News

Jackson drug shock

July 02, 2009 Edition 2

Lynn Elber

LOS ANGELES: Michael Jackson was so distraught about persistent insomnia in recent months that he pleaded for a powerful sedative despite warnings it could be harmful, says a nutritionist who was working with him as he prepared for his comeback bid.

Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse whose speciality includes nutritional counselling, said on Tuesday that she had repeatedly rejected his demands for the intravenous drug, Diprivan.

But a frantic phone call she received from Jackson four days before his death made her fear that he had somehow obtained Diprivan or another drug to induce sleep, Lee said.

While in Florida on June 21 Lee was contacted by a member of Jackson's staff.

"He was very frantic and said, 'Michael needs to see you right away.' I said, 'What's wrong?' And I could hear Michael in the background … saying 'One side of my body is hot, it's hot, and one side of my body is cold. It's very cold'," Lee said.

"I said: 'Tell him he needs to go the hospital. I don't know what's going on, but he needs to go to the hospital ... right away'.

"At that point, I knew that somebody had given him something that hit the central nervous system," she said. "He was in trouble on Sunday and he was crying out."

Jackson did not go to hospital. He died on June 25 after suffering a heart attack, his family said. An official cause of death is not expected for several weeks.

Following Jackson's death, allegations emerged that the 50-year-old King of Pop had been consuming painkillers, sedatives and antidepressants. But Lee said she encountered a man tortured by sleep deprivation and who expressed opposition to recreational drug use.

"He wasn't looking to get high or feel good and sedated from drugs," she said. "This was a person who was seeking help, desperately, to get some sleep, to get some rest."

Jackson was rehearsing hard for what would have been his big comeback, his This Is It tour. Also, pain had been a part of his life since 1984, when his scalp was severely burnt during a Pepsi commercial shoot.

The Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferrigno, a bodybuilding champion of the 1970s, who's been working out with Jackson for the past several months, said Jackson was focused on health.

"When he was with me, he wasn't different. He wasn't stoned. He wasn't high. He wasn't being aloof or speedy. Never talked about drugs," Ferrigno said. "I've never seen him take drugs. He was always talking about nutrition."

Several months ago, Jackson had begun badgering Lee about Diprivan, also known as Propofol, Lee said. It is an intravenous anaesthetic drug widely used in operating rooms to induce unconsciousness.

Patients given Propofol take less time to regain consciousness than those administered certain other drugs, University of Chicago psychopharmacologist James Zacny said.

It has also been implicated in drug abuse, with people using it to "chill out" or to commit suicide, Zacny said. Accidental deaths linked to abuse have been reported. It has a very narrow therapeutic window, meaning it doesn't take doses much larger than the medically recommended amount to stop breathing.

An overdose that stops breathing can result in a build-up of carbon dioxide, causing the heart to beat erratically and leading to cardiac arrest, Dr John Dombrowski, a director of the American Society of Anaesthesiologists, said.

In recent months, Lee said, Jackson rejected her warnings, saying: "I had an IV and when it hit my vein, I was sleeping.

“That’s what I want,” Lee said Jackson told her.

“I said, ‘Michael, the only problem with you taking this

medication’ – and I had a chill in my body and tears in my eyes three months ago – ‘the only problem is you’re going to take it and you’re not going to wake up,’” she recalled.

According to Lee, Jackson said it had been given to him before, but he didn’t want to discuss the circumstances or identify the doctor involved.

Londell McMillan, attorney for Katherine and Joe Jackson,

talked about Lee’s disclosures on CNN on Tuesday.

“It’s a hearsay comment. It would be inadmissible anywhere in a court of law,” he said. “I also wonder why anyone would make a comment about something that

they don’t have much knowledge about. They didn’t see the drug administered. It’s again because of the Michael Jackson factor.”

Lee said the entertainer drew his own distinctions when it came to drugs versus prescription medicine.

“He said, ‘I don’t like drugs. I don’t want any drugs. My doctor told me this is a safe medicine,’” Lee said.

The next day, she showed him the section on Diprivan in the Physician’s Desk Reference. “He said, ‘No, my doctor said it’s safe. It works quick and it’s safe as long as somebody’s here to monitor me and wake me up. It’s going be okay,’” Lee said.

She said he did not give the doctor’s name.

Lee said at one point she spent the night with Jackson to monitor him while he slept. She said she gave him herbal remedies and stayed in a corner chair in his vast bedroom.

After he settled in bed, Lee told Jackson to turn down the lights and music – he had classical music playing.

“He also had a computer on the bed because he loved Walt Disney,” she said. “He was watching Donald Duck and it was ongoing. I said, ‘Maybe if we put on softer music,’ and he said, ‘No, this is how I go to sleep.’”

Three and a half hours later Jackson jumped up, eyes wide open, according to Lee. “This is what happens to me,” she quoted him as saying. “All I want is to be able to sleep. I want to be able to sleep eight hours. I know I’ll feel better the next day.”

Lee, 56, is licensed as a registered nurse and nurse practitioner in California, according to the state Board of Registered Nursing’s website.

Lee, who has also worked with Stevie Wonder and other celebrities, said she was introduced to Jackson by the mother of one of his staff members.

Jackson’s three children had minor cold symptoms and their paediatrician was out of town.

Lee said she visited the house from January to April and treated the children with vitamins. Jackson, intrigued, asked what else she did and took her up on her claim that she could boost his energy.

After running blood tests, she treated him with protein shakes and vitamins and minerals.

“It wasn’t that he felt sick,” she said. “He just wanted more energy.”

Lee said she decided to speak out to protect Jackson’s reputation from what she considered unfounded allegations of drug abuse or shortcomings as a parent.

“I think it’s so wrong for people to say these things about him,” she said. “He was a wonderful, loving father who wanted the best for his children.”

Propofol was discovered by investigators at Jackson’s home, the TMZ.com celebrity news website has reported.

The website described it as an “extremely dangerous and

potent” substance which was only available to medical personnel.