This post stems from a continuing investigation into the death of NFL Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay. We first encountered the story in an article last August, when it was still front page news.
Irsay had reportedly relapsed following a long period of recovery, and I suppose in some ways, his death shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Somehow it did.
It was around that time that we learned of a physician named Harry Haroutunian, also known as “Dr. Harry”, who had allegedly prescribed “hundreds” of opioids to Irsay in the months before his death. The doctor had also, we’re told, initiated a remarkable regimen of up to fourteen (14) ketamine injections daily.
Knowing that, it isn’t too difficult to see how an incident could occur. It reads like a recipe for an overdose.
Dr. Haroutunian had apparently been associated at one time with the Betty Ford Center, first as a physician and later as the Center’s Medical Director. I doubt they would have endorsed his more recent actions. Dr. Harry must’ve changed.
I’ve heard it said that the really egregious abuses of medical practice are most likely found at the top and the bottom of the income ladder. Expansion of Medicaid has greatly improved things for those at the low end, but we seem to have greater difficulty coming up with a decent solution for the crazy stuff that can sometimes happen at the very top.
Matthew Perry is one example. He had little difficulty finding doctors willing to keep his habit going, in return for money. And after a long career of drug abuse, he believed he had finally found his pharmacological “soulmate” in the form of ketamine.
One reason people are attracted to ketamine is the drug’s unique ability to produce an odd feeling of connectedness to the environment, accompanied by visual hallucinations and so-called out of body experiences. Its fans describe an ultimate feeling of dissociation, known as the “K Hole.”
I’m sure we’ll hear more about Irsay’s past as the investigation continues.
