Looking for answers into my ex boyfriend's death, he had a tumor but died of alcohol?

Hello everyone

I hope that I am posting this in the right spot as I am new to this site. My ex boyfriend, whom I dated for 4 years from the time I was 16, died early this October. I was told that he died from choking on his vomit after having too much to drink at his brother's birthday party.

A little background info...

He was diagnosed with a benign spinal cord tumor that was the size of a golfball. He had one emergency surgery which removed only a bit of it. He then went in for a second procedure with Dr. Fred Epstein when he was 15 years old. He was Dr. Epstein's last patient. It was then reduced to the size of a pea. He never went through any kinds of therapies following because he was functioning normally, so in other words, he had no problems walking, with vision, etc. He appeared "normal."

When he was about 20 years old, he began complaining of headaches again, and it was discovered that he had developed hydrocephalus because his body was still producing as much fluid to his brain as it did when he had the tumor. He had surgery to correct it, without a shunt.

He never had any seizures that he was aware of as a child, and none as an adult. He was never on any medications for his condition. He was given no restrictions by his doctors.

During the time I was with him, however, I did notice he was a reasonably heavy sleeper. He loved beer, but rarely was one to get drunk. He would at best get tipsy but in later years he complained that even getting tipsy would give him horrible headaches and cause him to vomit. Because of this, he usually just nursed a beer at parties and couldn't drink most nights because I would ask him to drive me home.

I am curious if anyone knows if it's possible that his condition could have played a role in his death. I do not know if he was sick or experiencing any symptoms or seizures before his death, to my knowledge he was not. It seems everyone has just summed it up to that he had too much drink. While I am sure he did (though I never knew him to) I don't think his condition should be dismissed entirely, either. Also I have noticed that the symptoms of a seizure are similar to that of someone who is very drunk, and from my understanding, everyone else at this party was quite drunk as well, so its not as if someone sober could have helped him. Obviously for emotional reasons I don't want to believe that he died of alcohol, but I just want to know if I am being rational or not in thinking this. Thank you in advance.

Tags: Dr., Epstein, Fred, alcohol, benign, brain, tumor

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Permalink Reply by Peggy Card on December 13, 2010 at 5:09pm

Dear Angelique,

I am so sorry for your loss. Sometimes there are no answers to our questions. Since you were together for so long, you must have loved each other very much. May you find peace.

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Permalink Reply by Angelique Navarro on January 15, 2011 at 3:50pm

Thank you for the kind words, Peggy, I appreciate it.

Peggy Card said:

Dear Angelique,

I am so sorry for your loss. Sometimes there are no answers to our questions. Since you were together for so long, you must have loved each other very much. May you find peace.

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Permalink Reply by Angelique Navarro on January 15, 2011 at 3:53pm

In case anyone was curious, I found an interesting article on swallowing difficulties that can lead to aspiration pneumonia in those with brain tumors, not limited to spinal tumors. My ex boyfriend did have a spinal brain tumor, and after reading this article I can now remember him having some issues with swallowing though he chewed his food well and thoroughly. He never ate without something to drink and often had sinus problems, both of which could have been related to his tumor; though I will never know any of this for sure. The article is interesting nonetheless for anyone with a brain tumor.