Just what did happen to Cindy Sheehan?
According to one of Cindy Sheehan's colleagues at Gold Star Families for Peace, Cindy Sheehan went to hospital to undergo a transfusion to treat blood loss amounting to an astounding five pints! Gynecologically speaking, there are not too many ways to lose that much blood, especially since Cindy Sheehan has not undergone any surgery recently.
Cindy Sheehan had a much publicized trip to the hospital last week:
Peace mom Cindy Sheehan spent the night in a hospital for a gynecological procedure and treatment of dehydration but said Saturday that wouldn't stop her protest against the Iraq war on land she bought near President Bush (website - news - bio) 's Crawford ranch. Sheehan was listed in stable condition at Providence Health Center in Waco, about 20 miles east of Crawford.
Sheehan returned to Texas on Friday after a few days in Seattle at the Veterans for Peace convention. She planned to resume the war protest she started Aug. 6, the first anniversary of the beginning of her 26-day peace vigil that drew thousands of anti-war demonstrators and spurred counter demonstrations by Bush supporters.
Instead, friends took her from the airport to the hospital. After being on a liquid diet as part of the nationwide "Troops Home Fast" hunger strike, Sheehan had been treated at a Seattle emergency room Thursday, and ate for the first time in about 37 days, said her spokeswoman Tiffany Burns.
Doctors in Waco stopped uterine bleeding, gave her a blood transfusion and planned a biopsy, she said. Sheehan was dehydrated again Friday, but said it was probably from the bleeding.
Clearly this was an emergency, and related to blood loss. Well, probably related to blood loss according to this media report. Keep that phrase in your head as you read on.
I want to lay some groundwork here. The body of an average sized woman contains about 9 pints of blood. Blood loss can, of course, be fatal:
The body can normally lose 1 pint of blood (usual amount given by donors) without harmful effects. A loss of 2 pints may cause shock, a loss of 5 to 6 pints usually results in death.
So what can we make of this by Missy Comley Beattie, one of Cindy Sheehan's associates in Gold Star Families for Peace?
Blood is the fluid of life, coursing through our veins and providing oxygen to the body.
Cindy Sheehan has just been released from a Waco hospital where she was treated for exhaustion and dehydration and was transfused after losing almost five pints of blood. This ordeal is nothing compared to the heart-shattering agony of hearing the words, "We regret to inform you," a message delivered over and over as more blood seeps into the Iraq sand each day. [emphasis added]
Yeah, yeah, Iraq. Five pints?! Over half her blood supply?! Until I read this, the assumption has been, based on the bland news reports like the one I quoted, that Cindy Sheehan suffered from a bit of excessive bleeding not uncommon in women her age, and that the effect of the bleeding was magnified by her fast, thus requiring the unusual step of a transfusion:
In the evaluation of the woman with AUB [abnormal uterine bleeding], obtaining a thorough history is of paramount importance. Emphasis should be placed on learning the pattern and quantity of bleeding. Because most women are poor at estimating blood loss and recalling exactly when they bled, all patients should be asked to keep a prospective menstrual calendar in which they record days and severity of bleeding. Menses lasting for more than 8 days or in which more than 80 ml of blood is lost are probably abnormal (i.e., menorrhagia). It has been estimated that up to 20% of women have excessive menstrual blood loss and that the incidence is similar for African-American and white U.S. women.
For people not familiar with the metric system, 80ml might be a lot of blood to lose via menstruation, but it represents less than 0.2 pints. According to Missy Comley Beattie, who is clearly no doctor, that is less than 25 times the blood loss Cindy Sheehan suffered.
Beattie goes on:
The dangerous amount of blood that Cindy Sheehan lost has been replenished. But medical experts can do nothing to ease the grief Casey's death has brought. There is no transfusion for the heart. Over 2,600 families in this country feel the never-ending pain that bonds Sheehan to the despair and suffering of the Iraqis whose lives and culture have been destroyed. [emphasis added]
Yeah, yeah, war is bad. Dangerous amount? You think?
