RIP

Correction, birdpilot.

Not sure if this is news we needed to know NOW.

Sandy Dahl, the wife of Captain Jason Dahl, died in May. What an amazing "coincidence" that this news is released at the same time the Arab world is in an uproar.

(Who is scripting this theater?)

@ Bob:

Very sad - but Sandy died at her own hands and by her own choices. It's called free will. And maybe she was just too sad and unhappy to live anymore.

Those like you that want to blame others for the choices you make are very weak, pathetically sad and what is clearly wrong in this country. It's called taking responsibility for yourself and the choices and decisions you make as an individual. It is amazing what a better person and better contributor to society you will be when you take responsibility for yourself!

She's a victim of her drug pushing doctor.

Bob in LG - you fail to mention that many patients go to several doctors requesting medications for the same symptoms. They don't tell each doctor about the others nor do they inform each doctor of all the medications that they are consuming. You have no idea whether she was one of these type patients who abuses the medical system. In fact, you know nothing about her medical history, who was treating her, etc.

How is she a victim if it was an 'accidental overdose'?

At the end of the day the "Muslims" didn't do it to her. It was 11 years ago. Her doctor did not do it to her. Who knows how many she had and he/they didn't prescribe alcohol, painkillers, anti-depression drugs and anti-anxiety drugs as a drug combo or in the numbers she took them. People lose loved ones every day in horrendous ways and some don't kill themselves and some do. I am not blaming her but she sure did it to herself. As with all life's tragedies you either find a good way to deal with it or it will consume you.

Strange. The cause of death was known at the time. I don't know why they did this story. I'm sure they didn't wait til now to do the autopsy. Still, she contributed more to society than those who sit their asses at a keyboard and pass judgement on every one.

Hey!...give it a rest. The Poor Woman Lost her man because of the events of 9/11 and his bravery. His Loss was Too Much For Her. And we watch these Woman Beating hand holding WhackJobs do the Crap they are good for...Nothing....Please note in almost All the Pictures they are all males, certainly NOT Men.

Just think if All those Care Packages and Sacks loaded on to the boats were crammed full of Condoms instead of food; Ooohhh, The exquisite Possiblities.

Reunited in heaven.

F*ck those terrorists.

Yes we need to know this type of news.

The families who were directly affected on 9.11.01 need our support in getting through their everyday lives.

They have not been forgotten and like those who died on 9.11.01 are the soul and center of a America reborn from the ashes of terrorism.

Ashes that when remolded will create a new Eagle to swiftly and with deadly effect smite down those who attacked us on 9.11.01 and those who continue to attack in the Middle East in the name of their religion.

She probably wouldn't have been on drugs and alcohol if her husband hadn't been murdered! :(

I knew Sandy Dahl, she was a friend to my family. She was a very nice person...Yes, she missed her husband VERY MUCH!.She never got over it either.. She had nightmares about terrorist attacks, even after all these years. So please don't judge her. Just know that she was a good person....I hope you are at peace now Sandy......

Maybe it's not so sad of an ending. Maybe she's with her husband now, instead on this krappy earth. Happy. Who knows? No one.

RIP Sandy.

LISTEN UP.

Rarely have I read such utterly, totally callous statements about the suffering of a fellow human being as I have seen above.

Specifically, those who are suggesting that this was "scripted", or that ..."she would have probably been on drugs anyway, even if her husband hadn't been murdered".

This woman's husband as well as all the husbands, wives, sisters, brothers and children (if there were children) on board Flight 93 lost their lives fighting to stop an even greater tragedy than the destruction of their own lives represented to them and their loved ones.

Yet, you nasty, cold hearted idiots have the gall to denigrate her suffering and their sacrifice - I would tell you to go to hell but you already are there and undoubtedly in the company of fiends in keeping with your characters.

