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Post by NatureCalleth on Feb 7, 2021 14:42:57 GMT
He probably had a lot left in him, but he had that fall and hit his head. Idk anymore details than that, but he must have clocked himself pretty good to pass away two and a half weeks later. Idk if we'll get an official medical cause of death, but a hit on the head can cause a lot of things, I would think. I worked in a nursing home for a few years, and a fall is one of the scariest things to have happen. At an age like 91, there is really no good way to land a fall-- you can really easily break a bone or several bones, knock your head (which isn't good at any age), or get some nasty, painful bruising at best. I would agree that without the fall, he likely would have lived for several more years and continued to work. I was seriously concerned he had COVID-19 or something, but I guess they'd been playing it safe since I hadn't heard anything about him or Elaine having it, which is good obviously. I wonder if the fall caused a stroke or some kind of aneurysm. Guess we might never know.
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laurynvi
Full Member
I ask you to stay.
Posts: 212
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Post by laurynvi on Feb 7, 2021 15:23:46 GMT
It is very common for older people to have slow brain bleeds secondary to even very mild head trauma because their blood vessels are very friable. It's possible to do surgery for this but older age frequently make this group not safe candidates... or he may have decided it was not worth the risk, and would rather pass peacefully at home with his wife. I have no doubt a man like Christopher Plummer would choose to die on his own terms if he could, and that brings me comfort.
That we don't know for sure is a good reminder for us to focus on celebrating his legacy - after all, "to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." (JK Rowling)
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Post by NatureCalleth on Feb 7, 2021 15:27:53 GMT
It is very common for older people to have slow brain bleeds secondary to even very mild head trauma because their blood vessels are very friable. It's possible to do surgery for this but older age frequently make this group not safe candidates... or he may have decided it was not worth the risk, and would rather pass peacefully at home with his wife. I have no doubt a man like Christopher Plummer would choose to die on his own terms if he could, and that brings me comfort. That we don't know for sure is a good reminder for us to focus on celebrating his legacy - after all, "to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." (JK Rowling) I hope I can go on my own terms like that. Death is so scary...
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Post by augiesannie on Feb 7, 2021 16:00:29 GMT
I don't think there's anything stopping you from still writing one now! I'm sure you have more to say now, too. You may not have the comfort of knowing he may read the letter some day, but it could help you work through your emotions. Try not to to beat yourself up over not writing or sending a letter-- I think everyone leaves things left unsaid all the time, and those are regrets that we all understand. And, as a lot of people in this thread have expressed, I think we all anticipated more time to write such letters. He seemed immortal. He probably had a lot left in him, but he had that fall and hit his head. Idk anymore details than that, but he must have clocked himself pretty good to pass away two and a half weeks later. Idk if we'll get an official medical cause of death, but a hit on the head can cause a lot of things, I would think. NatureCalleth, where did you read it was two and a half weeks? (not doubting you, curious). Also, another antidote to this kind of regret is to think of someone you haven't written to who's still alive, and write them instead. As I get older, I find I am more attentive to that sort of unfinished business.
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Post by NatureCalleth on Feb 7, 2021 16:02:03 GMT
He probably had a lot left in him, but he had that fall and hit his head. Idk anymore details than that, but he must have clocked himself pretty good to pass away two and a half weeks later. Idk if we'll get an official medical cause of death, but a hit on the head can cause a lot of things, I would think. NatureCalleth , where did you read it was two and a half weeks? (not doubting you, curious). Also, another antidote to this kind of regret is to think of someone you haven't written to who's still alive, and write them instead. As I get older, I find I am more attentive to that sort of unfinished business. The New York Times, apparently. www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/christopher-plummer-obituary-1.5902845
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Post by augiesannie on Feb 7, 2021 16:03:53 GMT
NatureCalleth , where did you read it was two and a half weeks? (not doubting you, curious). Also, another antidote to this kind of regret is to think of someone you haven't written to who's still alive, and write them instead. As I get older, I find I am more attentive to that sort of unfinished business. The New York Times, apparently. www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/christopher-plummer-obituary-1.5902845ok thanks, somehow I missed that!
