Tennessee Outbreak Victim Passes

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

One of the earliest Tennessee victims of the deadly nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak has died just a little over five years after he was sickened by fungus laden steroids injected into his cervical spine.
Dennis O'Brien of Cookeville  died Nov. 16 in a local hospital days after he suffered a massive stroke.
A retired school teacher, O'Brien had turned to the injections seeking relief from chronic pain. He said in an interview that the injections actually did ease his pain. That was until August and September of 2012.
Court records show O'Brien was injected with methylprednisolone acetate from the New England Compounding Center on Aug. 17 and Sept. 14 of 2012. He was one of the more than 100 patients who got the injections at the Saint Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgical Center only to be taken ill. Several patients at the Nashville, Tenn clinic died.
It was on Oct. 2, 2012 when he went to the Saint Thomas emergency room suffering from a severe headache, vomiting and diarrhea. A test of his spinal fluid showed he was suffering from fungal meningitis. He was hospitalized for 10 days.
O'Brien and the other victims were treated with powerful anti-fungal drugs that often have severe side effects including hallucinations and vision problems.
In several interviews over the past five years O'Brien described the pain he continued to suffer from the after effects of the meningitis and the underlying neck problems that drove him to seek the injections in the first place.
In fact he had retired early from teaching due to his neck pain.
In interviews as he tried to spring back from the meningitis, O'Brien said he was forced to use a cane and was unable to do many of the tasks a 64-year-old would regularly perform.
"I'm a third of my former self," he said in one interview.
The outbreak caused by contaminated steroids from NECC eventually killed 76 patients out of the 778 who were sickened. More victims, O'Brien included, have died over the past few years, some of them also suffering strokes. Other victims also have reported ongoing ailments triggered, if not caused, by the meningitis.
In addition to his wife of nearly forty years, Kaye, O'Brien was survived by his mother, Marion O'Brien of Nashville, a daughter, Katie Little of Cookeville, a son Patrick of Rockvale, three sisters and a brother.
His wife said she and the family were grateful he would suffer no more pain.
"Dennis was ready to go on to heaven," she said.
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