Hey, I'm not a doctor either, but to lose five pints, you have to have suffered some sort of dramatic uterine trauma. It can happen as a result of childbirth:
After the baby is delivered, excessive bleeding (postpartum hemorrhage) from the uterus is a major concern. Ordinarily, the woman loses about 1 pint of blood after delivery. Blood is lost because some blood vessels are opened when the placenta detaches from the uterus. The contractions of the uterus help close these vessels until the vessels can heal.
Loss of more than 1 pint of blood during or after the third stage of labor (when the placenta is delivered) is considered excessive. Severe blood loss usually occurs soon after delivery but may occur even as late as 1 month afterward.
But as traumatic as this is, the panic button is hit after a mere pint is lost. But bleeding on this scale, especially since there is no evidence that Cindy Sheehan was in the hospital in recent weeks or months for any procedure, is a known side-effect of RU486:
An emergency room doctor, Mark Louviere, M.D., treated a woman from Waterloo, Iowa two weeks after she had taken RU-486 at the local Planned Parenthood clinic. When she arrived at the ER, according to Dr. Louviere's testimony, she was "in obvious shock" having "lost between one-half to two-thirds of her blood volume. ... It was my clinical opinion that she would die soon. ... Without even doing the routine preparation we normally do for surgery, I realized that I had to take her immediately to surgery to save her life."
Nine percent of women in U.S. trials bled for over 30 days, and one percent of women were still bleeding 60 days after taking RU-486.
Two women describe bleeding. Two patients in Des Moines, Iowa RU-486 trials told a TIME magazine journalist that their bleeding was "like turning a jug of water upside down" and "like a faucet was turned on. There was a steady stream of blood. I passed a golf ball size blood clot that scared me."
And this from a pro-abortion site:
Side effects, such as pain, cramping and vaginal bleeding, result from the abortion process itself, and are therefore expected with a medical abortion. Other side effects may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, chills, or fever. Complications are rare, but may include infection, excessive vaginal bleeding requiring transfusion (occurs in approximately 1 in 500 cases), incomplete abortion or ongoing pregnancy which requires a suction abortion (see above).
Recall that Cindy Sheehan was in hospital in Seattle immediately prior to coming to Waco, but not for surgery. The reports implied it was for exhaustion and dehydration from her liquid diet:
Sheehan has been on a liquid diet as part of the nationwide "Troops Home Fast" hunger strike. She was treated and released from a Seattle emergency room Thursday night. On doctors orders, she ate for the first time in about 37 days, Burns said.
No indication of bleeding, nor any hint of surgery. In fact, the problems started later. Perhaps she was misdiagnosed in Seattle. Perhaps she hadn't been forthcoming about something significant in her recent medical history. Perhaps the bleeding hadn't manifested yet, and the doctors didn't look for any explanation for her palour beyond dehydration:
When she arrived in Texas, Sheehan, 49, was pale and tired, Burns said.
Sheehan's sister, Dede Miller, said Sheehan also had been experiencing heavy bleeding so doctors in Waco performed a dilation and curettage, in which the lining of the uterus is scraped, and were doing a biopsy.
Heavy bleeding? According to Beattie, it was catastophic, life-threatening bleeding.
A follow-up D&C can be necessary, by the way, when things go wrong:
In a study reported by Silvestre et al. (1990), the overall efficacy rate [of RU486] was 96 percent, with 1 percent continuing pregnancies, 2.1 percent incomplete expulsions, and 0.9 percent required dilation and curettage (D&C). Only one woman required blood transfusion. The procedure is not only highly efficient, but it is generally acceptable to women.
Five pints of blood! There is nothing routine about losing five pints of blood. "Heavy" does not come close to characterizing it.
Maybe Beattie got her numbers wrong, or maybe the bleeding started after a botched surgical procedure in Seattle that was never reported, or maybe the news reports got it wrong and she was driven to the hospital for some other reason and the blood loss happened after treatment, or maybe there are reasons for that sort of dramatic bloodloss that I haven't been able to find.
Addendum: Have I gone too far? Stepped over a boundary? I don't think so. I did not go out looking for this information. I saw the reports about Cindy Sheehan's hospitalization, and like a few of you, I wondered how someone could become dehydrated on a liquid diet. She had a gynecological procedure, but then at her age, these things happen. I asked some discreet questions to be sure, but just to dispel my male ignorance of what could be the cause based on the sketchy details provided.
