Jackson pleaded for sedative, nurse says
Warnings brushed aside by distraught singer
LOS ANGELES—Michael Jackson was so distraught over persistent insomnia in recent months that he pleaded for a powerful sedative despite warnings it could be harmful, says a nutritionist who was working with the singer as he prepared his comeback bid.
Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse whose specialty includes nutritional counseling, said Tuesday that she repeatedly rejected his demands for the drug, Diprivan, which is given intravenously.
But a frantic phone call she received from Jackson four days before his death made her fear that he somehow had obtained Diprivan or another drug to induce sleep, Lee said.
Lee said a member of Jackson’s staff contacted her June 21 while she was in Florida.
“He called and was very frantic and said, ‘Michael needs to see you right away.’ I said, ‘What’s wrong?’ And I could hear Michael in the background, . . . ‘One side of my body is hot, it’s hot, and one side of my body is cold. It’s very cold,’ ” Lee said.
“I said, ‘Tell him he needs to go the hospital. I don’t know what’s going on, but he needs to go to the hospital . . . right away.
“At that point, I knew that somebody had given him something that hit the central nervous system,” she said, adding, “He was in trouble Sunday, and he was crying out.”
Jackson did not go to the hospital. He died Thursday after suffering cardiac arrest, his family said. Autopsies have been conducted, but an official cause of death is not expected for several weeks.
“I don’t know what happened there. The only thing I can say is he was adamant about this drug,” Lee said.
Following Jackson’s death, allegations emerged that the 50-year-old performer had been consuming painkillers, sedatives and antidepressants. But Lee said she encountered a man tortured by sleep deprivation and one who expressed opposition to recreational drug use.
“He wasn’t looking to get high or feel good and sedated from drugs,” she said. “This was a person who was not on drugs. This was a person who was seeking help, desperately, to get some sleep, to get some rest.”
Jackson was rehearsing hard for what would have been his big comeback — his “This Is It” tour, a series of performances that would have strained his aging dancer’s body. Also, pain had been a part of his life since 1984, when his scalp was severely burned during a Pepsi commercial shoot.
Lee said that several months ago, Jackson had begun badgering her about Diprivan, also known as Propofol. The intravenous anesthetic drug is widely used in operating rooms to induce unconsciousness. It generally is administered through an IV needle in the hand.
Patients given Propofol take less time to regain consciousness than those administered certain other drugs, and they report waking up more clear-headed and refreshed, said James Zacny, a University of Chicago psychopharmacologist.
It has also been implicated in drug abuse, with people using it to “chill out” or to commit suicide, Zacny said. Accidental deaths linked to abuse have been reported.
An overdose that stops breathing can result in a buildup of carbon dioxide, causing the heart to beat erratically and leading to cardiac arrest, said Dr. John Dombrowski, a member of the board of directors of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.
Because it is given intravenously and is not the kind of prescription drug typically available from pharmacists, abuse cases have involved anesthesiologists, nurses and other hospital staffers with easy access to it, Zacny said.
In recent months, Lee said, Jackson waved away her warnings about it.
“I had an IV, and when it hit my vein, I was sleeping. That’s what I want,” Lee said Jackson told her.
“I said, ‘Michael, the only problem with you taking this medication’ — and I had a chill in my body and tears in my eyes three months ago — ‘the only problem is you’re going to take it and you’re not going to wake up,’ ” she recalled.
The singer also drew his own distinctions between drugs and prescription medicine.
“He said, ‘I don’t like drugs. I don’t want any drugs. My doctor told me this is a safe medicine,’ ” Lee said. The next day, she said she brought a copy of the Physician’s Desk Reference to show him the section on Diprivan.
“He said, ‘No, my doctor said it’s safe. It works quick, and it’s safe as long as somebody’s here to monitor me and wake me up. It’s going be OK,’ ” Lee said. She said he did not give the doctor’s name.
Lee said at one point, she spent the night with Jackson to monitor him while he slept. She said she gave him herbal remedies and stayed in a corner chair in his vast bedroom.
After he settled in bed, Lee told Jackson to turn down the lights and music—he had classical music playing in the house. “He also had a computer on the bed because he loved Walt Disney,” she said. “He was watching Donald Duck, and it was ongoing. I said, ‘Maybe if we put on softer music,’ and he said, ‘No, this is how I go to sleep.’ ”
Three and a half hours later, Jackson jumped up and looked at Lee, eyes wide open, according to Lee. “This is what happens to me,” she quoted him as saying. “All I want is to be able to sleep. I want to be able to sleep eight hours. I know I’ll feel better the next day.”
Lee, 56, is licensed as a registered nurse and nurse practitioner in California, according to the state Board of Registered Nursing’s Web site. She attended Los Angeles Southwest College and the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Sciences in Los Angeles.
Lee, who has also worked with Stevie Wonder, Marla Gibbs, Reynaldo Rey and other celebrities, said she was introduced to Jackson by the mother of one of his staff members.
Lee said she went to the house in January, the first of about 10 visits there through April, and treated the children with vitamins. Michael, intrigued, asked what else she did and took her up on her claim she could boost his energy.
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