Guest guest Posted March 12, 2002 Report Share Posted March 12, 2002 Just came across the interesting discovery that the world famous scientist Carl Sagan suffered from achalasia and nearly died from surgery to correct it. The biography I am reading, “Carl Sagan, A Life†by Keay son, states that Carl developed achalasia at age eighteen while halfway through college. The author says “…achalasia, a strange and frightening ailment that causes the esophagus to constrict uncontrollably. Sufferers have trouble swallowing food. Sometimes the constriction is so severe that they struggle to breathe…†The author goes on to say â€Gastroenterologists do not fully understand the etiology of achalasia. Stress is partly implicated in some cases, judging from a review of recent medical literature, however, little research on psychosomatic factors is being done. Far more ink is devoted to surgical solutions. Whatever caused Sagan’s achalasia, the condition would haunt him well into adulthood. When he was an adult, it necessitated surgery that almost killed him. He feared choking so much that he nibbled at his food, slicing it into miniscule pieces. Sometimes he stood and literally hopped up and down, struggling to make the food go down his throat. He once confessed to his friend Tim Ferris that being able to finally swallow a mouthful of food gave him a absurd sensation of relief and pleasureâ€. Later in the book, “[Carl] had undergone esophageal surgery in hopes of correcting the condition…But he later suffered a pneumothorax, a condition in which his lung cavity filled with blood from the surgical insisions…. They put drains in and gave him nine units of blood ..Sagan cameâ€very close†to dying… Sagan recovered.. but the operation was unsucessful and the achalasia continued to trouble him for years.†A friend recalls, “He had some problem swallowing, he took forever to chew. He took very tiny bites. Whether this was ‘in his head’, I don’t know. He was very upset about the [marriage] break- up†Later in the biography Carl is lambasted by an associate. “He came out one time to be part of our review committee and-stupid thing- he needed to eat special food because of his [health] experience. So he had Billington and two of our administrative assistants working for an hour and a half or two to get exactly the right kind of corned beef sandwich from a deli-he couldn’t eat this, he couldn’t eat that†Not exactly a sympathetic portrayal and understanding of achalasia is it! Is this how achalasia is perceived by outsiders? Mara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2002 Report Share Posted March 20, 2002 Scary story. DO you know whar year this happened? I hope doctors and technology are better nowaday and this misshaps dont happen to all of us that are considering surgery or having " A' symptomps. Please let me know the year of the story. Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2002 Report Share Posted March 21, 2002 Man Poor guy! sounds like some of the stories I have read here. Now days they automatically do chest tubes that prevents a pneumothorax from the beginning! That is if you don't get to have the lap (you lucky spoiled brats........ just kidding) J.C. Carl Sagan had Achalasia Just came across the interesting discovery that the world famous scientist Carl Sagan suffered from achalasia and nearly died from surgery to correct it. The biography I am reading, â?oCarl Sagan, A Lifeâ? by Keay son, states that Carl developed achalasia at age eighteen while halfway through college. The author says â?oâ?¦achalasia, a strange and frightening ailment that causes the esophagus to constrict uncontrollably. Sufferers have trouble swallowing food. Sometimes the constriction is so severe that they struggle to breatheâ?¦â? The author goes on to say â?Gastroenterologists do not fully understand the etiology of achalasia. Stress is partly implicated in some cases, judging from a review of recent medical literature, however, little research on psychosomatic factors is being done. Far more ink is devoted to surgical solutions. Whatever caused Saganâ?Ts achalasia, the condition would haunt him well into adulthood. When he was an adult, it necessitated surgery that almost killed him. He feared choking so much that he nibbled at his food, slicing it into miniscule pieces. Sometimes he stood and literally hopped up and down, struggling to make the food go down his throat. He once confessed to his friend Tim Ferris that being able to finally swallow a mouthful of food gave him a absurd sensation of relief and pleasureâ?. Later in the book, â?o[Carl] had undergone esophageal surgery in hopes of correcting the conditionâ?¦But he later suffered a pneumothorax, a condition in which his lung cavity filled with blood from the surgical insisionsâ?¦. They put drains in and gave him nine units of blood ..Sagan cameâ?very closeâ? to dyingâ?¦ Sagan recovered.. but the operation was unsucessful and the achalasia continued to trouble him for years.â? A friend recalls, â?oHe had some problem swallowing, he took forever to chew. He took very tiny bites. Whether this was â?~in his headâ?T, I donâ?Tt know. He was very upset about the [marriage] break- upâ? Later in the biography Carl is lambasted by an associate. â?oHe came out one time to be part of our review committee and-stupid thing- he needed to eat special food because of his [health] experience. So he had Billington and two of our administrative assistants working for an hour and a half or two to get exactly the right kind of corned beef sandwich from a deli-he couldnâ?Tt eat this, he couldnâ?Tt eat thatâ? Not exactly a sympathetic portrayal and understanding of achalasia is it! Is this how achalasia is perceived by outsiders? Mara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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