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Howard Estes
A couple of months ago,
Howard broke his lower leg badly. They set it, using a titanium
rod, and he was on the mend. I am told that any
lower extremity
injury brings with it the
extreme danger of a
blood clot or fatty embolism forming (and possibly
moving), creating a
heart attack
or stroke.
Howard's apparently moved
to his lung and, over the weekend, he had
bronchial pneumonia. He was feeling better until
Monday morning when he awakened
short of breath.
He called 911. Cedars is no more than 10 minutes from his
West Hollywood apartment. He was in the ambulance, on
his way - just a couple of blocks from his place (on
La Cienega Blvd) when the embolism moved and he had
cardiac arrest. It took the paramedics and doctors at
Cedars 10 minutes to get his heart started - but, by that time,
he had irreparable
brain damage
(brain death). His
heart was beating and they moved him from
Intensive Care to a private room Tuesday. He lived until
this morning.
Howard's mother, Jane
Estes is the last remaining of my late mother's friends. They
knew one another before each married her respective husband and
they began families. I've known Howard as many of us have since
the Prairie Elementary School days. Howard graduated from KU and
taught school in California all of his professional life - first
at Hemet, CA
in the desert, and then
Inglewood, CA. I believe he had planned to attend the
50th next year.
There will be a memorial
service thrown by his friends in L.A. His mother says that any
remembrances should be made to one's own favorite charities.
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