But like everything else that should be private, Cindy Sheehan and her people make it public. Missy Comley Beattie subtitles her piece "Open Wounds" with the line "Cindy Sheehan's medical condition is a metaphor for the state of our country." Really? Then why is she did she suffer near fatal bleeding? I want to understand the metaphor better. Cindy Sheehan's campaign has been based on what Maureen Dowd called the "absolute morality" of motherhood, with a heavy dose of Catholicism mixed in. Remember Cindy Sheehan and Martin Sheen leading the Sheehanites in saying the Rosary last summer? For a lot of people, these questions are legitimate because they strike at the moral core of her campaign.
Don't get mad at me. She brought it up. All she had to do was keep quiet, and I wouldn't have said anything. But if she wants to turn her medical woes into political theatre, then she's going to have to expect some questions to be asked.
Skew my story on Skewz.com
Rate political news for their bias, read related stories, and leave your own skewed commentary
Search for more opinions from Canadian bloggers on these related keywords
Cindy Sheehan Gold Star Families for Peace Code Pink Waco Seattle Providence Health Center RU486 Missy Comley Beattie abortion bleeding
Sphere presents related news articles and blog posts
Sphere It!
Comments
Maybe Camp Casey is a vampire cult? Or maybe Cindy spent all of that Casey money and is selling her blood. Unlike Canada, in the USA, it is legal to sell your blood to agencies like the red cross.
I'd be checking her stomach contents for orange juice and cookies.
Posted by: TrustOnlyMulder at August 18, 2006 04:24 AM
I don't like Cindy Sheehan, but having had to clean up a "gynecological event" as you called it. I would suggest you try writing about a subject that you have a better idea about; IE. Caledonia, Somalia, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Tories, Liberals, or anything else political. FYI, the individual nearly in question nearly died and to the ladies, if you have any "plumbing" issues DO NOT let go for extended periods of time. I'll never forget that day as long as I live. So Steve, the answer is YES ladies CAN bleed that much - I don't give a crap what the INTERNET says. I've seen it with my own eyes.
Posted by: the bear at August 18, 2006 05:39 AM
Three points, bear:
1) I don't know what happened, but the evidence points in one obvious direction.
2) I didn't look for this information. She went to the hospital. They could have simply said dehydration -- no doctor would have contradicted her and I would have left it at that. Indeed I did until I read Beattie's piece. Sheehan and her people advertised the issue, and Beattie tried to make it into a symbol for American's suffering. In every case where her private life was publicized, it was after she had made it public, and even worse, a part of her campaign, part of the reason to feel sorry for her. That makes it fair game.
3) Her campaign has been on the sanctity of life and the all-powerful force of motherhood. With a Catholic flavour, I might add -- remember the Rosary with Martin Sheen? It speaks to credibility versus cynicism.
Maybe something can bust and half your blood comes out, but there has to be a reason, and she hasn't provided one, and I can't find an explanation that even comes close to this level of bleeding.
Posted by: Steve Janke at August 18, 2006 06:28 AM
I've ignored your posts on Cindy up until now. After all, you put stuff out there and it is my choice to skip over stuff that bore me. But the titles have made me wonder just why you are so fixated on her and I've been frustrated lately that you are spending so much time on something I find so totally irrelevant. After all, I check this blog regularly because we share so many common viewpoints and I'm normally interested in what you have to share.
But, since you show no sign of giving up this 'bone', I feel I need to ask you directly - what threat to society do you feel you are exposing by constantly harping about every detail of this woman's unfortunate existence?
She deserves pity from friends and family and proper treatment. All media (including blogs) just fuels her.
She is a car wreck on the highway of life. Don't stop and stare, there is nothing you can do to help her. Drive on by and concentrate on important things instead.
Posted by: Kathryn in Canada at August 18, 2006 06:35 AM
Angry, write about whatever the heck you want. I'm afraid any kind of publicity fuels this woman's attention jones, but I'd rather read it here, from an unusual angle, then from the MSM who gloss over the unpleasantries and fallacies associated with their world view. As for Sheehan, Michael Moore, maybe?
