Eleutheros

Hello, Nursey. I'm glad that you got to spend time with Jimmy Dewar before he passed away. What you reported about him is supported, to an extent, by this interview from Steve's Place, run by Steve Shail, a fan of Robin Trower who voluntarily maintains his site as a labor of love. Your words, therefore, carry more weight and that's why I'm responding. Chris H57 is right. It was CADASIL that killed Jimmy Dewar. Please follow that link or read this one to educate yourself before you read on. When I read your reply to radar love I felt not a bit incensed when you wrote: On 9/13/2019 at 6:54 PM, Nursey said: "...but he suffered from dementia ,probably due to his huge appetite for alcohol and cocaine." I want you to know that his family once maintained a website that told the truthful story of how he died; and it wasn't as you said. Unfortunately, they have since taken it down. The website was www.jimmydewar.com. I am a Graphics Comm student, a Robin Trower fan, and a fan of the great Jimmy Dewar whose voice Trower often credited as being an elemental part of the band's success. So, when given an assignment to technically and artistically evaluate websites, I remembered that website as an excellent example of artistry and empathy that was executed with a deft touch. I went looking for it, and that was how I discovered it was gone - and how I came across this forum. Of course, I couldn't challenge your presumptiveness without proof. So, I dug deeper. Fortunately, I found a website where an anonymous poster quoted from the website Dewar's family once maintained. This quote is accurate, as I remember the words well because I, too, had once been searching for answers: Quote This is a quote from the site: www.jimmydewar.com/ maintained by Carl Kennedy. While the diagnosis was not entirely clear, Jimmy’s symptoms seemed to most closely resemble those of a stroke victim. He continued to suffer many such small strokes over the years following his 1986 surgery. Initially, the Dewar family and others close to Jimmy, suspected that (during his surgery), the anesthesiologist may have made an error causing injury to Jimmy's brain. The hospital’s conduct was a bit secretive and that only fueled suspicions of malpractice. With nothing of substance in hand, the family had no grounds to bring suit. Fans, pundits and others (not close to the matter) often took the liberty of filling in the informational void with their own fiction. It was sometimes said that surely he abused drugs or drank himself to death. Most seemed to conclude that the life of a rockstar is short by nature and that hard living shortened his lifespan. The truth was nothing of the sort and only discovered some forty years after after the onset. In 2013 Jimmy’s middle daughter (Wendy) needed medical treatment requiring that she undergo general anesthesia. Alarmingly, Wendy emerged from her surgery exhibiting some of the same symptoms as her dad some 37 years prior. Fortunately for Wendy, all these years of medical advancement (since the onset of her dad's illness) have allowed doctors to diagnose her condition. A little-known genetic disorder called Cadasil ("Cerebral Autosomal-Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy”) causes precisely these stroke events in those carrying a mutated gene referred to as "Notch 3". Cadasil causes the small to medium sized arteries in the brain to suffer a thickening of the walls that eventually starves blood flow to the brain causing strokes and dementia. The average age of those exhibiting symptoms is 46. Jimmy was 42 and Wendy was 45. It was not until 2000 that a test was developed to identify the disease thus Jimmy’s condition was destined to go many years undiagnosed. The suspicion that general anesthesia may contribute to the onset of these symptoms is unsubstantiated at this point as there is much to learn about the rare but devastating disease. It does seem noteworthy that the strokes and subsequent symptoms appeared immediately upon undergoing general anesthesia in both Jimmy's case and Wendy's case. Sadly, in 2014, Cadasil is both incurable and untreatable. The medical community is beginning to show some interest in researching Cadasil, it's treatment and cure. While this is good news, one should not get their hopes too high (just yet). Cadasil is extremely rare. Funding and mobilization to treat any disease is prioritized largely by global occurrence and it's impact upon the masses. Rare diseases such as this one fall low on the scale of urgency when compared to the many diseases that afflict large parts of the world’s population. Wendy’s condition is reported to be more promising than her dad’s however there is a degree of “wait and see” associated with the progression of Cadasil. Of course we wish her and the entire Dewar family the very best in health and well-being. So, what does this all mean to us looking back upon the life and death of James "Jimmy" Dewar? It means that nature took its course. To date, nothing could have been done to change the outcome. With or without an accurate diagnosis of Cadasil in 1986 (or today) Jimmy’s fate was sealed. I suppose we can put to rest our fears of medical malpractice being to blame. The truth is freeing if only to this extent. Let it be known to all that Jimmy Dewar did not die an ignoble death from drugs and alcohol. Just because a person achieves fame and notoriety in the world of guitar, bass and drums. does not mean they live, or lived, a debauched or hedonistic life. Additionally, this quote makes it clear that it was the hospital's suspect behavior after the incident that led his family - and friends - to assume it was a medical mishap. It is my hope that this post finds its way to you, Nursey, and then I hope that you will use your unique position as a former caregiver to Dewar to counter the slanderous things you've been saying from supposition and help to set the record straight, if anything, just to please the family of Jimmy Dewar. By the way, just some advice, Nursey, it would boost other's perceptions if you ran a spell and grammar check before you post anything else in English.