Carol Ernst, right, sits with her daughter Shawna Sherrill, left, prior to Sherrills' testimony in her mothers' case against Vioxx maker Merck Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2005, in Angleton, Texas. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
Robert Ernst, 59, a produce manager at a Wal-Mart who ran marathons and also worked as a personal trainer, took Vioxx for eight months to ease pain in his hands. He died in his sleep one month shy of his first wedding anniversary.
When Carol Ernst realized something was wrong, she called Sherrill, an emergency room nurse, and Sherrill's husband, a flight nurse. They raced to the Ernsts' home where paramedics vigorously performed CPR. Sherrill said her mother overheard her telling Robert Ernst they were trying to help him, which gave Carol Ernst false hope that her husband might survive.
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Carol Ernst, a mother of four, had been divorced for more than 15 years when she met Robert Ernst. They dated for about three years before getting married. Sherrill described him as a soulmate who sparked a youthful exuberance her mother hadn't exhibited while raising the family alone.
Carol Ernst contends Vioxx caused his death in the first of more than 4,200 Vioxx-related state and federal lawsuits across the country to go before a jury.
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However, on Monday jurors saw the videotaped deposition of the coroner who performed that autopsy and testified that Robert Ernst probably died of a heart attack, but that his death was so sudden the heart didn't have time to show damage.