Posted by: angryinthecornbelt at August 18, 2006 07:36 AM
"Because most women are poor at estimating blood loss and recalling exactly when they bled, all patients should be asked to keep a prospective menstrual calendar in which they record days and severity of bleeding."
Good grief (I know this isn't you talking, Steve); of course women "are poor at estimating blood loss"! We lose it into pads and tampons, so how the heck are we supposed to measure the blood we lose every month??? Use a measuring cup instead?
Posted by: 'been around the block at August 18, 2006 08:22 AM
"Because most women are poor at estimating blood loss and recalling exactly when they bled, all patients should be asked to keep a prospective menstrual calendar in which they record days and severity of bleeding."
Good grief (I know this isn't you talking, Steve); of course women "are poor at estimating blood loss"! We lose it into pads and tampons, so how the heck are we supposed to measure the blood we lose every month??? Use a measuring cup instead?
As for Cindy Sheehan's "exessive bleeding": If she's going to publicize this massive blood loss--and in purple prose, no less (Cindy, you need some new PR people)--I'm with you, Steve. Tell the public what the reason is, otherwise this puzzling incident is completely and legitmately open to any and all speculation, something publicity hog CS doesn't seem to mind at all. She courts speculation. It keeps her and her crusdae in the news: "If it bleeds, it leads."
Posted by: 'been around the block at August 18, 2006 08:29 AM
Use a measuring cup instead?
Hell, I don't know! But I figure you'd know if you were losing pints of blood.
Posted by: Steve Janke at August 18, 2006 08:33 AM
Tell the public what the reason is, otherwise this puzzling incident is completely and legitmately open to any and all speculation, something publicity hog CS doesn't seem to mind at all.
Of course, some would say her silence on the cause speaks volumes.
Posted by: Steve Janke at August 18, 2006 08:35 AM
Unusual vaginal bleeding can also be a symptom of ovarian cancer (which I would tend to bet on more than RU-486, at Cindy's age).
Posted by: Chris Taylor at August 18, 2006 09:42 AM
I considered that, Chris, but the literature suggests otherwise:
Unusual vaginal bleeding—a rare sign of ovarian cancer. More likely, vaginal bleeding is a sign of another type of abnormality. Bleeding may occur between menstrual periods. Heavier than normal menstrual bleeding, and menstrual bleeding that lasts longer than normal are considered unusual signs.
Rarely a sympton, and characterized as "heavy", not "near fatal".
Posted by: Steve Janke at August 18, 2006 09:46 AM
Every time I think you've hit your nadir, you dig out a shovel and keep going lower.
Posted by: Tim at August 18, 2006 09:54 AM
I know the lit says it's "rare", but the couple of cases I have direct knowledge of, both had very heavy vaginal bleeding -- which is what prompted the sufferers to seek medical attention.
It was nothing near fatal amounts though, and that's probably the kicker.
Posted by: Chris Taylor at August 18, 2006 09:59 AM
Exactly, Chris. The bleeding reported by Beattie borders on exsanguination, and that really reduces the likely culprits to botched operation of some sort, delivery gone terribly wrong, or side-effect of RU486. Maybe others, but considered increasingly unlikely after those three. But I'm not a doctor -- there may very well be another explanation.
Posted by: Steve Janke at August 18, 2006 10:06 AM
Medically speaking, blood loss is measured in hemogloben (red blood cell) count. Normal count is 150; below 60 usually results in arythmia and death.
I am not a doctor, but "been there, done that". I arrived at a hospital with a HC of 62 after ulcerating esophagus in Mexico. After transfusing (3) pints, they let me go; I could make up the rest. But if the bleeding had not stopped, they would have done more.)
The medical community will not tranfuse unless it is absolutely necessary. So unless you know the HC and bleeding status, this may not be that abnormal.
Posted by: john at August 18, 2006 10:14 AM
Steve, I think this is one blogstream to drop and move on, I have to agree with most of the posters in here.
Plus the obvious fact you and I have outie's and not innies...
