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Find out more about Adam: Adam Meister's scribe spreads his innate enthusiasm for all things Baltimore--and, in particular, the political inner workings of his beloved hometown. |
Anna Sowers has released a letter she received from a respected doctor at Johns Hopkins that confirms everything that she has said about the injuries Zach Sowers sustained. The letter also shows how ridiculous the words of Patricia Jessamy's spokesperson Margaret Burns were. The doctor makes reference to a possible lawsuit that Anna Sowers is considering against those in the office of Patricia Jessamy. The full letter is below this entry and you will only see it here (I am up early enough to post it here first). I hope other media outlets will not keep this story quiet. Anna is very willing to talk about all this with the media. I also hope that every one of our elected officials give their opinions on whether or not Jessamy should fire burns (I believe Anna sent this out to our leaders also). In the long run it is our elected officials who have the leverage that will force Jessamy to do the right thing and fire Burns. I will keep a running tally in my entries listing which politicians are publicly for Anna and for the firing of Burns by Jessamy and which politicians are against Anna and for keeping Burns and maintaining this disgraceful charade.
I know the Mayor is busy with her own controversy but she should really get on the phone after reading this letter and ask her friend Patricia Jessamy to fire Margaret Burns ASAP. If the Mayor's spokesperson made such outlandish statements about a murder case then the Mayor would surely fire her representative. She needs to hold ALL her colleagues to the same standard.
Here is the letter:
Margaret T. Burns
Chief, Communications & Governmental Affairs
Rm. 208, The Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse
Dear Ms. Burns,
I am compelled to write this letter on the behalf of Ms. Anna Cheng and her deceased husband Zach Sowers as a response to the recent pronouncements in the media by the Baltimore District Attorney’s office regarding the circumstances and condition of Mr. Sowers upon admission to the Johns Hopkins Neuroscience Critical Care Unit (NCCU) on the early morning of June 2nd, 2007. As Director of the NCCU, and one of the attending Neuro ICU physicians caring for Mr. Sowers following his arrival, I feel I must respond to the gross inaccuracies reported by the media regarding comments made by the District Attorney’s office.
Zach Sowers was admitted to the NCCU with a severe head injury following a random and brutal assault that evening. His condition was highly critical and near death from severe head lacerations and intracranial trauma. He was not, and could not in the remotest sense as reported by the media to look as he were “sleeping like a baby”. He was in a deep coma, unarousable to even the deepest of stimulation. His face and scalp were entirely disfigured and discolored with bruising, swelling and lacerations. His neck was in a collar, an orogastric tube was in place, and he had an endotracheal breathing tube down his mouth as he was assisted by a ventilator. To ensure that my recollections are accurate, I report directly from a selection of the staff and radiology dictated notes upon arrival of June 2nd.
Clinical & radiographic examination:
Regarding findings on his head CT scan, “Intraventricular blood is seen in the lateral ventricles, third ventricle, and fourth ventricle. Subdural and subarachnoid blood is also seen along the superior aspect of the cerebellum. Blood is also seen along the sulci of the left temporal lobe, right frontal lobe, and left parietal and temporal lobe, right temporal lobe, and the quadrigeminal plate cistern….” On his scalp & face, “Eyes are swollen shut and lids are purple, with difficulty in opening eyes to examine pupils which are non-reactive.” Radiographically, his scalp region was further described, “Extensive soft tissue swelling is seen with subcutaneous soft tissue emphysema (air) around the calvarium….”
I do not know for certain where the reported inaccuracy first originated, but it was made clear via the media and by Ms. Cheng that the District Attorney’s office, even after the complaint was made by Ms. Cheng regarding the erroneous statements, that continued remarks were made from your staff that misrepresented the documented clinical history. I am saddened and appalled that our justice system is capable of such callous commentary with little or no regard for the grievous suffering that has taken place in light of Mr. Sowers’ heinous murder, and the torment such slanderous inferences have now added to the family’s coping processes.
As you know, Ms. Cheng has made the attack on her husband and his subsequent death a call to arms regarding the need to focus attention on violent urban crime and pressing home solutions to quash this continued problem. Ms. Cheng is a strong believer in positive action, and she has made a commitment to improving the plight of patients suffering from severe head injury. She has donated her time and expense to coordinate fund-raising efforts in support of research in this field.
To conclude, I have advised Ms. Cheng, in the context of not receiving an official, complete and unqualified apology from the district attorney’s office, that I will support in her in any legal action she so moves to make to rectify this untenable situation.
Sincerely,
Marek Mirski MD, PhD
Vice-Chair, Dept. of Anesthesiology & Critical Care
Director – Neurosciences Critical Care Unit
Chief – Division of Neuroanesthesiology
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology,
Neurology, Neurosurgery
Johns
cc. Anna Cheng
Patricia C. Jessamy, State's Attorney
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