TB patient angry at being held under guard

[jolinar of malkshor]

I am sure you have heard about the guy with the resistant strain of TB that was flying on a plane from Europe to Montreal. This guy should be locked up indefinately. He obviously has no respect or concern about any other human being on this planet. He was told not to travel and he was aware of the kind of TB he had. Not to mention he is a Personal injury lawyer.....how dumb is this guy.

Then he has the balls to complain that they have confined him to a hospital room. This guy should be charged with 20 counts of criminal negligence.

Man I hate some people.

Greg Bluestein (AP), 1 June 2007, St. Louis Post Dispatch
ATLANTA - One thing is clear about the honeymooner who put airline passengers at risk of getting an especially dangerous strain of tuberculosis: He can't claim ignorance.

Andrew Speaker had doctor's warnings against flying, and as a personal injury lawyer, he presumably knew about the dangers of reckless behavior.

But most amazingly, Speaker has a new father-in-law with a vast knowledge of the disease that Speaker carried aboard two trans-Atlantic flights.

The father-in-law is Bob Cooksey, a microbiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention specializing in TB and other bacteria. Cooksey says he gave his 31-year-old son-in-law some "fatherly advice" when he learned the young man had contracted the disease.

[Burninator]

Wait what's the story behind this?

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Burninator

Wait what's the story behind this?

What do you mean?

[VanCity Cowboy]

Don't be so quick to judge. you've got one side of the story, the CDC's.

The TB guy, Speaker, says the health officials told him he "posed no risk"
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/condi...ght/index.html

He says he has got that on tape. He was leaving the country for HIS WEDDING, a pretty good reason to go, especially when you're told you pose no risk.

they caught up with him in Europe and said he couldn't fly home. what's he supposed to do, rent a private jet? stay in hotels in europe? the CDC never offered to fly him home, so found his own way back.

The CDC screwed up saying he was no risk, they should have flown him home on a private jet from europe.

[bluejays]

I've just been reading about this today and don't really feel like reading a wikipedia doc's version of what TB exactly does, so my question is, in layman's terms, what is it and how is it caused? Where did this guy get it from anyway? And lastly, wasn't TB almost a plague in the 1800's?

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by VanCity Cowboy

Don't be so quick to judge. you've got one side of the story, the CDC's.

The TB guy, Speaker, says the health officials told him he "posed no risk"
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/condi...ght/index.html

He says he has got that on tape. He was leaving the country for HIS WEDDING, a pretty good reason to go, especially when you're told you pose no risk.

they caught up with him in Europe and said he couldn't fly home. what's he supposed to do, rent a private jet? stay in hotels in europe? the CDC never offered to fly him home, so found his own way back.

The CDC screwed up saying he was no risk, they should have flown him home on a private jet from europe.

I will be quick to judge. The guy KNEW in Europe that he was contagious....very contagious. Before he put every person on that plane at risk he could have done many other things. If the CDC didn't want to help, he could have went to the media.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

What do you mean?

You said, "I am sure you have heard about the guy with the resistant strain of TB that was flying on a plane from Europe to Montreal." This is the first I have heard about it, I was just looking for the back story on it, that's all. But VanCity took care of it and posted an article.

[VanCity Cowboy]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

I will be quick to judge. The guy KNEW in Europe that he was contagious....very contagious. Before he put every person on that plane at risk he could have done many other things. If the CDC didn't want to help, he could have went to the media.

they also said his best chance for treatment was in colorado where they specialize in respitory diseases, but they wanted him to check into some hospital in Rome.

he doesn't have time to call the local news and organize a media campaign. he has TB.

[VanCity Cowboy]

some people look out for themselves, and he'll probably live because of it.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by VanCity Cowboy

some people look out for themselves, and he'll probably live because of it.

And other people will probably die because of it.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Burninator

You said, "I am sure you have heard about the guy with the resistant strain of TB that was flying on a plane from Europe to Montreal." This is the first I have heard about it, I was just looking for the back story on it, that's all. But VanCity took care of it and posted an article.

Oh sorry, I have heard it on the news for the last couple days so I thought people whould have known about it. Thats all.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

And other people will probably die because of it.

And if any do, charge him with murder, and let him live in jail.

[Jayems]

If they're telling the guy he's not a risk, and they have it on tape, then I don't really blame this guy. Who has $100,000 kicking around for a private jet home? Hoepfully he took precatutions on the plane like covering his mouth like in the interviews with a mask or something, just incase.

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by Jayems

If they're telling the guy he's not a risk, and they have it on tape, then I don't really blame this guy.

If they indeed say he wasn't a threat, then he was innocent up until the point they called him back and advised him otherwise. After that, I blame him fully and hope he is charged with something for climbing aboard a commerical aircraft. You can't play stupid the entire time.

[Ice]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

I will be quick to judge. The guy KNEW in Europe that he was contagious....very contagious. Before he put every person on that plane at risk he could have done many other things. If the CDC didn't want to help, he could have went to the media.

He was basically being abandoned there.

Actually he was never told he was contagious before he left. Neither was his fiance or her 8 year old daughter who were never told by the CDC or any doctors that they needed to take any precautions. It wasn't until he was already out of the US that the CDC decided he could be contagious. His smears are negative, he has no symptoms and the people he has close contact with on a daily basis are all negative for TB.

