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Health and Medical History of President Gerald FordPresident #38: 1974-1977
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One Christmas, "the president and his family were vacationing in Vail, Colorado. They were eating dinner in their rented chalet and one of their dogs messed on the floor. A White House steward started to clean up, but Ford took the rag away and did the job himself, [saying] `No man should have to clean up after another man's dog.'" 1a |
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| This style... | ... means the event occurred while President. |
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  unnecessary appendectomy |
At age 5 Ford developed severe abdominal pain. He was rushed to the hospital, where appendicitis
was diagnosed. At operation, his appendix was discovered to be normal
2a.
Comment:
Ford's parents were furious. It should be remembered, however, that as late as the 1980s, surgeons
understood that 10% of their operations for appendicitis should discover a normal appendix:
anything less meant that diseased appendices were going un-operated. Imaging methods developed
since then have changed the rules. Interestingly, Ford was to be midiagnosed again, 70 years
later (see below).
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 stutter |
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 sold his blood |
Ford was in college during the depths of the Depression, and was desperate for money. Every
two months, he sold his blood for $25
3a.
Comment:
Did he do this while excelling at football? That would be very impressive.
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  weak knees |
"Weak knees" as a result of playing football
2c.
Circa 1980, he wore braces on his knees to play tennis
3b.
Successful left knee replacement in 1990. By August 1991 he walked with a pronounced limp,
and reported that his cartilage was "totally gone." The right knee would be replaced
later that year
3c.
After his knee replacements, he still played tennis and golf regularly
3d.
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shoulder dislocation |
Dislocated a shoulder on a ski vacation in Michigan, while courting Betty. It evidently bothered
him to some degree afterwards, because he warned a friend who did the same thing: "You're
going to have trouble with it the rest of your life"
3e.
|
 pipe smoker |
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  skimped on sleep |
Ford had an "always impressive" energy level
3g,
but liked to sleep in his own bed. So, as Vice President his travel was generally scheduled
as "marathon" one-day trips that got him home "well past midnight." After
five hours of sleep, he would repeat the process. "He loved red-eye flights like no politician
I've ever covered"
3h.
Even as President, Ford would walk his dog in the middle of the night if she needed it
3i.
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"clumsy" |
His reputation as a clumsy person is ironic, given that he is the most athletic president of
the 20th century. A former All-Star college football player (who turned down offers to play
professionally
2c),
he was in good physical shape when he entered the White House at age 62. As President, he continued
to ski, swim, and play golf and tennis, and was good at all of them
4a.
Nevertheless, here is the litany:
|
 swine flu immunization |
In 1976 experts warned that an emerging strain of influenza, known as the "swine flu,"
had the potential to cause illness on a massive scale that winter. A large public immunization
campaign was launched, and a photo was released showing President Ford being immunized by his
physician,
Dr. William Lukash
5.
Interestingly, the photo shows Dr. Lukash not wearing gloves as he administers the shot,
unlike standard practice today
MORE.
|
 voice strain |
The morning after the 1976 election, had lost his voice and was barely able to rasp out words
3l.
|
 election-loss blues |
Was not himself after losing the 1976 election. He got agitated when the New York Times asked
to interview him for his obituary. His gregariousness changed to reclusiveness. "He's
just unbelievably disgusted with himself for losing" according to a friend
3m.
The blues lifted after "several weeks"
3k.
|
 facial aging |
DeFrank thinks two and a half years as President aged Ford's facial appearance by ten years
3n.
By summer 1977, however, a friend enviously griped: "Look at him. He's sixty-four going
on fifty, the bastard"
3o.
Ford would awaken at 5:30 am as President
3b.
Comment:
Perhaps lack of sleep has something to do with the appearance of aging.
|
 weight |
Weighed 197 pounds in July 1977, two pounds more than his best White House weight
3p.
|
 his routine |
His routine as ex-President, circa 1978: Wake up at 6:30 am (without an alarm clock). Twenty
minutes of sit-ups and leg lifts aimed at strengthening his football-injured knees. Breakfast
was half a honey-dew melon, orange juice, bran flakes with bananas, and English muffin or two.
Four days a week he would play golf, and on the other days play doubles tennis (with knee braces).
While doing paperwork later in the day (a minimum of eight hours a day, six days a week), he
would "usually" nurse a double martini
3q.
However, one part of his routine did not last. In 2000, he said: "I haven't had a
drink in 22 years, she [Betty] hasn't had one in 23 years ... she stopped drinking in 1978.
I kept drinking for a year; then I got tired of drinking alone, so we drink [chuckle] tonic
and lime at night"
3f.
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knee replacements |
Bilateral knee replacements in 1990-1991, as above
3c.
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tore ankle ligament |
Circa January 1999. Ford did not know how it happened
3r.
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food sensitivities |
January 1999: Betty says Ford once "could eat anything. Now he can't"
3s.
