Blog bits: McDowell County madness

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Folks, there is more craziness in Mack-Dowell County than you can shake a stick at. The county continues to produce the steadiest stream of madness out there. Check this shit out (I can’t make this up, people):

Police Rx for diabetic 76-year-old: Mace in the face

It seems that McDowell County Sheriff’s Department deputies have their own prescription for old men with major insulin needs – a faceful of mud and Mace.

On June 5, James “Big Daddy” Henry, 76, of West Marion of tooling his red Mustang down the road near the local steakhouse when he apparently had a diabetic seizure. A deputy said the ‘Stang was running cars off the road and hit a bridge, ending up in a big muddy mess.

Deputies said they thought the driver was drunk. When they got to the car, they said Big Daddy wouldn’t let go of the steering wheel. They ordered him to turn the car off, and instead, he gunned the engine and spun in the mudpit.

That’s when the deputy whipped out the pepper-spray and hit Big Daddy full-blast. Then deputies, aided by State Highway Patrol troopers, yanked him out of the car and slammed his face into the mud.

Somewhere along the way, the cops realized they’d made a mistake. Maybe is was the diabetic’s necklace he was wearing that is supposed to alert emergency workers to the fact that he’s diabetic.

“Once they got him out of the car, they realized he wasn’t acting right,” a police captain said.

When the cops realized their mistake, they washed Big Daddy’s face and called an ambulance.

Big Daddy’s daughter said her father had eaten right that day and taken his required shots. She’d see his blood sugar drop that drastically just once before.

The police said they hated the situation, but in classic copspeak added: “The officer acted in a reasonable manner with what information he had.”

Here’s the link to the newspaper story.

Man gets *15,000 for wife’s missing breast

A McDowell County jury had sympathy for a woman who lost a portion of her left breast to a doctor who misdiagnosed cancer. The jury also gave the hubby some mammary money, too.

The boob of a doctor said he saw a something suspicious in a mammogram. He ordered a biopsy, then went in for more tissue and lymph nodes in the breast and armpit.

What happened? “The error in defendant’s original pathology report was based on his examination of a biopsy specimen from another patient.” Ooops.

The jury awarded the woman in the civil case $275,000. Hubby also got a payment, $15,000 for “substantial loss of his wife’s services, love, companionship …”

Here’s the link to the story.