The CDC told him to report to Italian authorities to be quaranteed. The medications he needs are not there and they told him he would be there indefinitely. They told him there was nothing they could do for him unless he came up with 100,000 dollars to charter a flight. As if there was no way to involve a military aircraft as sterile and get him back to the US. They placed him on the no fly list and red flagged his passport to keep him out of the US. So, my take is the CDC is covering their butt because they've known this guy has had TB since January and it took them until he left the country to decide he might be contagious. If the CDC was that concerned about this one man infecting other people, wouldn't they have figured out a way to get this guy back as soon as possible since the plan was for him to be in Denver last week? He wasn't on quarantine in the US and he was still working, trying cases, meeting clients, having close physical contact with his fiance. Doesn't sound like someone who was told they have a contagious, life threatening disease to me.

[Flames in 07]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

I will be quick to judge. The guy KNEW in Europe that he was contagious....very contagious. Before he put every person on that plane at risk he could have done many other things. If the CDC didn't want to help, he could have went to the media.

well then thank god your not a real judge. He says that he was specifically told that he was ok to fly. Let the story play out and hear both sides before you decide you know everything.

[SportsJunky]

Originally Posted by Flames in 07

well then thank god your not a real judge. He says that he was specifically told that he was ok to fly. Let the story play out and hear both sides before you decide you know everything.

I don't think so.

My understanding is that once he was in Europe he was told not to fly again and to immediately seek treatment in Rome. He instead arranged a flight to Canada and then drove over the border back into the U.S.

This guy could conceivably cause the death of some innocent people that were on that last flight with him.

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by Flames in 07

well then thank god your not a real judge. He says that he was specifically told that he was ok to fly. Let the story play out and hear both sides before you decide you know everything.

He flew to Montreal from Europe AFTER he was told he was NOT ok to fly. Some people say it's not his fault because he didn't have the money for a private flight. I'm wondering how long he actually tried to use other means then instead just gave in to flying commerical.

And for people defending him... would you be saying the same thing if you were on his flight to Montreal?

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Ice

He was basically being abandoned there.

Actually he was never told he was contagious before he left. Neither was his fiance or her 8 year old daughter who were never told by the CDC or any doctors that they needed to take any precautions. It wasn't until he was already out of the US that the CDC decided he could be contagious. His smears are negative, he has no symptoms and the people he has close contact with on a daily basis are all negative for TB.

He was told before he left USA that he had TB......he was also advised NOT to fly. They didn't say he couldn't but they advised him NOT to. He knows that effects of TB and how contagious it can be. His father in law is a specialist in TB and by his father in laws own admission, he gave hime some "fatherly advise".

The least he could have done was put a blinken mask on his face before boarding the plane. Is that to fricken hard to ask?

Unbelievable that you would actually stick of for this guy. Yes it is unfortunate, but there were MANY more option he could have taken besides the one he choose.

[NuclearFart]

Originally Posted by Ice

He was basically being abandoned there.

Actually he was never told he was contagious before he left. Neither was his fiance or her 8 year old daughter who were never told by the CDC or any doctors that they needed to take any precautions. It wasn't until he was already out of the US that the CDC decided he could be contagious. His smears are negative, he has no symptoms and the people he has close contact with on a daily basis are all negative for TB.

The CDC told him to report to Italian authorities to be quaranteed. The medications he needs are not there and they told him he would be there indefinitely. They told him there was nothing they could do for him unless he came up with 100,000 dollars to charter a flight. As if there was no way to involve a military aircraft as sterile and get him back to the US. They placed him on the no fly list and red flagged his passport to keep him out of the US. So, my take is the CDC is covering their butt because they've known this guy has had TB since January and it took them until he left the country to decide he might be contagious. If the CDC was that concerned about this one man infecting other people, wouldn't they have figured out a way to get this guy back as soon as possible since the plan was for him to be in Denver last week? He wasn't on quarantine in the US and he was still working, trying cases, meeting clients, having close physical contact with his fiance. Doesn't sound like someone who was told they have a contagious, life threatening disease to me.

Where did you get all this "information"? Never told? No precautions?! 100,000$?! Indefinite quarantine abroad? I have no idea where you're getting this information from. I presume it's your own speculation following the statement from the lawyer who chases ambulances for a living, singing the victim song because he backed his own selfish arse into a corner?

My 2 bits:

No doctor would omit to tell a patient with active TB (irregardless of his particularily resistant strain) that they should not under any circumstance place themselves in a position to expose others, let alone that he could fly. Gosh if people only the knew the chaos that follows whenever a patient comes into the foothills ER and is discovered to have TB - any doctors, nurses, janitors, patients, people they may have sat next to in the waiting room is retrospectively hunted down and assessed thoroughly and then followed for months. They have a health nurse who is hired full time for just such scenarios. TB is a very serious organism that medical providers don't ##### around with. There is no way he was as poorly informed as he makes it out to be.

As if the US would let this guy fester in an Italian hospital "until he died", as the media alone would prohibit this. The most logical sequence was that they wanted him quarantined until they could organize the appropriate transportation and get him to Colorado for treatment. Ice, you are missing the point here completely. The CDC was concerned with this man infecting people, and they were trying to get him back, but it did not have to be ASAP. The immediate danger was not with him dying suddenly, it was of him infecting others with such a dangerous strain. Hence it was completely prudent to contain him until he could be transported safely.

The crocodile tears this guy is shedding makes me want to slap this guy. He knowingly placed thousands at risk for his own selfish reasons because he couldn't be inconvenienced by the prospect of spending some time in an Italian hospital. I don't think people realize just how serious his strain of TB is. It is potentially resistant to every cure we have. Untreated TB will eventually kill you! I wouldnt be completely shocked in the future if this guy became a legend in the history books for starting a drug resistant TB epidemic that killed millions.
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575m maranello