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tongue abscess |
During the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, Ford appeared "sluggish
and sick" on television during a tribute to him. A few hours later, shortly after midnight
on Wednesday, August 2, Ford presented to the emergency room at Hahnemann University Hospital,
complaining of facial pain. The physician diagnosis was "a sinus attack." Ford stayed
only a half-hour, and declined the recommendation to have a CT scan
6.
Upon awakening on Wednesday morning, Ford had new symptoms and returned to the hospital.
He apparently had left arm weakness, balance difficulties, and slurred speech
6.
A stroke was diagnosed and he was treated with "blood thinners"
6.
The slurred speech, however, was ascribed to a swollen, painful tongue, which proved to
be abscessed with actinomycosis. (This is an exceedingly rare cause of a tongue abscess.) The
abscess was drained under general anesthesia
7.
(It is not clear when the anticoagulants were started, in relation to the abscess drainage.)
Later, a Ford spokesman declared that Ford had developed tongue pain while in Colorado,
before Ford departing for the convention
7.
By August 5 Ford was "completely recovered from the stroke" (there were also
questions about a possible other strokes)
7.
He left the hospital on August 9, still taking antibiotics and blood thinners
8.
The Hahnemann University Hospital was obviously embarassed by missing the diagnosis on the
first night, but refused to admit anything. A hospital spokesman said "We do not believe
there was any misdiagnosis there." He then shamelessly shifted the blame to the patient,
saying "The activities that evening were totally controlled by the President"
6. Comment: The question is: how could the abscess have been missed on physical examination the first night, especially when Ford had noted tongue pain days earlier? How did the physician(s) arrive at the mistaken diagnosis of a sinus problem? A CT scan is usually not required to discover a tongue abscess. Comment: It is possible that missing the tongue abscess the first night played a role in causing the stroke, as there is a tight relationship between inflammation and acute vascular events. In simple terms, inflammation (the classic response to an infection) makes the blood more likely to clot (the actual event triggering a stroke). Older physicians, for example, will recall the classic association between pneumonia and acute myocardial infarction. In Ford's case, the missed diagnosis allowed the infection, hence the inflammation, to progress for the extra few hours leading to the stroke. |
 stroke |
August 2000. See discussion above.
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 dizziness in heat |
In 2003 Ford, then 89, was golfing in 96-degree heat in California's Coachella Valley. He became
dizzy and was taken to Eisenhower Medical Center for examination
9.
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"horrible cold" |
Hospitalized mid-December 2005
10.
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 pneumonia |
Hospitalized because of pneumonia on January 14, 2006 for 12 days. He was not afterwards seen
in public until April 23. Pictures of Ford on that day show him standing, using a cane.
11
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shortness of breath |
In July 2006, was hospitalized for two days at the Vail Valley Medical Center (Colorado) because
of shortness of breath
11.
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pacemaker, coronary angioplasty |
In separate procedures during the same hospitalization at the Mayo Clinic (Rochester) in late
August 2006, Ford had implantation of a permanent cardiac pacemaker and underwent a two-vessel
coronary angioplasty (with stent placement)
12.
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hospitalization for tests |
In October 2006 was admitted for "medical tests" for five days to Eisenhower Medical
Center
13.
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 undisclosed cause |
Ford died on December 26, 2006 at age 93. He lived longer than any President in history. The
cause of death has not been disclosed. A clergyman reported that Ford was alert when he attended
a religious service on Dec. 16, but was too weak to stand
14.
Comment:
Ford died four months after his angioplasties and stents (see above), a typical time at which
re-stenosis can occur. However, his passing did not appear to be abrupt, which lessens (but
does not eliminate) the possibility of coronary artery disease as the cause.
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a p.117; How can anyone not admire a guy like this?
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a p.272 b pp.272-273 c p.273 d p.274 e pp.272-273 citing A Time to Heal, page 45 f pp.275-276
Comment: Devotes one chapter to each President, through Clinton. Written for the layperson, well-referenced, with areas of speculation clearly identified, Dr. Zebra depends heavily on this book. Dr. Bumgarner survived the Bataan Death March and has written an unforgettable book casting a physician's eye on that experience.
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a pp.67, 173 b p.76 c pp.88-89 d p.208 e p.61 f p.185 g p.75 h p.22 i p.44 j p.48 k p.60 l p.57 m p.59, citing a Newsweek story of late November 1974 n p.62 o p.74 p p.69 q pp.76-77 r p.128 s p.131 t p.173 u pp.13, 69
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a p.334
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| Comment: Ford's episode is mentioned at the end, as an aside. |
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| Comment: Viewed 11 March 2007 at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/26/AR2006072600959.html |
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| Comment: Viewed 11 March 2007 at: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/25/politics/main1935608.shtml |
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| Comment: Viewed online - unclear if this story appeared in print edition. |
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| Comment: Viewed 11 March 2007 at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/28/AR2006122800964.html |
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