Anonymous
03/07/2025 20:57
Subject: Gene Hackman R.I.P.
Anonymous wrote:What a sad story.
+1 Truly
Anonymous
03/07/2025 20:55
Subject: Gene Hackman R.I.P.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:His kids are going to feel guilty how he died. It's awful that he was alive for a whole week without any help and with dementia. At the same time, I guess dying at 95 with those health issues, it would've happened soon anywayz
When someone is so far gone with Alzheimers, death is often welcomed by family.
But not all alone in this tragic manner with no family or loved ones checking in on you.
Anonymous
03/07/2025 20:46
Subject: Gene Hackman R.I.P.
Anonymous wrote:So.
Biologist here.
You almost need to sleep on a bed of rodent droppings to catch hantavirus. Meaning, the dose of droppings needs to be extreme to catch it, which is why it's so rare. This is why it's usually caught by hikers who sleep outdoors - not the day hiker who happens to sit in a pile of infected leaves and eat a sandwich.
The authorities haven't said a word, but I'd be interested in the cleanliness of their home, and her state of mind. No sane person, unless perhaps they're a hoarder, lives in such a way in their own home to cause a hantavirus infection.
I doubt at her age and with her husband, that they were camping overnight in the woods...
And dehydration was probably a factor in the death of Gene and the dog. The media just isn't very accurate and the experts are cagey. But obviously you die from thirst before you die from lack of food.
I will also note that a relative of Gene's denied he had advanced Alzheimer's. It's sadly typical of some people that they feel shame and the need to hide such diagnoses, but it only ends up confusing everyone. I am glad the salient points of the medical report were publicly disclosed. That relative must be feeling pretty foolish now.
I’m from the southwest. What id heard about hanta is that it’s particularly a problem where you have buildings with thatched roofs or similar whrrr the rodents nest in the roofs and droppings fall with gravity. So I’m wondering if the outbuildings maybe had natural roofs (like a stable or something). Someone said she was into natural medicine as well, which is not uncommon in areas of NM, and she may have been doing something like burning leaves she grew that aerosolized rodent feces.
Apparently NM has about 1 hantavirus death per year. The dry air makes it more common.
Anonymous
03/07/2025 20:41
Subject: Gene Hackman R.I.P.
Anonymous wrote:So.
Biologist here.
You almost need to sleep on a bed of rodent droppings to catch hantavirus. Meaning, the dose of droppings needs to be extreme to catch it, which is why it's so rare. This is why it's usually caught by hikers who sleep outdoors - not the day hiker who happens to sit in a pile of infected leaves and eat a sandwich.
The authorities haven't said a word, but I'd be interested in the cleanliness of their home, and her state of mind. No sane person, unless perhaps they're a hoarder, lives in such a way in their own home to cause a hantavirus infection.
I doubt at her age and with her husband, that they were camping overnight in the woods...
And dehydration was probably a factor in the death of Gene and the dog. The media just isn't very accurate and the experts are cagey. But obviously you die from thirst before you die from lack of food.
I will also note that a relative of Gene's denied he had advanced Alzheimer's. It's sadly typical of some people that they feel shame and the need to hide such diagnoses, but it only ends up confusing everyone. I am glad the salient points of the medical report were publicly disclosed. That relative must be feeling pretty foolish now.
Spousal caregiver here. When you have a spouse who is not able in body (and/or mind) you often end up doing things you might not otherwise—like cleaning out a shed that happens to be filled with mouse droppings.
When my sister was pregnant, she went to open up my parents’ summer house and found it full of mouse droppings—they hired a professional to clean up, but only because she was pregnant.
My point is that you don’t have to have a hypothetical in which the wife was a hoarder to picture the infection vector. Any sustained exposure to mouse infestation will do.
Anonymous
03/07/2025 20:40
Subject: Gene Hackman R.I.P.
Anonymous wrote:So.
Biologist here.
You almost need to sleep on a bed of rodent droppings to catch hantavirus. Meaning, the dose of droppings needs to be extreme to catch it, which is why it's so rare. This is why it's usually caught by hikers who sleep outdoors - not the day hiker who happens to sit in a pile of infected leaves and eat a sandwich.
The authorities haven't said a word, but I'd be interested in the cleanliness of their home, and her state of mind. No sane person, unless perhaps they're a hoarder, lives in such a way in their own home to cause a hantavirus infection.
I doubt at her age and with her husband, that they were camping overnight in the woods...
And dehydration was probably a factor in the death of Gene and the dog. The media just isn't very accurate and the experts are cagey. But obviously you die from thirst before you die from lack of food.
I will also note that a relative of Gene's denied he had advanced Alzheimer's. It's sadly typical of some people that they feel shame and the need to hide such diagnoses, but it only ends up confusing everyone. I am glad the salient points of the medical report were publicly disclosed. That relative must be feeling pretty foolish now.
Engineer here.
You can't go more than three days without water. That's for someone in good physical condition. If he managed to survive seven days, he was drinking something.
Anonymous
03/07/2025 20:33
Subject: Gene Hackman R.I.P.
So.
Biologist here.
You almost need to sleep on a bed of rodent droppings to catch hantavirus. Meaning, the dose of droppings needs to be extreme to catch it, which is why it's so rare. This is why it's usually caught by hikers who sleep outdoors - not the day hiker who happens to sit in a pile of infected leaves and eat a sandwich.
The authorities haven't said a word, but I'd be interested in the cleanliness of their home, and her state of mind. No sane person, unless perhaps they're a hoarder, lives in such a way in their own home to cause a hantavirus infection.