Posted by: tomax7 at August 18, 2006 10:43 AM
...and no, not speaking of belly buttons
;-)
Posted by: tomax7 at August 18, 2006 10:44 AM
Well, not everyone likes junk food, that's for sure. But there is a wide variety of material for you to enjoy. Feel free to pick and choose.
Posted by: Steve Janke at August 18, 2006 10:48 AM
with that kind of blood drippage, you'd need wings the size of a 747!
Posted by: george at August 18, 2006 01:38 PM
Love your site Steve, but this post of medical details (of anyone)...way too much for me.
(Plus she is just some person that went off the deep end after a traumatic loss - not too news worthy to most people.)
Posted by: Zono at August 18, 2006 01:39 PM
At age 30, my sister (mother of two kids) had sudden massive bleeding due to an undiagnosed cancerous tumour in her uterus -- came on suddenly and blood loss almost killed her in circumstances and volumes not unlike what is described here. I think story line is unfair (even to Sheehan) and you do yourself a disservice. I read your blog daily but perhaps time to move on to real news, Angry.
Posted by: at August 18, 2006 02:31 PM
I'm not a big fan of Steve's because of posts like this, so I don't comment much, but this one really takes the cake, crosses the line, is the lowest of the low, whatever metaphor you want.
She lost some blood, a lot of blood. So it must have been an abortion. Abortion?!?! Right.
Steve, you have a normally ridiculous and, at times like this, really disgusting style of attack-dog journalism based upon rumour, hints, guesses, inuendo, bits and pieces of disconnected facts that even you admit may or may not be correct... all leading, always leading, to some great crime by a liberal or denigration of someone's character who supports causes you don't like.
It's not as if Cindy Sheehan doesn't give you enough to legitimately criticize all on her own. You've got to go and piece together an essay on medical health to "conclude" that she had want you consider an abortion. Leave aside that you have no medical background whatsoever, your "research" is based solely on online sources that includes the Department of the Navy (good friend of gynecology that one), and you don't seem to have thought it at all relevant to actually maybe ask a real medical professional. No merit in that one; only risks: they could (and would) quickly and easily debunk your silly hypothesis.
You even admit that "Maybe Beattie got her numbers wrong, or maybe the bleeding started after a botched surgical procedure in Seattle that was never reported, or maybe the news reports got it wrong" but that doesn't stop you from acting like the medical professional going on the attack.
And even you going on the attack is her fault: "Don't get mad at me. She brought it up. All she had to do was keep quiet, and I wouldn't have said anything."
Someone way back started counting your posts on Cindy Sheehan and got up to somewhere around 150 or so in a 12 month period. But that was around the election I think. Must be over 200 by now. I think, before you do consult a medical professional about this post, that maybe there's a different kind of medical professional that you need to be consulting with.
Posted by: Ted at August 18, 2006 02:41 PM
Steve, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Posted by: thickslab at August 18, 2006 05:58 PM
Steven, you've lost me as blog reader. I'me deleting my bookmarks to your site and pulling you out of the script I run daily to load Canadian blogs.
Posted by: djb at August 18, 2006 06:14 PM
She insists the media get every A, B, and C of her daily life so questioning those things is crossing no boundaries.
But maybe her new boyfriend is a vampire?
Posted by: Jay at August 18, 2006 07:50 PM
Steven, you've lost me as blog reader. I'me deleting my bookmarks to your site and pulling you out of the script I run daily to load Canadian blogs.
Posted by: djb at August 18, 2006 06:14 PM
Like telling you're local bank manager you're pulling all your RRSPs... "gee, djb, pull those RRSPs? But, you're one in a million, lad..!" Sheehan's the media whore, not Steve. Pathetic, yes. The Star will no doubt have a weekend feature on it, and I hear the CBC is planning a reality show for the fall based on it...
Posted by: Skip at August 18, 2006 08:14 PM
Like telling you're local bank manager you're pulling all your RRSPs... "gee, djb, pull those RRSPs? But, you're one in a million, lad..!"
Well, first thing, I don't have a million readers. Second, even if I did, I'd hate to lose any. But djb feels like he won't get anything of value here anymore, and I won't argue with him. I'd like to think I offer a lot of other things for people to read, but he's been offended, and feels he has to go. I'm sorry to hear that. He's welcome back anytime. Every reader is valued, and every opinion worth hearing. We're poorer for not having an opportunity to hear djb's any longer.
