Nicole DeHuff, an actress who played Teri Polo's sister in Meet the Parents, has died of causes related to pneumonia. She was 30.Posted on 03/11/2005 12:23:10 PM PST by crushelits
Nicole DeHuff, an actress who played Teri Polo's sister in Meet the Parents, has died of causes related to pneumonia. She was 30.
The actress died Feb. 16 in Hollywood, four days after she reportedly checked into a Los Angeles hospital, was misdiagnosed and sent home with orders to take Tylenol.
When her condition worsened, she returned to the hospital and was prescribed antibiotics for bronchitis and again sent home. Two days later, paramedics were called to her home after she collapsed, gasping for breath. By the time she reached the hospital, she was unconscious and passed away soon after.
Meet the Parents marked DeHuff's feature-film debut. She played Deborah Byrnes, the sister whose wedding prompts Gaylord "Greg" Focker's (Ben Stiller) visit to girlfriend Pam Byrne's (Polo) childhood home to attend the ceremony and, as suggested by the title, meet the parents. Hilarity ensues.
In one of the movie's most memorable scenes, a Speedo-clad Stiller spikes a volleyball into DeHuff's face, breaking the bride-to-be's nose and cementing his own unpopularity.
DeHuff also appeared in 2004's Suspect Zero with Ben Kingsley and in an independent film called Killing Cinderella.
She also starred in the as yet unreleased independent film Unbeatable Harold, directed by her husband, Ari Palitz, and costarring Dylan McDermott and Gordon Michaels.
On the small screen, DeHuff had roles in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Court, The Practice, Dragnet, Without a Trace and Monk. She also appeared in the TV movie See Arnold Run.
A native of Oklahoma, DeHuff graduated from the Carnegie Mellon University acting program.
She is survived by Palitz, her husband of four years, as well as her sister, her mother and her father.
Of course we knew he would die eventually, maybe even from this particular bout of pneumonia. But the doctor's office callously sent him away, without even an x-ray or antibiotic, despite his medical history and age and obvious symptoms. He died at home a few days later. The doctor was later accused and dismissed because of other similiar claims, some apparently proven to be true. His m.o. was to 'save' the hospital money by sending away elderly, ill patients because 'they were going to die soon anyway'. And later 90's were common death ages of my immigrant family members and those 'in the old country', not that age should matter. At 92 he walked the mile (each way) into town most days and gardened everyday. He was fully mobile, though his vision wasn't as good as it had been and his memory was beginning to fail. The doctor chose to not treat my grandfather because of his age and history and left him to die. The coroner described it, his pneumonia and his fluid filled lungs, as slowly drowning over 4 days, or possibly more, bereft of the treatment that should have been prescribed, that his health insurance paid for and decency requested. That's my point. And this same kind of glossing over seems to have led to the death of this young actress.
I have been waiting for some press on what is going around down here and in Maryland and Arkansas.
Two of our relatives have died in the last month, one in her 70's and one in her early 60.s. Both got this terrible virus, I guess it was but who knows. Both got a sore throat and then a cough that went on and on. It is hitting everyone I know. They cough for weeks and feel like they are suffocating.
Both went to hospital with the cough and the feeling of suffocating and both died in ICU in two or three days. Both smoked.
Theree is a bad bad bug out there. My daughter has had it for three weeks, coughing constantly, feeling horrible and she is just recovering. If you smoke and get this, be aggessive in getting treatment.
I think a killing bug is out there and getting no publicity, none.
Also, I'll mention the unmentionable: Were their "lifestyle" issues at play here? I mean...30 years old>>>>
I was a drug/disease free 23 year old SWF with a perfect health record when I came down with pneumonia.
Because I was so young and otherwise an ideal specimen of vitality no one took me seriously and I almost died.
I had to self diagnose and beg /plead my doctor to ask for me to be admitted to the hospital.
By then 4 days had passed and I had breathing spasms and a temp of 104.9.
I was in the Hospital for 8 and have scarred lungs to this day.
I think that what happened to this poor actress is that she was young and otherwise healthy so no one paid enough attention to her.
Oh. . .condolences for my wife. . .I am hit with the Big P and my sweet mother-in-law lives with us and is well into her 80's, she fell down a few days ago and broke a few ribs. Not only does my poor wife have to deal with me, but her mama also. . . .and not to mention a cat that definitely is coming down with something. Joy in this home.
The actress' mother PATSIE says, "By the time she reached the third hospital, it was too late. She was unconscious."
The grieving mother reveals her daughter was rushed to hospital on 12 February (04) but was sent home by medics and told to take painkiller Tylenol.
Patsie DeHuff recalls, "The next day my daughter was worse."
Again, the actress went to hospital, but this time medics prescribed antibiotics for bronchitis.
Two days later, paramedics rushed to her home after she collapsed, gasping for breath. The tragic actress died on 16 February.
Lasted for TWO weeks, and it can come back. I had the flu shot and YES this bug is a killer with NO PUBLICITY.
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It is really hard to get dr's to listen. My son, at 4.5 years passed a polyp. I called the dr, they told me it was bubble gum. So, by then I was pretty smart, I had collected the polyp and took it in. Made the dr feel it. They rushed us to the hospital then, cancer screening, emergency surgery.
What a shame.
I don't need to take steroids to control my asthma, thankfully--I do it with a combination of two very inocuous drugs, Serevent and Singulair, which have kept me virtually asthma-free for the past five years. But no matter what you take, there's little reason for people to suffer from asthma nowadays. Even the rescue inhalers (particularly albuterol-based) are almost 100% free of side effects. The amazing thing is that you can't get these albuterol-based inhalers without a prescription, but the inhaled form of adrenaline (Bronkaid, for example) which will kill you, can be purchased right over the counter.
I agree. It's easy for lay people to jump to conclusions, but you need to see (and have the ability to see) the big picture to really make a judgement.
When I get a bad attack of bronchitis (on top of my asthmatic condition) my allergist always prescribes an antibiotic. His rationale is that it might or might not be viral, but because the condition is always severe, he doesn't want to take the chance of misjudging it. Taking an antibiotic for a viral infection won't help, but it won't hurt either.
awful...poor thing.
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