Andy Irons Passes Away???

http://blogs.surfermag.com/office-blog/breaking-news-andy-irons-passes-away/

 

Can anyone confirm this? Prayers go out to Kauai if it’s true :frowning:

 

I never took Dengue fever seriously untill after I had it. At first I thought it was the flue! There would not likely be a blood test done untill after it was suspected of being Dengue. We always hear that no one dies from Dengue so big deal I can deal with it cause I am healthy.! Almost every trip I have taken over seas has been alone! Why would anyone be travelying with Andy ? Did he need to some one to hold his hand? Why would anyone want to leave the tour and good times just to travel home with Andy ? Andy was an adult he didn't need some one takeing care of him on the tour! Once he was in the USA where there is very little Dengue it is not likely that he would get proper treatment unless he was confined to a hospital when he crashed .

That’s a good link. It sounds like it sucks to have dengue. Here’s what interested me from that link:

Typical dengue is fatal in less than 1% of cases.

That’s crazy. Surely somebody could have helped and stopped what had happened to AI.

Then I read this and it makes more sense:

Fever and other signs of dengue last for two to four days, followed by
a rapid drop in body temperature (defervescence) with profuse sweating. This
precedes a period with normal temperature and a sense of well-being
that lasts about a day.
A second rapid rise in temperature follows.

It must have been on this day that he decided he wanted to get home. And somewhere the symptoms got worse.

But maybe AI had DHF (Dengue hemorrhagic fever).

…spitting up blood (hematemesis), blood in the stool
(melena), bleeding gums, and nosebleeds (epistaxis). Pneumonia is
common, and inflammation of the heart (myocarditis) may be present.

That sounds like what was described about him while he was on the plane. (I don’t remember where I read that, perhaps one of the earlier posts; and that’s just hear-say, so please correct me if anybody knows)

But then I read this:

Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) is a specific syndrome that tends
to affect children under 10 years of age.

That word ‘tends’ is important because there can be cases where it affects children over 10 years of age and I’m guessing adults as well?

The mortality rate ranges from 6%-30%. Most deaths occur in children.

I could see how people might take this as I’m trying to say that dengue, this terrible virus that kills less than 1% of people that have it (unless it’s DHF, which is mostly fatal to children), could not possibly be what killed AI. However, what I’m saying is that - with all of the stresses and exertion of being on the pro tour - AI was already weakened when he contracted dengue and it just hit him so hard in his somewhat already fatigued state that he could not fight it.

But who cares what I think. He’s still a great surfer and athlete, and his ability will be talked about for years. 

somehow people tend to belittle what they don’t fully understand : http://www.medicinenet.com/dengue_fever/page2.htm

The ASP was claiming Dengue the day he passed.  They must have already taken the blood tests to announce a diagnosis that quickly.  If they knew what he had, they had no conscience send him off alone.

I don’t think I want to know either way. That is for the family. He is still gone.

R.I.P. Andy Irons, I hope you have found peace.

I agree, being a professional surfer would almost gaurantee his body was in great condition and probably great health. On top of that, yes, he is fairly young. He should’ve been able to fight dengue off. But, that’s neither here nor there. He was a great surfer, very talented, and his death is a loss. It just puzzles me the events leading up to it…

Where was the ASP when Andy needed them?  It doesn’t matter what the cause, but when one of your buddies has a potentially life threatening condition, you don’t send him home on a plane with a, “good luck - hope you make it”.   Wasn’t there anyone from his sponsors to the contest organizers who could have at least traveled with him to help him carry is luggage?  Did anyone call his family to say, “Get over here now, Andy needs you”?  His wife was pregnant, but what about everyone else?

Couldn’t they see that when someone can’t care for themselves, you stick with them… you look out for them.  What happened to “I got your back”?

They can find the time to have a Paddle Out, and say nice things about the guy.  But when it takes a little effort to help the guy get home, it was “Catch you later Dude, Surf’s up - gotta go”.  And these guys pat themselves on the back and claim to have loved the guy.  What hypocrites!

I guess in pro surfing, its all about the money.  All the rest is hype.

Another reason to reject the commercialization of OUR sport.  They turned their backs on Andy, I say we turn our backs on them!

the thing about dengue is that when it hits you, you’re having a puzzling fever that you can’t quite figure out whether it’s something you can beat like those you encountered in the past.

the decision to take a blood test usually comes too late, when the body’s defenses are nearing failure. the more you’re in top form and in the peak of youth, the more likely you’d brush it off. 24 to 48 hours of not knowing you’re having internal bleeding is long enough to put you down for good. dengue’s quite a bitch eh?

What I don’t understand is why was he alone? This is Andy Irons, a guy that has been on the tour and I’m sure very familiar with the dangers of viruses from other countries. He was on an IV, so why wasn’t he staying on it? And doesn’t he have a coach/manager or somebody that helps him out while on tour? Where was this person? I’ve never had dengue and hope I never do but it sounds like AI was doing the opposite of what he was supposed to do: rehydrate and rest. I understand the arguement ‘he wanted to get home’. Whenever anybody’s sick, they want to be home but come on. Where were all the people looking out for him, telling him he should get treatment (or stay on it)? It sounds like he just left in a hurry and that screwed him. And hell, he was in Miami; America. He could have gone to a doctor there as well. Anyway, this is in no way trying to put blame or point fingers or to speculate. Just curious.

