from the article:
For weeks, Ledger had been complaining of being unable to sleep. He said that if he took a sleeping pill he managed to drift off for an hour or so before being wide awake again with his mind toiling in circles like a hamster on a wheel. These are symptoms of exhaustion, for which the only remedy is rest, but there was no one to insist that Ledger cancel all engagements and spend a month surfing or snowboarding and sleeping the deep sleep of physical rather than mental exhaustion.
I found this the most insightful, and therefore in hindsight terribly sad part of that article. Obviously he *was* driving himself too hard, not only professionally but also privately for a while - there was a period last autumn when pictures emerged nearly by the hour from various parties and events on both sides of the Atlantic.... And he did look thin and weary, more than usually fidgety and restless in his last interviews.
That said, I think the article is typical of the attitude that has to place blame
somewhere. Someone
has to be at fault, and that someone must be
found. God forbid that shit happens, for no real reason, with noone specifically to be blamed.
We don't
want that kind of unpredictable world, do we?
She very obviously doesn't want to blame Heath himself for not taking time off, for running himself to exhaustion, for being careless in any way, - and she doesn't want to blame anyone else, either, who might be offended and hurt - so she comes up with a suitable "faceless" culprit, and blames "Celebrity Health Care". I think it's stupid.
Celebrities of Heath's caliber under normal circumstances are intelligent people who are fully able to comprehend and keep an overview over their own medical situation and inform a new doctor, and to themselves make informed decisions. And who should be expected to do so. There is nothing forcing them to blindly rely on whatever a new doctor throws their way. And by way of their celebrity status and their importance to big-dollar projects such as TDK, they have ready and immediate access to top-notch helth care professionals and specialists if and when required. So I don't buy GG's description of the poor celebrities left floundering in the dark and dangers of a health care limbo.
It seems much more realistic to me that despite all this, very creative people
will drive themselves onwards even when the bodily and mental signals to stop and take time out are getting stronger to the point of persistence - and even if both they and those around them realize that. They push themsleves regardless, that's part of who they are, how they became who they are - and medication of various sorts is one way they manage to keep going. And OK, sure - their doctors help them with that, but normally with the best intentions.
That said, I think Heath probably was too exhausted to get himself out of the wheel he was caught in, or to sit down to ponder the various medication he'd been prescribed. So he needed help to break out of the situation, probably - but do we know he wasn't getting any (from family and friends?) Do we know he hadn't been told to slow down, by loved ones and doctors alike? And does it make any difference now? Is it really necessary to play the blame game, - blame him, or those close to him, or the doctors and medical service he was in contact with? I don't think so. Everyone probably acted with the best intentions - doctors to relieve his symptoms, Heath himself to be able to rest and so recuperate, family and friends... who knows?
Unpredictable, unexpected, random, terrible things sometimes happen, to our shock and grief. This is one such. I don't think there's a need to
blame anyone, or anything.
Topic: Heath Ledger - News Accounts (Read 1312842 times)