Posted on 03/07/2025 8:49:52 PM PST by fireman15
Hantavirus is a rare but highly fatal virus, federal health officials say.
Authorities said Friday that actor Gene Hackman died of Alzheimer’s and heart failure a week after his wife died of hantavirus, a rare viral infection.
Authorities initially ruled out foul play after the bodies were discovered Feb. 26 in the couple’s Santa Fe home, while a bottle of pills was discovered next to the body of his wife, Betsy Arakawa. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning also tested negative.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza and other officials announced the development in a news conference in New Mexico, where the couple lived and were found dead last month.
(Excerpt) Read more at theepochtimes.com ...
The dogs had their own doggy door to come and go as they pleased and of course the front door was also open, the dog that died in his pet crate had just been brought back from a procedure at the vet hospital which is probably why he was in the crate, and the crate is why he died.
I thought it was 3 days.
I suppose it depends on a lot of factors. How hydrated the person was to being with. How hot the weather. Whether the person is exercising or exerting himself.
My grandmother was on chemotherapy. She had bad diarrhea and became dehydrated. When she went to the hospital, they pumped her full of IV fluid. Her heart stopped from an electrolyte imbalance, and she died. But she was well hydrated thanks to the doctor and hospital staff.
The article for this thread (link below) pretty much answers the relevant questions, a little googling supports the article as accepted facts.
Gene Hackman and wife’s causes of death revealed
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4302832/posts
He was hydrated according to the report just not eating.
For whatever reason, New Mexico has had about half a dozen cases of Hantavirus per year for the past several years. We do not have as many cases in Washington State, but my wife and I live in an outlying area with a lot of deer mice. We do everything that we can to keep them out of the house, but they get into our outbuildings and sometimes make a pretty big mess.
The Hackman’s may have had a garden shed that became infested over the winter. The house is at an elevation of approximately 7,000 feet... it gets pretty cold there at night this time of the year. She could easily have caught it from retrieving things stored in an outbuilding, or even their garage.
It is very possible that he drank so much water in proportion to what he ate... that just like my grandmother he died from an electrolyte imbalance. Hyponatremia... drinking too much water can be very bad. This applies to consuming too much of any fluid without the proper proportion of electrolytes.
It could be that he was becoming dehydrated and then found a source of fluids and drank too much of them in too short a period of time. He was in severe cognitive decline.
I live in a rural area on an island in Washington State. Mice and rats can be a problem so I have an ongoing abatement effort throughout the year.
Good points. The infestation didn’t have to be in the house.
I just read the fatality rate for hantavirus is up to 38%. It’s nothing to fool around with. Fortunately, it is not common. California typically reports 1–5 cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) annually, with occasional spikes.
There was an outbreak at the campgrounds at Yosemite NP in 2012. That was the first time I’d ever heard of it. By October 2012, there were confirmed 10 cases of HPS among visitors to Yosemite, with 3 fatalities. It was a very unusual spike.
Idaho typically has less than 2 cases per year which is surprising because of the heavy rodent populations and campgrounds.
Hackman wouldn’t have had access to his meds either. If his wife was that obsessed with this health a backup plan would seem to have been in order.
His kids are 65, 63, and 58. They are close in age to his wife, 65.
He was married to his first wife (their mother) for 30 years. He admitted in interviews that, as an actor, he was away often when his kids were growing up.
Then, in his mid-50s, he left their mother for Betsy. That is, when they were in their late teens and 20s, he left their mother for a woman their age
A few years later, he and Betsy moved to New Mexico.
So, I'm not surprised his kids weren't checking in on him all the time.
What is surprising is that his wife didn't hire someone to help care for him. Then, someone would have found him in time.
Rats carry the Hantavirus, Demonrats the Santavirus, which primarily afflicts urban areas. If a city infection goes untreated, the resulting urban decay resembles an atomic blast zone.
What about all those pills around the wife?
I guess it will take a bit longer to get their toxicology reports completed.
From what I read, they were blood pressure meds and over the counter pain pills (Tylenol or ibuprofen.). The initial reports cited “prescription” pills which made people think suicide, but they were “standard issue” prescribed to millions of people.
The whole thing is tragic. I guess the moral of the story is to keep in touch with your parents and neighbors.
Sounds right.
“””What is surprising is that his wife didn’t hire someone to help care for him. Then, someone would have found him in time. “””
She was the caregiver.
“He was in his 90’s and she was his caregiver in her 60’s and none of his kids called in 9ish days to check on them?
But I bet his kids will be right there with hands out for the inheritance.”
Just goes to show... that even with all that money, wealth and fame... you can still die “alone” and with nobody “alive” caring about your state of being. Sad, that.
Yes, but she apparently made herself his sole caregiver without any help.
Most of us cannot afford to hire a nurse, but Hackman and his second wife were wealthy enough.
If a nurse had been checking in, Hackman might have been found in time.
“””Yes, but she apparently made herself his sole caregiver without any help.”””
As do I.
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