My guess is that you have never sacrificed nor cared for someone in your lives that you loved more than life itself simply because they were your friend; that you have never given up your lives and all hope of happiness in the present and forever for the sake of another, and therefore out of this huge reservoir of ignorance and insensitivity are to be excused for having absolutely no clue how devastating the loss of someone you loved that much can be.

Well, if this woman was taking drugs more than she ought to have and mixing them dangerously with alcohol in a desperate attempt to hold onto some semblance of sanity in the face of overwhelming grief and loss - it is totally understandable, and warrants our understanding and compassion - not the type of disgusting denigrating, disparaging remarks you S.O.B.'s are spouting.

I sincerely hope that one day you each have visited upon you a situation that affects one of your most loved ones - assuming anyone could love someone who thinks the ways you do - and that you have the opportunity to walk in this woman's shoes so that perhaps you can begin your long climb toward becoming a human being with a heart.

And also, the guy who said, ...another innocent victim of hate filled Muslims".

The problem is NOT Islam or Muslims. It is terrorists - use the word terrorists.

When a fanatical anti-abortion zealot kills a doctor who performs abortions we do not say

..."another innocent victim of the hate filled Catholics." Do we?

No, we see the perpetrator - be they man or woman - for what they are; a deranged, hate filled fanatic who has no concern for the rights of others nor respect for the sanctity of life. Such people are murders, criminals and should be called exactly that.

All you do by allowing these bastards to don the veil of a religion as their excuse for the horrors they perpetrate is help them appear respectable; as if they are actually part of something that somehow justifies the type of depravity they embrace and practice in the furtherance of their despicable, willful ends.

Very well said. Thank you.

Thank you Angie M-2857064.

I took care of my late wife for 20 years who was afflicted with manic depression and then a virulent form of multiple sclerosis. Ultimately she devolved to being mentally incompetent, incontient and a quadreplegic, who didn't even recognize me most of the time. At which point, I finally woke up and pulled myself out of denial and accepting the fact that the miracle I was holding out for to arrive wasn't going to arrive. Ultimately, mercifully, she passed away in the nursing home - choiked to death on reguritated food; most likely unaware anything was happening (or at least I like to believe so).

I jokingly say, "God was unavoidably detained with more pressing matters, which is why He wasn't able to attemd tp my wish for healing!" LOL

You have to learn to deal with this type of tragedy and as someone who mastered crying to the highest levels I can with total authority tell you crying doesn't work, so you might as well make light of it.

What I wrote above was very strongly worded I realize and I hestitated to go there, but sometimes you just have to call a spade a spade, and nasty nasty.

accidental alcohol and drug overdose

I guess I've got this right. She accidentally drink a quart of Vodka and took 30 pills mistakenly.

She could not live without him.

Poor soul. May she be at peace.

I will never forget those that died on 9/11 but come on America....terrorism happens all over the world on a daily basis. It is part of life...that one day for us is what others go through every single day. To forget that simple fact shows how selfish and asinine we can be---the same reasons people want us to suffer!

It was reported back in May that Sandy had died. I remember that. This article is about the cause of her death. RIP Sandy.

Hi 5 to the good the bad and the ugly too.

Apache, because it happens all over the world we cant mourn when it happens to us? Its that how your post is to be interpreted? I really think no one forgets exactly what and who are terrorists. We don't need you to remind us. This article is specifically about an American, thus we are commenting on it as Americans. Get over your self-serving self.

Say a big hello to your hero husband for us, won't you?!

Well said, kat kerr davis. Life for some of us can be something like a never-ending nightmare at times. Still, I absolutely believe that most of us do the best we can with the cards life deals out to us, as I'm sure Sandy Dahl did.

It amazes and saddens me sometimes how simple compassion and empathy for others seems be something a good number of people just don't have. I woke up this morning feeling very discouraged about life. Just want you to know that your comments here bouyed my spirits.

So sorry to hear about Sandy Dahl. As someone whose own life has seemed to shatter and break into a million pieces directly as a result of the events of 9/11, I can only imagine what she must have been going through in the years since. RIP, hon.