Posted by: Steve Janke at August 18, 2006 08:22 PM
People come and people go, that's no big deal, it's life. But what always bugs me about people who say "I'm deleting your link and never reading your blog again" is I know they aren't telling the truth - if nothing else, they'll hang around to see what people say about their "quitting" post.
Posted by: Jay at August 18, 2006 09:37 PM
I AM a doctor, and what happened is NOT unusual in menopausal ladies.
You see, they develop iron deficiency anemia from heavy periods, and then develop an acute bleed from hormone imbalance, and you have to transfuse.
I doubt she "bled five pints". They probably replaced five pints.
She probably started with a hemoglobin of 8 and no iron stores from past bleeding, and then lost two pints, and voila, five pints to bring the hemoglobin up.
Her liquid diet, which didn't have any iron in it, didn't help.
As a doc, I suspect a lot of her overreaction is due to hormone imbalance too...a lot of menopausal women become the "witch from hell".
What she needed was a sympathetic husband and prozac. What she got was a dead son, and a lot of moonbats who fed into her sorrow to turn it to paranoia.
She needs our prayers, FEOSOL, and prozac...
Posted by: Boinkie at August 19, 2006 04:37 AM
While you were within your rights to raise questions about the honesty of this despicable anti-semitic terrorist-supporting woman who used her son's heroic death to oppose his life's noble work, I must tend to support Boinkie's opinion.
For obvious reasons... i.e., massively superior knowledge.
Posted by: Chris from Victoria, BC at August 19, 2006 07:29 AM
I also agree with the good doc.
"What she needed was a sympathetic husband and prozac."
Also, being Christian, Steve, we shouldn't mock another person's physcial or mental handicap.
Sure point out her illogical thinking and actions, that's one thing, but not when it is something beyond her control.
In doing so, we are just as guilty as the leftist moonbats.
Posted by: tomax7 at August 19, 2006 10:44 AM
tomax7, you write, "Sure point out her illogical thinking and actions, that's one thing, but not when it is something beyond her control."
Dr. Boinkie may be right in his diagnosis of Cindy Sheehan's malady (and hey, Doc, be careful with the "witch from hell" moniker; I'm a woman "of a certain age" ... ;-) but we don't know, do we? We don't know if what landed her in the hospital is "beyond her control" or not.
No guess is conclusive because the Sheehan cheerleaders aren't telling. I'm with Steve, in the sense that I see nothing wrong with his conjectures, which could equally be correct.
If Sheehan and her camp followers are going to use purple prose and bleeding-heart metaphors, without being completely clear about what the problem is, then they are opening themselves to all kinds of speculation, as we're seeing on this blog.
Rather than dump on Steve, I'd be calling for the Sheehan Shouters to tell the public just what's going on...They're the ones who made her hospitalization public, who told everyone that she'd lost a lot of blood and needed a transfusion...
They're the ones who need to clear up the mystery...or is it their intention to create more confusion. The problem with these guys is that you just never know...
Posted by: 'been around the block at August 19, 2006 12:39 PM
...the other side of the story is does she deserve such coverage in this blog? That's Steve's choice, but is it something worth the sweat and effort to find out?
So what if she's in the hospital, I hope she recovers fast and is healthy again.
It's not a big news item like alien abduction or something.
Posted by: tomax7 at August 19, 2006 05:40 PM
The "Sheehan Shouters" should clear up the mystery? There is no mystery to people who mind their own business. Yes, the hospitalization and blood transfusion were made public. Do you need to see her charts now? Speculation about the blood loss can only lead to yet more false rumors about her. For chrissakes, haven't there been enough already?
Posted by: chanda at August 20, 2006 01:13 PM
If her "friends" are publically discussing it and using to it to support their political agenda, there's no reason why this shouldn't be discussed here.
If anyone goes to any blog and expects to be fascinated by every single entry, sheesh.
Many some of you "former readers" should shut off the computer more in general anyways.
Posted by: Robert in Calgary at August 20, 2006 01:21 PM
 
|
|