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Post by NatureCalleth on Feb 7, 2021 16:04:55 GMT
ok thanks, somehow I missed that! It's all good. Who would you suggest I write to? Maybe a condolences letter to Elaine or maybe Julie?
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Post by augiesannie on Feb 7, 2021 17:49:51 GMT
ok thanks, somehow I missed that! It's all good. Who would you suggest I write to? Maybe a condolences letter to Elaine or maybe Julie? Sure, but I was thinking really of anyone in your life. As someone who’s old enough to have lost her parents, a sibling, aunts house uncles and most of her cousins, and a whole generation of valued teachers, I’ve learned not to wait to express my gratitude to anyone!
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Post by NatureCalleth on Feb 7, 2021 17:57:44 GMT
It's all good. Who would you suggest I write to? Maybe a condolences letter to Elaine or maybe Julie? Sure, but I was thinking really of anyone in your life. As someone who’s old enough to have lost her parents, a sibling, aunts house uncles and most of her cousins, and a whole generation of valued teachers, I’ve learned not to wait to express my gratitude to anyone! I usually don't struggle with, in real life, gratitude expression, or even online. I'm just particularly bad at writing letters. LOL
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Post by indigoblue on Feb 7, 2021 18:01:12 GMT
It puzzled me why he was at home. But sometimes when people fall, it is because they have first had a stroke or small heart attack, which then prevents them from landing safely, or it means they knock their head etc. This is especially so later in life when they are more frail and bones break more easily.
So it is possible he was at home because he originally had something like that, and it was hoped he would recuperate there more comfortably (normally if he had had a head injury giving a brain bleed or broken ribs compromising his lungs, then he would still have been in hospital, maybe after surgery - especially at his age).
So it seems to me that he may have had some other problem first, which might have got better with bedrest at home. However, unfortunately being immobile can induce bronchopneumonia in elderly people, which often then overtakes them, albeit in a painless and gentle manner. Or, as Laurynvi said, he may have had a slow brain-ooze.
Just my tuppence-worth!
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Post by utility_singer on Feb 7, 2021 19:41:47 GMT
I was reading this morning that most elderly people who suffer a fall, even without obvious serious injury, are not the same after.
As for keeping him in the hospital, they are loathe to keep anyone that doesn't absolutely require being in there because of all the Covid prototcols.
Going on his own terms (if indeed he did) gives some comfort, as he'd expressed his intention to never retire 'but drop dead on stage'). He was working so steadily, he almost achieved that.
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Post by utility_singer on Feb 8, 2021 1:50:31 GMT
Coming back to add that Debbie Turner just shared on her facebook page that Chris did indeed fall and hit his head, the same as her real life dad.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2021 2:38:10 GMT
Coming back to add that Debbie Turner just shared on her facebook page that Chris did indeed fall and hit his head, the same as her real life dad. Do you have the link? I'm curious to read it.
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Post by NatureCalleth on Feb 8, 2021 2:47:04 GMT
Coming back to add that Debbie Turner just shared on her facebook page that Chris did indeed fall and hit his head, the same as her real life dad. Do you have the link? I'm curious to read it. You mentioned having a Tumblr, I'd love to follow a fellow TSoM fan!
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Post by reverendcaptain on Feb 8, 2021 17:45:28 GMT
My heart is just broken over this. 91 doesn't usually seem too young to go, but in this case it absolutely does. I watched TSOM on the day he passed, and was struck (even more than usual) at how much he brought to this movie. If anyone else had been cast, I don't think it would have succeeded the way it did/is continuing to do. I don't think we'd all be here talking to each other about it however many years later. He was a genius - his acting, his writing, his mannerisms, his expressions - he is just the perfect Captain.
Though I never wrote him a fan letter, I am a firm believer that once we leave this life, we are instantly given the knowledge of what people truly think of us. He knew while he was alive that he was famous and adored, of course, but I think in Heaven he can feel just how deeply he is missed, how many people admired and loved him, how influential he was, not just to critics and other famous people, but to the average person like me (and the millions of others like me). I think he knows how often he crosses our minds, how often someone is thinking of his work or dreaming up a new fanfiction story about him. There is no way of knowing if this is true, of course, but believing it brings me comfort when I lose someone important to me.
