On July 24th, Andrew Sutton, of Pepperhill Lea, Keighley, suddenly died at the age of 44. Physicians said it was apparent Mr. Sutton had used anabolic steroids in his past and this indeed may have caused undue stress on his heart leading to his untimely death.
On the night of Mr. Sutton’s death he had attended a wedding ceremony at the Coniston Hotel; later leaving with friends to the Woolly Sheep pub in Skipton. At the recent inquest held last week regarding Mr. Sutton’s death, David Barrett, a friend of Mr. Sutton, said his friend had said he was feeling sick and by the time they reached The Woolly Sheep, Mr. Sutton went straight to the bathroom; mere moments later Mr. Sutton was panting and said his heart was racing as he leaned across the table. An ambulance was called and Mr. Sutton arrived at the hospital dead on arrival.
Now, here’s where the story takes a very important turn. Doctors said Mr. Sutton’s death could possibly be linked to his past steroid use, however, nurse Annette Smalls who examined Mr. Sutton told the inquest two small bags of a white powdery substance had been found on Mr. Sutton’s person; test were run and the bags were found to be cocaine. At Mr. Sutton’s post-mortem examination, it was determined that he did in-fact have recreational levels of cocaine in his system; there was nothing else detected, no steroids; nothing more than a very slight amount of alcohol and cocaine.
It was also in-fact determined that Mr. Sutton died from cardiac arrhythmia, a common form of heart failure associated with cocaine use. Coroner Rob Turnbull, the same one who determined the cause of death, who linked the cause of death to Mr. Sutton’s cocaine use, went on to say that his past steroid use may have had a part to play in Mr. Sutton’s death.
Question; have we fallen into a vortex of stupidity, a realm of fear so strong and deep, rooted and engrained in our subconscious so effectively that we can’t see the truth when it’s right in front of our face. Mr. Sutton didn’t die because of steroids, Mr. Sutton died because of his cocaine use, plain and simple. Have we reached a point in the medical community, a community of many who will argue the ill-effects of steroids no matter the proof; will ignore the obvious even when it’s in front of our face? Sometimes this seems to be the case and by sometimes one could easily mean more often than not and it is a crying shame.