I agree - a detailed and accurate report of the events leading up to his death would answer a lot of questions and quell a lot of the speculation.  The news story as it was first reported seemed to raise more questions than it answered.  No one is questioning the tragedy of his passing, or the goodness of his personality.  But it is unsettling to hear of the death of a young, strong, popular and well-loved, high-profile world-class surfer, unattended in a Dallas Texas hotel room by himself during the night in the middle of a surfing competition - allegedly from dengue fever, which many people survive.  Like the above poster, it begs the question, why was no one travelling with him, if it was known that he had this horrible sickness?

After reading of Andy Irons’ tragic death I read some other stuff online about dengue fever. It seems that, in addition to being a horrific and agonizing disease, there is no vaccine currently available and no cure (in Western medicine) except rest and rehydration.( Plus the herbal medicine in the link that was posted here, and mosquito eradication.) I think it would be a fitting memorial to Andy if groups such as SurfAid and the Surfers’ Medical Association started a fund specifically to fight this disease and called it the Andy Irons Memorial. It could help people all over the world, until now most of us in the US weren’t even aware of this disease but maybe now we can do something to help fight it.

I believe that what Kokua said is right, that Andy may have been advised to stay in the hospital but he was so longing to get home and be with his wife that he didn’t follow the doctors’ advice. I have to ask, why didn’t the ASP fly his wife out to be with him instead? And why did they let him fly alone when he was so ill? This tragedy could have been prevented!

To Surfercross, I would quote something that was once said to Joseph McCarthy; “Have you, sir, no common decency at last?” Your libelous speculation is truly loathsome!

preggy, not a good time to fly. 

btw expect dengue to hang around a little while longer. climate change (global warming) is widening the belt where mosquitos can thrive & flourish. nearby places north and south of the equatorial belt that didn’t have dengue cases in the recent past can expect an upsurge in fatalities if not hospital occupancy for rehydration treatment. 

cheers,

    Howzit  surfercross, Can I ask you where you got this information or is this just what you believe in your mind that this is how Andy died? Feel free to PM me if you don't want to face your peers on this open thread forum. Aloha Kokua

There are stupid people and there are idiots and then there are stupid idiots. Nothing wrong with Weed !!! Maybe Im just wasting my time with this but----- My wife  has been on the phone talking to her family in Vietnam for the past hour. We were talking about Dengue fever. Why ? Well Andy just died from it . My wife almost died twice from Dengue Hemorrhagic and I had Dengue in 2007. We were talking with my wifes ex husbands sister who is a Medical doctor (public health ) in Vin and Ha Tin provinces Vietnam. She treats hundred of cases of Dengue every year. When we told her about Andy her first comment was why wasn't he in the hospital ! If Andy had been doing IV drip in Florida or Puerto Rico, If he was vomiting on the plane from Florida to Texas. Then Andy was at the stage of Dengue when (24 to 48 hours)  he would most likely have circulatory failure  (permeable capillaries) and shock followed by death if the circulatory failure is not corrected.!! For Dengue Hemorrhagic fever (in Vietnam) there is a mortality rate of 6 % for patients being treated and a mortality rate of 30% for patients not being treated !!!! Andy was travelling alone , he was in a hotel alone ! If he had Dengue he would have been taking any medication for pain that he could get his hands on! So yes blood test will show the drugs. If you have Dengue you sure as hell aren't thinking about getting high!

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico –  Health officials say a record number of people have died from dengue so far this year in Puerto Rico.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says in a statement that 20 people have died from the mosquito-born virus in the U.S. Caribbean territory.

Center officials are investigating at least another dozen deaths possibly caused by the virus and more than 11,600 suspected cases. They also have confirmed 28 cases of the more serious hemorrhagic dengue. (this was in September)

Maybe of no interest to anyone but There were also Coca Cola and Reeses Peanutbutter cups in Andys room. When I had Dengue during that critical 24 to 48 hour period I was on a Coca Cola and Hershey bar binge !!!

Another side note, Useing Weed in some countries can cause death from being in prison ( where you can catch Dengue and get no treatment) Or like in a couple Asian countries they just might decide to just shoot you in the back of the head !

No one was with Andy to know what really happened. Doesn't really matter . One thing I do know is that Andy was not stupid or an idiot or a stupid idiot. There shure are a lot of people who are going to miss him ---  ALOHA ANDY !!!!

.

 drugs or no, these are the little things that makes the man well-remembered. good deeds go a long way, no matter what.

cheers, 

like i said a while back,

Nothing wrong with weed at all!I want the up and coming kids to realize that hardcore drugs can lead to death and Andys death could be used in a positive way.But no they want to make up some fake story about dengue fever.The guy was on a 2 day bender in miami.He was in his hotel room in PR doing drugs and was over the tour.There you have it that is what happened.

Ok Einstein, please enlighten us, how in hell will drug testing save lives! Whoever wants to do drugs will do them no matter what and if a pro gets kicked off the tour for drugs don’t you think he would do more drugs after that? Doctors prescribe drugs, sometimes people combine previous prescriptions trying to deal with symptoms, some combinations can be lethal, always consultna doc or pharmacist before taking any prescriptions you may have at home. Do as kokua does, do some research before taking anything. Surfercross, why are you so morbidly interested in how Andy died? Say something positive. Whoever is free of sin may throw the first stone. Drugs… Whatever happened to shrooms and weed. Increase of neuron synapses… I will always remember Andy as a hardcore big wave charger. Wish that someday I may have at least half of his fearless comitment to the tube…