The Rise of the Medical Emergency, Pt. 3
There's something unclear happening here, but what it is ain't exactly... clear.
The world is a scary place viewed through the lens of the medical emergency. It is a sorrowful place. It’s also an ambiguous one. “Medical emergency” is certainly the phrase du juor for the use of euphemizing unsavory or unseemly conditions. When eight prisoners in one jail suffered a “medical emergency” on the same day, the spectre of a shot-induced wave of devastation loses the podium to the ham-fisted slap of the true cause of the hospitalizations: fentanyl overdose. It was reported with the headline: 'Medical Emergency' Inside the Snohomish County Jail Results in Seven Inmates Being Transported to Hospital
A man whose recent head injury caused a condition in which he’s prone to seizures experienced that outcome in an Aldi grocery store, and the incident was reported: Aldi customer praises 'angel by the till' after suffering medical emergency
And finally we have senator Alice Mann, whose emergency gall bladder surgery, which has her out of the Senate for a couple weeks, is headlined: Edina senator recovering after medical emergency, surgery
So, that’s more than just a disclaimer to this light gaze at the subject I’m doing here. What I’d like to see is a real data-driven dive into the use of the term “medical emergency” in news reports. I want to know what it looks like in an historical context. And, more recently, I’m interested in the ratio of the terms “medical emergency” and “died suddenly.” I wouldn’t be surprised to see “medical emergency” pushing out the less opaque term in recent times.
I do have to point out, though, that in all three of these cases I mentioned here — all from today’s “medical emergency” search — the actual cause was revealed in each of the articles. The drug overdose and pre-existing head injury and the gall bladder maybe have no business in the headlines.
But then we have the true medical emergency. The Jamie Foxx-like “medical emergency,” where one would suspect a firm diagnosis was made probably within hours of what sounds like a stroke. A stroke is kinda hard to miss once it lands someone in the hospital. Yet the highlight of the Foxx case so far, to me, is the silence regarding the actual diagnosis. That stubborn silence tips the hand. The silence is the news.
And with that, we have today’s wrap-up. It’s a little after 1pm and already three very interesting stories have come to us.
1) 8-year-old girl dies while under Border Patrol custody at south Texas station, officials say
“An 8-year-old girl who was under U.S. Border Patrol custody has died after she suffered a medical experience […]”
Well, the first question, of course, in the sudden death of an 8-year-old, is: “What was in that shot she just took?” From this March 29, 2022 article from the Washington Examiner:
White House: COVID-19 vaccine required for migrants in Border Patrol custody
"[In] order to ensure the safety of border communities and their workforce and the migrants themselves, DHS is now requiring age-appropriate vaccinations for noncitizens who were taken into Border Patrol custody."
God, this is horrible.
2) Medical Emergency Reported on Disney World Coaster
“They claim a stretcher arrived on the scene, and paramedics reportedly took a Guest away. They stated that everyone was forced to evacuate the attraction and the queue.”
Apparently this article was posted — on what looks like Disneyland’s website — in response to a Reddit thread. Someone asked on Reddit: “did someone get hurt on thunder mountain?? just saw a stretcher pull up and everyone was told to leave the line”
And that’s about it. Kudos to them for posting it, I guess.
3) EgyptAir’s US-bound flight lands in Italy as passenger suffered medical emergency
This one’s almost comical in its attempt to cover up what happened.
“EgyptAir’s Washington-bound flight MS 981 changed path and landed in Italy’s Milano to save the life of a passenger who suffered a medical emergency.”
“The female passenger, Heba, suffered a sudden health issue while on board the plane […]”
This part’s my favorite: “Fortunately, two doctors [were] on board the plane and followed up on the injured passenger’s health condition until the plane landed.”
They followed up on her condition. Lol. Did they follow up by pressing her chest over and over? I’m having a medical emergency reading some of these.