[Dean's World] Dean: Letter from Christine

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Posted by Dean:
Letter from Christine
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1156626390.shtml


   Elle Magazine Makes Me a Believer

   Last fall, I met with Gretchen Reynolds, a freelance journalist on
   assignment from Elle, a fashion magazine that includes articles on
   health and current affairs. A self-described science writer, Reynolds
   said she was working on piece about AIDS that would explore unanswered
   questions about HIV, introduce some the individuals raising those
   questions, and include something on the controversy surrounding the
   death of my daughter.

   As it turns out, Reynolds' dishonesty was not limited to her pitch. I
   am the sole focus of "The Believer," a mendacious and sensationalistic
   article that abstains from any intelligent examination of science
   fact. Reynolds errors are so extravagant and numerous, the magazine's
   editor, Lisa Chase, asked me for a complete list to forward to Elle's
   legal department for investigation.

   Below please find my letter to Ms. Chase along with a summary of
   Reynolds' deviations from reality. The article is found in the
   September issue of Elle, and if you can make your way through all the
   spins without becoming nauseated, please consider sending your own
   comments to editor Lisa Chase and writer Gretchen Reynolds

   ===

   Dear Lisa,

   Thank you for your response to my concerns regarding Gretchen
   Reynoldsâ article âThe Believerâ (Elle, September 2006).

   As I mentioned during our telephone conversation, I asked Corrie Pikul
   for permission to tape record the fact check after noting two false
   claims at the beginning of our review:

   1) That my former boyfriend had died of AIDS years ago, when in fact,
   he is alive and well.

   2) That I held up my children to cheering crowds on stages and at
   rallies, when in fact, my children have never joined me on a stage or
   at any public event.

   Below is a list of most of the errors in the article, which are divide
   between points major and minor as per our discussion. Please note that
   I provided Ms Reynolds with documents and explanations for all points
   of fact listed here.

   I look forward to learning how this matter can be resolved, and in the
   meantime, am grateful for your interest and involvement.

   With appreciation,

   Christine Maggiore

   Major Errors:

   1) Reynolds states that âIn all probability, Eliza Jane became
   infected with HIV during gestation, labor or breastfeeding,â when in
   fact, the autopsy report does not give her HIV status, and we have no
   laboratory evidence from the coroner of a positive HIV test, despite
   multiple requests for such evidence by our attorneys.

   2) Reynolds states that the coroner found âstrands of HIVâs molecular
   proteins throughout [my daughterâs] inflamed brainâ when in fact, her
   brain was normal (not inflamed) per a CAT scan taken at the emergency
   room, per the findings at autopsy, and per a neuropathology exam
   included in the autopsy report. Further, the finding of a single
   protein, rather than âstrands of HIVâs molecular proteins,â was added
   as an amendment to coronerâs report four months after the original
   autopsy.

   3) Reynolds claims that âthe pathologists didnât order an HIV test in
   the normal course of investigating the death of a white, middle class
   three year oldâ¦â as if race and income dictate testing decisions.
   Instead, the coronerâs office has stated that cases of unexplained
   death âare not routinely tested for HIV because AIDS is so obvious.â

   4) Reynolds changes my definition of pneumonia from the correct one,
   âinflammation of the lung caused by disease,â to a medically incorrect
   interpretation, âswelling of the lungs,â and falsely attributes this
   mistake to me. The correct definition is crucial to the story as my
   daughterâs autopsy report states that medical examiners found âno
   inflammationâ of her lungs, thereby ruling out pneumonia.

   Reynolds compounds this error by omitting a correct reference to
   swelling, that is, that the autopsy notes swelling of all my
   daughterâs vital organs, a hallmark of toxic reaction, especially in
   lungs described at autopsy as having âno inflammation.â

   5) Reynolds claims my daughter endured âa day of nausea, vomiting and
   wheezing,â before she died, a description of events that is not in 911
   transcripts; in medical, EMT or hospital records; in my testimony
   included in the autopsy report; or in my interview with Reynolds.

   Please note that the error about âa day of vomitingâ was specifically
   corrected during the fact check yet appears in the article
   nonetheless, and the unsubstantiated allegation that my daughter was
   also âwheezingâ and had ânauseaâ was not mentioned during the fact
   check.

   6) Reynolds claims that, âa number of pathologists have examined both
   the original autopsy and the alternative version. All have publicly
   concluded that the original was correct,â when disagreement with the
   original findings by pathologists and other medical experts appears in
   the public record. In fact, the âalternate versionâ of the original
   autopsy was published in a peer reviewed medical journal with an
   editorial board consisting of 10 PhDs and 12 MDs with whom I have no
   association.