May he Rest In Peace.
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Post by reverendcaptain on Feb 8, 2021 20:16:43 GMT
I was trying to think of my favorite CP moment in TSOM, but once I started pondering.....it is kind of every moment. He is just brilliant in this role. My favorite of his costumes is the party scene when he is all dressed up. Wow. I am debating on my favorite of his looks...it is probably one of his intense looks (end of the Laendler, going in for the first kiss in the gazebo, I actually really like him staring daggers at Zeller after "I meant to accuse you"). Intense is too much for me today though. I attaching a few of my favorite smiles. He's just gorgeous, isn't he?
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Post by bluesatinsashes on Feb 8, 2021 22:25:24 GMT
I was trying to think of my favorite CP moment in TSOM, but once I started pondering.....it is kind of every moment. He is just brilliant in this role. My favorite of his costumes is the party scene when he is all dressed up. Wow. I am debating on my favorite of his looks...it is probably one of his intense looks (end of the Laendler, going in for the first kiss in the gazebo, I actually really like him staring daggers at Zeller after "I meant to accuse you"). Intense is too much for me today though. I attaching a few of my favorite smiles. He's just gorgeous, isn't he? You're pretty much right on that, it's every moment. But the ones that give me the warmest fuzzies are the the post-wedding scenes (return from the honeymoon and the festival). The way he looks at Maria and embraces her...it looks so genuine. And how she reciprocates. It's no wonder their on-screen chemistry is like no other.
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Post by indigoblue on Feb 8, 2021 23:21:10 GMT
The way I look at it, the average life expectancy for a man like him is about 80yrs. So perhaps we ought to be thankful for those extra ten or so years he lived (especially considering the amount of alcohol and cigarettes he smoked until well into his middle-age).
For in that last decade, he gave some of his best performances, and gained two Oscar nominations and the award itself, which I'm sure was of particular pride to himself, and our pleasure...as well as the sheer genius of his role as the captain.
Augiesannie's link to an article 'Oh Captain, My Captain' in the first post in Sad News brings up everything he brings to this role - I couldn't have put it better.
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Post by utility_singer on Feb 8, 2021 23:42:40 GMT
Coming back to add that Debbie Turner just shared on her facebook page that Chris did indeed fall and hit his head, the same as her real life dad. Do you have the link? I'm curious to read it. I don't, but that was really all she said. If you're on facebook you can follow her, she has a public page.
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Post by NatureCalleth on Feb 9, 2021 0:07:10 GMT
The way I look at it, the average life expectancy for a man like him is about 80yrs. So perhaps we ought to be thankful for those extra ten or so years he lived (especially considering the amount of alcohol and cigarettes he smoked until well into his middle-age). For in that last decade, he gave some of his best performances, and gained two Oscar nominations and the award itself, which I'm sure was of particular pride to himself, and our pleasure...as well as the sheer genius of his role as the captain. Augiesannie's link to an article 'Oh Captain, My Captain' in the first post in Sad News brings up everything he brings to this role - I couldn't have put it better. Yeah, I'm honestly surprised he didn't end up with a whole selection of various cancers caused by cigarettes, i.e., mouth, lung, gum, etc. Liver cancer/cirrhosis from his drinking problems, or like my grandmother, who ended up with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome from her alcoholism. Glad he didn't end up like the same grandmother, who passed away about two years ago from COPD herself, which was caused by her decades of cigarette smoking. I guess the big difference is that he stopped, or rather, was stopped by Elaine and his' relationship for the better. The funny thing about my grandmother is that, when she passed away, they actually were able to use her corneas for organ donation, and they checked other organs for possible donation as well. Everyone in the family fully expected her liver to be just an absolute disaster like a wasteland, but NO, HER LIVER WAS FINE. Just like with Iron Lungs and Polio patients, this lady had The Iron Liver.
Note: I just now remember that someone mentioned he at some point received a diagnosis of Alcoholic hepatitis from his alcoholism, which is apparently Stage 2 of Alcohol-Related Liver Disease. There are three stages, and even Stage 2 can lead to liver failure in severe cases. I'm glad he never got to that point.
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