John died because he was obese and sedentary, but also because he was impoverished. Many of you already know that John did most of his work without compensation and that he had almost no money. John was on Medicare. He could not afford a Medicare supplement policy, so he was on DC Medicaid. I work in the health care industry, and I deal with health insurance all the time. I see that Medicare/Medicaid recipients receive lesser quality care than those who can pay out-of-pocket or have excellent health care insurance.


Many of you have asked me: Why didn't anyone know the severity of John's heart disease in time to treat it? I believe John received less aggressive, less thorough medical care than he would have received if he carried a top-notch insurance like Blue Cross. There are treatments for narrowed arteries, such as balloon angioplasty, stents and bypass surgery. John had balloon angioplasty on two earlier occasions. After he went on Medicare/Medicaid, he continued to see his cardiologist on a regular basis and to faithfully take all of his heart medications. But for some reason (probably the expense of tests and procedures), he was not given the tests that would have revealed that he was in danger, and he was not given the treatments that could have extended his life.


Then, once John had a stroke and landed in the rehab unit of GWU hospital, no one there discovered that his heart was a "ticking time bomb." Why not? Could it be that the low level of payment provided by Medicare/Medicaid did not encourage any testing? I don't think anyone at GWU Hospital even contacted John's cardiologist, who is himself a GWU physician! At the end of John's stay in the GWU rehab, hospital personnel essentially pressured me to find a sub-acute rehab setting for John. They were concerned that Medicare would no longer pay for John to have a bed in the GWU rehab, and they wanted him out of there. Even when I questioned John's readiness to be moved, the hospital still insisted it would be fine to move him. Was John moved before he was ready for financial reasons? Did the shock and stress of the move put a final last strain on his heart?


These questions continue to haunt me. I'm sure Dr. Wecht is correct when he says that no one doctor or facility can be held legally liable for what happened to John. It is also true that John's poor eating habits, excessive weight and lack of exercise strongly contributed to his death. Even so, I can't help wondering if John would have gotten better medical care, and lived longer, if he had been wealthy or had had better insurance.


Perhaps those of you who are interested in health care reform can honor John by working for better health care for everyone. Perhaps the rest of us can honor him by preserving his collection and by advocating for his ideas.


Stay tuned to this channel for exciting news about the Hidden History Center. We are still packing up John's books and papers, and we are searching for a space to house his collection! We'll be paying rent on a space for the Center soon, so we can still use your help on that project, if you can afford to make a donation. Please send tax-deductible donations to Museum of Hidden History, P.O. Box 772, Washington, DC, 20044.


Thanks so much for all your love and support. I'm so sorry John is gone. I miss him every day, and I'm sure you do, too.



Much love ~ Marilyn