Walking in someone's shoes is a concept many do not comprehend. Only the greiving party knows the pain of the loss. Some people recover and move on while others can't let go. This woman had the loss not only in her private life but it was worn on her sleeve every day for the public to see trying to keep the memory of those who died forever alive.

Everyone seems to be pointing fingers at Bob for simply stating that our country is having problems with prescription medications.

I believe the point that Bob is attempting to make is the current medical profession's to over-prescribe to people, usually at the urging of Pharmaceutical Company Sales Reps.

How many of us have gone to our doctor, and he or she has said, "I've got this new thing", and they disappear and return with a handful of sample packs? I've seen this quite a few times in my day.

It seems that Bob is trying to suggest that our own Pharmaceutical Corporations have become nothing more than street level drug peddlers who send out their sales reps with promises of bonus' to every doctor who'll prescribe their "cures".

Depression, anxiety, stress, fear, unhappiness...? These are all really tough things to deal with. My heart truly goes out to Sandy Dahl. Living, day-to-day with the kind of loss she tried to deal with must have been extremely tough.

Let's look at what was in her system when she died: Painkillers (Vicodin or Percocet?); Anti-Anxiety drugs (Xanax or Klonopin); and Anti-Depressants (Prozac or Paxil?). The Anti-Depressants are relatively safe in overdose levels, but the painkillers and Anti-Anxiety drugs are the killers. Incorrectly administered or combined, or enhanced with alcohol often leads to fatality's

The CDC had this to say about the rising incidences of overdoses related to prescription medications:

In 2007, approximately 27,000 unintentional drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States, one death every 19 minutes. Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States. The increase in unintentional drug overdose death rates in recent years (Figure 1) has been driven by increased use of a class of prescription drugs called opioid analgesics (1). Since 2003, more overdose deaths have involved opioid analgesics than heroin and cocaine combined

So, even the CDC admits that we have a very serious, growing problem with the use and abuse of prescription medications.

By the way, every drug I listed has potentially damaging side effects and are addictive in nature. Anyone taking these medications are cautioned by their doctor to NOT "just stop taking them". You have to taper off, to minimize the withdrawal symptoms and the side effects of being weaned.

Tough stuff.

Back to Bob's last statement about cannabis being illegal. It is, and that's unfortunate. Enough medical studies have shown that the level of opiated painkillers can be substantially reduced when combined with the use of certain kinds of cannabis. Feelings of anxiety and depression may also be positively affected by using cannabis. In a recent published study:

Thomas F. Denson, PhD, Professor of Psychology at the California State University at Long Beach, and Mitch Earleywine, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology at the State University of New York at Albany, wrote the following in their Apr. 2006 study titled "Decreased Depression in Marijuana Users," published in Addictive Behaviors:

"Those who consume marijuana occasionally or even daily have lower levels of depressive symptoms than those who have never tried marijuana. Specifically, weekly users had less depressed mood, more positive affect, and fewer somatic complaints than non-users. Daily users reported less depressed mood and more positive affect than non-users... Our results add to the growing body of literature on depression and marijuana and are generally consistent with a number of studies that have failed to confirm a relationship between the two after controlling for relevant variables...

Now for the most important key to Bob's statement (which isn't as callous as many of you have suggested): If Sandy Dahl were suffering from pain, anxiety, and depression as she most surely was. It really was her doctor's duty to evaluate her three chronic symptoms (pain, anxiety, depression) and realize that prescribing a cocktail of potentially lethal drugs was not in her best interests. Even if she had multiple doctors, each of these doctors should have realized that they were treating only a part of a greater condition.

Had the laws in her state been different; then they might have prescribed her medical marijuana and Sandy would be still alive today.

There's a value associated with every drug known as LD50. LD50 is the Lethal Dosage for 50% or the point where the amount of drug is lethal to 50% of the people who take that dosage. The LD50 of Vicodin is about 338mg. However, the lethality of this size of dose is reduced when combined with anti-anxiety drugs and antidepressants which help to further open the door on the users way to coma and death. The only real spark needed to this flammable mixture is alcohol.

