Gene (Hackman) Therapy!

Ok, this started out as a weird story but it’s now taken a further twist. Get this!

Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman died of natural causes about a week after his wife Betsy Arakawa, who died after contracting a rare virus, a New Mexico medical investigator has said. Hackman, 95, died at his Santa Fe home from coronary artery disease, with advanced Alzheimer's disease a contributing factor. Ms Arakawa, 65, died in the same house from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), a respiratory illness caused by exposure to infected rodents. Her cause of death was listed as natural.

What?

OK, let’s rewind.What exactly IS hantavirus pulmonary syndrome?

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is a rare infectious disease that begins with flu-like symptoms and progresses rapidly to more severe disease. It can lead to life-threatening lung and heart problems. The disease is also called hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome. Several strains of the hantavirus can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. They are carried by different types of rodents. The most common carrier in North America is the deer mouse. Infection is usually caused by inhaling hantaviruses that have become airborne from rodent urine, droppings or saliva.

In what way is a seemingly healthy 63 year old woman dying of an alleged rodent virus “natural”? Did this “disease” suddenly come upon her? How did she get it and why didn’t she phone for help? If you are like me and don’t believe in viruses, this is even more unusual! I find her death story very curious.

To add to the strangeness, Gene Hackman lived on for a further week, wandering around the house in a demented haze, unaware that his wife was dead and mummifying in the bathroom.

Really?

And nobody checked. Nobody called. Nothing, just the stench of death in that house.

All in all, a truly shocking end to the life of this renowned Actor.