I doubt at her age and with her husband, that they were camping overnight in the woods...
And dehydration was probably a factor in the death of Gene and the dog. The media just isn't very accurate and the experts are cagey. But obviously you die from thirst before you die from lack of food.
I will also note that a relative of Gene's denied he had advanced Alzheimer's. It's sadly typical of some people that they feel shame and the need to hide such diagnoses, but it only ends up confusing everyone. I am glad the salient points of the medical report were publicly disclosed. That relative must be feeling pretty foolish now.
Biologist here.
You almost need to sleep on a bed of rodent droppings to catch hantavirus. Meaning, the dose of droppings needs to be extreme to catch it, which is why it's so rare. This is why it's usually caught by hikers who sleep outdoors - not the day hiker who happens to sit in a pile of infected leaves and eat a sandwich.
The authorities haven't said a word, but I'd be interested in the cleanliness of their home, and her state of mind. No sane person, unless perhaps they're a hoarder, lives in such a way in their own home to cause a hantavirus infection.
I doubt at her age and with her husband, that they were camping overnight in the woods...
And dehydration was probably a factor in the death of Gene and the dog. The media just isn't very accurate and the experts are cagey. But obviously you die from thirst before you die from lack of food.
I will also note that a relative of Gene's denied he had advanced Alzheimer's. It's sadly typical of some people that they feel shame and the need to hide such diagnoses, but it only ends up confusing everyone. I am glad the salient points of the medical report were publicly disclosed. That relative must be feeling pretty foolish now.
Anonymous
03/07/2025 20:26
Subject: Gene Hackman R.I.P.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine how mortified the family is. Regardless of the reason, having everyone in the country know that my father wandered around his house with severe dementia, unable to get help for more than a week would be so embarrassing. Not to mention how guilty I would feel. I mean, I was present when my dad died, and I still (against all reason) felt guilty.
How is this embarrassing? Extremely sad, yes but hardly embarrassing.
Anyone who knew who my father was would know that he had wandered around in a house with his dead wife's body until he basically died of neglect. If any one of his children had noticed, his life could have been extended or he could have died in a less desperate or tragic situation.
Anonymous
03/07/2025 20:24
Subject: Gene Hackman R.I.P.
What a sad story.
Anonymous
03/07/2025 20:21
Subject: Gene Hackman R.I.P.
Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine how mortified the family is. Regardless of the reason, having everyone in the country know that my father wandered around his house with severe dementia, unable to get help for more than a week would be so embarrassing. Not to mention how guilty I would feel. I mean, I was present when my dad died, and I still (against all reason) felt guilty.
How is this embarrassing? Extremely sad, yes but hardly embarrassing.
Anonymous
03/07/2025 20:11
Subject: Gene Hackman R.I.P.
I can't imagine how mortified the family is. Regardless of the reason, having everyone in the country know that my father wandered around his house with severe dementia, unable to get help for more than a week would be so embarrassing. Not to mention how guilty I would feel. I mean, I was present when my dad died, and I still (against all reason) felt guilty.
Anonymous
03/07/2025 19:59
Subject: Re:Gene Hackman R.I.P.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:How many responses are from 50-60 years old with a 95 year old parent married to a loving wife in her 60s?
Why does the age of the parent’s spouse factor in with how often someone checks in with their own parent?
+1 seriously!
If the concern is genuinely that they might be dying, then if matters because they have someone else who is able to take care of them in the vast majority of circumstances. Whatever happened here is the outlier, not a normal experience for someone in their 60s.
DP.
Thank you for your very clinical response.
+1 unemotional and unfeeling. We often see and hear of people left alone in nursing homes with fewvor no family visits or calls. Very sad.
What’s sad is that they often are simply reaping what they’ve sown, but because they’re old, you assume they’re the neglected victims.
I only know how I would treat elderly parents and grandparents. No one in our extended family would die and remain on the floor with no one knowing an out the death for weeks. If you think keeping a distance and not contacting someone for weeks is appropriate for your family members, then so be it.
*But I'm in my 40s and honestly I guess I don't know how I'd truly act two decades from now. I'll check back when I'm 65 and my 95 year old absentee father has a wife my age.
If you love a parent, you stay in touch, regardless of the spouse's age. Maybe not every day but frequently. His daughter said he was doing pilates and yoga. No, he wasn't. She was out of touch. He was frail, thin, and either used his cane or leaned on his wife when they went out.
Check back when you're 65 and your 95 year old absentee father has a wife your age.
I don't need to check back. My father died at age 88.
If you had checked in more he could have lived to 95.
Thanks for your touching concern. He lived with my sister and her family.
Anonymous
03/07/2025 19:55
Subject: Gene Hackman R.I.P.
This story is a spousal caregiving nightmare.
Anonymous
03/07/2025 19:52
Subject: Gene Hackman R.I.P.
It’s horrible for everyone including the poor dog. It sounds like the dog had a procedure which is why it was in the crate. The dogs not in crates survived
Anonymous
03/07/2025 19:50
Subject: Gene Hackman R.I.P.
Anonymous wrote:I agree with this. Better thing would be when did she last use phone or search on computers etc. You know he was seen driving less tha. a year ago so doubting he had sever alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s can get very bad very quickly.
Anonymous
03/07/2025 19:50
Subject: Gene Hackman R.I.P.
Anonymous wrote:His kids are going to feel guilty how he died. It's awful that he was alive for a whole week without any help and with dementia. At the same time, I guess dying at 95 with those health issues, it would've happened soon anywayz
When someone is so far gone with Alzheimers, death is often welcomed by family.