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Did Avandia Kill A 38-Year Old Mother of Two?
Arlington, TN: One November morning in 2007 Wendy, a 38-year old mother of two, was found dead from a heart attack. She was a diabetic, and had been taking Avandia for several months. Her mother and her fiancé both suspect, given what they now know about Avandia, that Wendy's death could have been prevented.
It was 7:00 am, and Wendy had just put the phone down from a conversation with her mother, Sinnie. Wendy and Sinnie talked every morning at this time; they talked while Sinnie was on her way to work. It was also their habit to talk by phone later in the morning. But this day was to be different.
 "Noon arrived and Sinnie did not hear from her daughter, as she was expecting. So she called her daughter's home twice, but the phone went unanswered. Suspecting something was wrong, Sinnie went over to her daughter's house where she found Wendy lying dead.
"This was a total shock. We weren't prepared for this," said James, Wendy's fiancé. "Wendy was eight years younger than me, so I certainly wasn't expecting anything like this. This is definitely a painful loss. One day you think a person's going to live forever and then another day you get a call telling you that they're gone," he said.
One of the medicines Wendy was taking was Avandia. "I believe she was on the drug for around a year. She was diagnosed with diabetes about eight years ago," James said. "I didn't know until after she died that Avandia causes heart attacks, none of the family did."
Was Wendy told by her doctor of any potential dangers associated with Avandia? "I'm certain that she wasn't. As far as her mother goes, I don't think she knew either. Wendy certainly didn't mention anything to me about side affects," James said. And, as far as warning signs went - heart attack, swelling, shortness of breath - Wendy didn't have any. "There were none," her fiancé said, and likely, he would have known.
In fact, James and Sinne only just found out that Avandia can cause heart attacks. "I was reading about the medicine a couple of days ago. So I told Wendy's mother. She went back and found the medication, had a look at the labeling on the bottle and couldn't see any mention of risk for heart attack," James said.
Wendy was also taking several other medications, all prescribed by the same doctor, and filled by the same pharmacist. "I don't know what the other medications were, but somebody should have known that they shouldn't have been taken together." Wendy's mother plans to take legal action by filing a lawsuit. "Wendy died very prematurely," James said.
But what about Wendy's children? "They are doing as well as can be expected," James said. In fact Wendy's two boys were just 14 and 17 when she died. They were at school, and didn't find out what had happened until they came home. "Wendy's mother has taken them, and I'm still involved with them. But it's tough for a grandmother to raise two boys, and it's not fair to even have to. We're doing the best that we can. I'm probably the worst one in the group," he said.
But James wants people to know what happened to Wendy. "I feel that I owe it to Wendy to do something. I can't bring her back and I feel like I let her down, not being able to protect her myself. Maybe I should have read about these medicines earlier on. But I can do something now to try to prevent this from happening to somebody else, in her honor," James said. "It's ridiculous that these medicines are out there and can kill people, and people remain unaware."
Avandia If you have believe you have suffered side effects from taking Avandia, please contact a lawyer involved in a possible [Avandia Lawsuit] to review your case at no cost or obligation.
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