Geno Foreman... how he died by Marcia Stehr
October 28, 2014 at 11:28am
Geno's death Nov 15, 1966
November 15, 2012 at 6:58am

Nov 15th is the anniversary of Geno's death in 1966. He died around midnight in the tiny windowless furnished room (bed-sitter) we had rented near the old West London Hospital in Hammersmith, London. Four days earlier, on Nov. 11th, I had taken him to the Hospital because he was experiencing serious abdominal pains. He was examined and sent home. During the next four days I saw five different doctors, trying to get some help for him as it was clear his health was declining. We did not have a telephone or car and of course I had our 16 month old baby girl to take care of as well. I even went back to the emergency room at the hospital to ask for help and was given a bottle of Peppermint Liquid for him. One doctor I saw told me that "big hospitals don't make mistakes". One hour before he died a doctor did come to see him and said that he needed to get to the hospital quickly. He said he was going to go outside to his car and radio for an ambulance. I asked him to wait with us until it came. He refused. The ambulance never came. His last words to me were,"Don't worry, it's nothing". It turned out he had ulcerative colitis which had perforated, causing peritonitis. He had been hospitalized twice before, in Rome in Dec 1965 and in Paris Aug 1966. He was never diagnosed correctly. He was 25 1/2 years old. At the Inquest the Intern who misdiagnosed him cried when he realized that his mistake had resulted in Geno's widow and baby girl would have to live the rest of their lives without him. Of course the story is much more complicated than I have related here. I have been working on a book about Geno's life. Peace, Marcia