Cannabis, which may have helped Sandy with the three issues she was dealing with, would not have created the toxic mixture of chemicals within her body.

In regards to Bob...?

I don't believe it was his intention to besmirch Sandy's memory in anyway, I think he was merely trying to point out that Sandy could have stayed with us had alternate treatments for her issues were properly addressed and socially acceptable. I agree with Bob that it's sad that it remains socially acceptable to die from an overdose of harmful chemicals when a more natural treatment was available.

Rest in peace Sandy.

Another sad chapter in our life history. Rest in Peace beautiful one. Your work is done. Blessings and Grace were left to light the path you traveled that we may follow.

I am very new to the internet and find it to be a wonderful joy and an extreme pain. The right to be wrong guaranteed by our constitution has never been more brilliantly displayed and illustrated by the eedjits and the compassion of the intelligent creatures who put forth personal OPINION and EMOTIONAL response to any given circumstance. My hope is by being open and willing to COMMUNICATE using this realm of exchange to share in order to EDUCATE and LEARN to be better citizens of this world.

Because it's newly learned information that relates to a previously reported story. Readers previously knew that Sandy Dahl had died, but the cause of death was unknown pending the autopsy. That makes it news. As to why the results took so long to be released (I presume the autopsy was performed in May or June), I can't say. If conspiracies motivate you, feel free to speculate.

Toxicology results often take several weeks, I've heard.

Sad...

Why is this news??? Wow, you're some kind of piece of work, tschimick. I know it's going to take a LOT of effort on your part, but, try not to lose any sleep over this news, ok? We're all rootin' for ya, buddy.

Sad

We should never forget!

Sure we can forget. We can forget 9/11, the Libyan consulate, the Afghanistan soldiers being murdered by people inviting them to sit down to dinner, by "friendly" buddies walking beside them and working with them in locked rooms, unarmed soldiers and civilians sitting on a bus....

the hell we can forget!

Um . . .9/11 was slightly scary to me. Guess I'm just a paranoid wimp.

Thats all the wealthy care about. Doesn't matter how many of their fellow Americans suffer or die so long as they make more money to play monopoly with their wealthy friends.

You need to find some wealthy friends, paramed. All of my wealthy friends are very charitable and make life a lot better for many of the less fortunate. You have a small and distorted view of the world.

Yes paramed, that's quite insulting. I agree with Rob Scan since I am one of those people. I give so much and work very hard to help the disenfranchised. It's to bad people read the book by it's cover.

Buuu@!$%#.

paramed, you are correct. Chicagogal and Rob think they or their friends are "wealthy" lol yet the post on nbcnews. You may have enough money to give to others and good for you. However the people that paramed is referring to are so wealthy that the world we live in does not exist to them. The are disconnected from mainstream society and the perils of the poor and less fortunate are of no consequence to them. How this relates to this story? I couldn't tell you. I applaud anyone who gives to charity and I applaud you. Don't be so disillusioned to think you are in the same league as the Koch Brothers.

.

Ryan.. you are exactly my point. You assume things you shouldn't, you have not a clue who has what money, who does what with their money and who reads the news. I'm sure you know all the super wealthy quite personally that you could make these "truthful statements", yes? Ignorance is bliss for some people I suppose.

Then help me with some money, Chicagogal...I can assure you it would go to a great cause and I would return the favor to all those less fortunate once I was able, just wanting a meager living for myself. But you and your friends....as great as you probably are, would never do such a thing.

You can't possibly be comparing what you "watched" to what this woman lost. Your self centered ass is beyond description.

Who the heck are you talking to??

I hope to the g-string above.

Pete, shouldn't you be replying "what the deuce?"

Larry...you own weapons don't you? You're the one we're looking over our shoulder for. A$$hole

Larry - get help before it's too late.