X-Message-Number: 32711
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:16:32 +0000 (UTC)
From: Melody Maxim <>
Subject: Response to Mr. Ettinger's Cryonet Message #32709

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Below, is a copy of my post on Cold Filter, here: 
http://www.network54.com/Forum/291677/message/1279115114/The+Nurse+(For+Mr.+Ettinger)


Mr. Ettinger: "Below is evidence concerning just one of Johnson's lies 
concerning an Alcor patient whose death was allegedly deliberately hastened. The
writer of the Amazon review was the nurse taking care of the patient. It seems 
far more likely that the nurse is telling the truth than Johnson." 

Mr. Ettinger, 


We've already been through this, on (the Cold Filter) forum, but maybe you 
missed it. Johnson did not fabricate the story about that particular incident. 
He heard the story from his co-workers, and it was virtually identical to the 
story told to me, by some of my co-workers, at SA. Johnson has a number of Alcor
staff members, discussing what appears to be more than one illegal euthanasia, 
on audiotape. You can hear at least a couple of those recordings, here: 
http://frozenbook.com/audio.php Also, if you do a thorough search, you can find 
a lot of Internet discussions, (including comments from Saul Kent), regarding a 
certain person, whose activities had the potential to be very damaging to 
cryonics. For someone who has heard the stories, it's easy to "read between the 
lines." 


The nurse made his first appearance in the public eye, when he called ABC 
Nightline to claim Johnson was "lying," and to claim the patient in question 
died in his bedroom alone with his lover, rather than in the garage as Johnson's
repetition of the Alcor legend had described. The nurse's version of the story 
directly contradicts the Alcor case report, (written by Mike Darwin and Keith 
Henson), which states: "The nurse, who was extremely supportive and competent, 
had called it close. Nick (with Jim holding his hand to the end) quit breathing 
and experienced cardiac arrest about half an hour after we got him into the 
garage ." http://alcor.org/Library/html/casereport9205.html 


I have a hard time believing Mike and Keith lied, about the location of the 
patient at the time of death, when they wrote their report, 18 years ago. IF 
they WERE going to lie, they should have told the nurse's version of the story!!
Ironically, Carlos Mondragon called ABC Nightline, implying the rumors 
regarding the illegal euthansia were true and saying Alcor had severed all ties 
with the person who had been accused, (presumably by Alcor staff members), of 
hastening the death of an Alcor client. (Unfortunately, Mr. Mondragon was not 
honest enough to also mention that Alcor brought back the same person, to 
perform the Ted Williams case.) 


The nurse, whose name had never been mentioned by Johnson, (and I don't believe 
it was mentioned on Nightline), later wrote the Amazon review and signed his 
name. At that point, I observed that SOMEONE wasn't telling the truth, (since 
the nurse's story contradicted the Alcor report and Mondragon's statement), and 
questioned whether the nurse was attempting to protect his own professional 
reputation. (Though the best way to do that, would have been simply to remain 
silent, as no one had ever named him, until he did so, himself.) After that, the
nurse kept posting on Amazon, claiming he had tried to contact me many times, 
but that I had ignored him. I, having never received a single email from him, 
contacted him, immediately, and we exchanged several polite emails. He insisted 
the Alcor report was wrong, and that the patient had died in the bedroom, rather
than the garage, as stated in the Alcor report. He speculated that some of the 
Alcor staff members fabricated the story about killing someone, (though I can't 
imagine why they would do that!). He also claimed Mike had identified himself 
and Tanya, as nurses, at the time of the case. (He was very specific about 
this...I can't recall the exact details, without digging out my archived files, 
from an old computer, but I believe he said Mike identified himself as a BSN and
Tanya as an LPN.) 


After these very civil exchanges, I had the nerve to go off on a ten-night 
vacation, without telling anyone. I have a very strict policy of not checking my
email, on vacation, and while I was gone the nurse sent me quite a few emails. 
Apparently, he was offended that I was not responding to him. Not only did his 
emails get hostile, he went on a rampage, writing nasty things about me, on 
Amazon, (at the same time he was writing some really nasty, and untrue, things 
about Larry Johnson). After I remarked on his reckless speculations being 
libelous, he edited out a lot of the comments he had made, and issued a public 
apology to both Johnson, and me. 


If you choose to believe the nurse's version of the story, you are going to have
to call a lot of people associated with Alcor "liars," such as the people 
discussing illegal euthanasia on those audiotapes, and the two who wrote the 
report, which contradicts the nurse's story. Johnson was just repeating what he 
heard from Alcor's own staff members. Either they were involved in illegal 
euthanasia, or they lied about being involved in illegal euthanasia...either 
way, they reek of unethical and unprofessional behavior. 


(End of copy of Cold Filter post.) 



In regard to the ball peen hammer: As I recall, Alcor and/or their attorneys 
responded to Johnson's allegations, by denying the use of a ball peen hammer, 
(either publicly, or in court), and claimed to have been using a "medical 
mallet," when the instrument in the images was clearly a ball peen hammer with a
wooden handle. The best thing would have been for them to simply acknowledge 
they had used a ball peen hammer. The hammer incident was the least of the 
ethical issues raised, in Johnson's book, and that issue was more about the lies
that were told in defending it, than the hammer, itself. As I recall, one 
Cryonet contributor offered to pay for a real medical mallet, if Alcor would 
purchase one, because he realized how the public would perceive the ball peen 
hammer. Sometimes, appearances count for a lot. 



As a medical professional who has been subjected to numerous personal attacks, 
and having had many blatant lies told about me, by people defending both SA and 
Alcor, I will continue to defend Larry Johnson, for so long as I find him more 
credible than most of the people attacking him. 


Melody Maxim
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