How a sip of beer killed my closest friend
"Steve?"
"Yeah?"
"Steve, it's Shelley. Hey, I've left a few messages for Sara. Is she mad at me or something? I haven't heard back from her."
"She's dead."
I sat down.
"What?"
Steve was Sara's ex-husband. He knew I was her closest friend.
"I was going to call you but…" he trailed off.
"But what? How long ago? What happened?"
"She choked on a beer and apparently inhaled some of it. She got a yeast infection in her lungs. It killed her in two weeks."
I don't remember saying any more. I hung up.
Tags
Who is online
595 visitors
But here's what I do know: She aspirated while drinking, the yeast-based beer got into her airway and into her lungs where the dark, warm, moist environment fostered a yeast overgrowth. It didn't make her sick right away, she probably just coughed a bit after choking on the beer. But within a week she collapsed. The infection spread quickly and caused multiple organ failure and the doctors couldn't do anything to save her. She never regained consciousness.
People do die in weird ways at times. It's sad. Drinking beer is supposed to be fun.