Based on the comments I’ve read, my Jan. 11 posting on Donda West seems to have struck a nerve!

I really think Ms. West’s death is a tragedy and I’m resolved to do what I can to make sure other sisters don’t make the same mistakes she did. So I’m asking all who read and comment to do this: list one step African American women take toward better health. I’ll gather those steps and use them as topics for future postings.

Again, I’m not trying to capitalize on Donda West’s death. But she had accomplished so much that I’m saddened because her life was cut short.  Our hearts go out to the family.

The coroner’s report on Donda West’s death makes for fascinating reading, even though it doesn’t list a single cause for her untimely passing. The report does tell what happened the night she died. The chain of events starts with a decision she made after surgery. Instead of going to a hospital, she decided to go home.

I have to wonder, why?

Did she think she’d be all right? That she could handle the situation on her own? That she didn’t need help? Of course, we’ll never know. But, it seems to me, African American women have a hard time recognizing we have a right to be nurtured. Perhaps we believe the hype: that we’re strong and can bear the burdens of the world if necessary. We’re often the caretakers, perhaps it’s difficult to be cared for.

The autopsy reports reveals a woman who was in severe pain the day after her surgery. Even though she could walk – the report says she was “ambulating” – she was breathing heavily and resting poorly.

I’ll always wonder why those around her didn’t see how weakened she was. Perhaps, because African American women are so often the caretakers, those around us don’t recognize that we need to be cared for as well.

Get details on the Donda West autopsy story.

The Los Angeles County Coroner’s office said several factors contributed to Donda West’s death, including heart disease and “multiple post-operative” factors following surgery.

West, the mother of hip-hop superstar Kanye West, died at home on Nov. on 10, while recuperating from cosmetic surgery. According to the autopsy report, she was a borderline diabetic, and had a thyroid condition. She also seemed have suffered from pneumonia and bronchitis.
My next postings will talk about these conditions, and how they must be taken into consideration when deciding on surgery or other therapies.

Although Donda West died a month ago, there are so many lessons to be learned from her passing that I want to revisit it when appropriate.

The latest news comes with the release of the 911 tapes  from the day of her death.  According to a story from the Associated Press, two guardians tried to revive West by administering CPR. The women, however, didn’t know the procedure.  The dispatcher tried to instruct them, but the women were too panicked to follow directions.

The seconds between life and death are not the time to become a student. Let’s all resolve to learn CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and other basic first aid skills.

Here’s a link to “Learn CPR” , a site from the University of Washington School of Medicine. Print copies of the page and post them prominently around your house. Better yet, take a CPR class. The American Heart Association has a great search engine for finding CPR and other first aid classes. Just put in your zip code.

The Los Angeles County coroner has yet to rule the cause of Donda West’s death, but that hasn’t stopped pundits and the public from speculation and ruminating. So perhaps it’s time to pause, and remind ourselves that jumping to conclusions can easily us to miss the mark.

Dr. Nathaniel Johnson III, a cosmetic surgeon and gynecologist in Atlanta, offers a good reason why. He recalled a incident where a colleague endured tough scrutiny when the patient died after surgery. Turned out the fingers were pointed in the wrong direction: the patient died not from the surgery, but from an aggressive brain tumor that had been undiagnosed.

In a few weeks, we’ll probably know why West died. As tragic as her demise was, though Johnson hopes it will raise public awareness about the seriousness of cosmetic surgery.

“If this situation can educate the population about the safety and risks, then perhaps she won’t have died in vain,” he said.

Indeed, cosmetic surgery is getting lots more attention now. Think about television shows, like “Extreme Makeover,” that have turned a medical procedure into a type of pseudo-educational entertainment. But these shows emphasize the cosmetics, to the detriment of the surgery.

“With all surgeries, there are risks involved,” Johnson said. “You can have infections, complications during the surgery, and the risk of bleeding or injury to other organs. The procedures that West had – breast reduction and the “tummy tuck” or abdominoplasty – are major operations. We’re not talking pack-and-go procedures, especially if the patient needs general anesthesia.

Why the warning? Cosmetic surgery is becoming more common among African Americans. In 2002, for example, about 375,000 African Americans had cosmetic surgery, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Two years later, that number had grown to roughly 488,000.

“(African Americans) are the new frontier when it comes to cosmetic surgery,” says Johnson, who notes that 60 percent of his clients are people of color.

If you’re considering plastic surgery, educate yourself. Go to www.plasticsurgery.org The site’s public education links can help you find a doctor, and learn what’s involved is some of the more common operations.