   7) Reynolds claims my response to the coronerâs September declaration
   was âan immediateâ¦âitâs not true!ââ when in fact, my first public
   statement on the issue came during a December 5th broadcast of ABCâs
   PrimeTime, and did not contain the words âItâs not true!â (Per the
   program transcript: "I believe the unfortunate irony in this situation
   is that the one time we were asked to and that we complied with
   mainstream medicine, we inadvertently gave our daughter something that
   took her life.â)

   8) Reynolds claims I âfought backâ against the September declaration
   my daughter died of AIDS by hiring a pathologist. In fact, the
   pathologistâs request to receive a copy of the autopsy report was
   submitted to the coronerâs office in May, four months before the
   declaration was issued.

   9) Reynolds claims âas soon as Eliza Jane had been declared dead, a
   large, unwieldy investigative mechanism swung into actionâ when in
   fact, the police investigation began several weeks after her death,
   and the Department of Children and Family Services was not involved
   until four months later.

   10) Reynolds states that âDCFS closed its investigation after
   insisting that [my son] be tested for HIV or lose custodyâ when in
   fact, Charlie had three times tested HIV negative prior to the DCFS
   investigation. As reported in the Los Angeles Times, âAfter reviewing
   recent test results from three labs showing that the boy is
   HIV-negative, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family
   Services is expecting to close its child endangerment investigationâ¦â

   11) Reynolds claims, âWhen I ask [Maggiore] about the current HIV
   tests that isolate actual viral RNA, she dismisses them as
   meaningless, saying they reveal only âprotein strands,ââ when in fact,
   I cited the test kit's disclaimer for Reynolds which states that it is
   ânot intended to be used as a screening test for HIV or as a
   diagnostic to confirm HIV infection.â

   12) In her âquick primerâ on AIDS, Reynolds mentions that AIDS
   conditions occur when CD4 T lymphocyte cells are depleted, weakening
   the bodyâs ability to fight off infection,â but does not mention that
   my daughterâs total lymphocyte count at the time of her death was well
   above normal and five times higher than World Health Organizationâs
   guidelines for diagnosing AIDS via total lymphocyte count (Costello C
   et al. Predictors of low CD4 count in resource-limited settings. J
   Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 39: 242-248, 2005).

   13) Reynolds states that my daughter had âsores in her mouth
   suggestive of herpesâ when the autopsy report makes no mention of
   sores of any kind in her mouth.

   14) Reynolds writes that I looked into âHIV deniersâ¦at the suggestion
   of a friend,â omitting the well known fact that a year into my
   positive diagnosis, I experienced a series of conflicting HIV test
   results that fluctuated between positive, negative and indeterminate,
   and that this prompted my investigation into AIDS science.

   15) Reynolds quotes Dr Jay Gordon as saying, âIâm sure I urged
   [Maggiore] to have the children tested,â yet medical records show that
   Gordon did not discuss or order HIV tests for Eliza Jane or her
   brother Charlie, not even at an exam with Charlie two days after his
   sisterâs death.

   16) Reynolds writes that âAt last on May 14â¦Maggiore called Philip
   Incao [to see Eliza Jane]â omitting a May 7 exam with Dr Incao that
   followed the visit with Dr Gordon. Reynolds also omits that at the May
   7 and May 14 exams, records show my daughter had no cough. Instead she
   writes, âthe childâs runny nose, cough and malaise lingered.â

   17) Reynoldsâ article leaves out why my daughterâs case was referred
   to the LA County Coronerâs office: A physical exam, two chest Xrays, a
   CAT scan, a spinal tap, blood work and other tests performed at the ER
   provided no insight into why Eliza Jane had died.

   18) Reynolds omits mention of the fact that the credibility of Dr
   James K Ribe, the coroner brought in to resolve my daughterâs case,
   has been challenged by the District Attorney as well as in numerous
   judicial proceedings, or that Ribe is currently a defendant in a civil
   suit for having altered autopsy reports of several murder victims to
   conform to a confession later determined to have been fabricated by
   police.

   Minor Errors:

   A two-month pre-coital courtship with my husband is described as âthey
   met, dated once or twice, had sex.â

   My two day wait for treatment of a faulty root canal is described as
   me âstill being bothered by an excruciating mouth abscessâ a year
   after my daughterâs death.

   My husbandâs four-day trip to New York last year was described as him
   âspending long periods away from [home] in New York and elsewhere.â

   I am described as wearing a âcut off denim miniskirtâ when I wore a
   skirt with a hemline that falls mid-knee.

   The article states, I âscheduled the appointment [for an abortion],
   arrived at the office, and then, at the last moment, uncertain,
   unsettled, left.â In fact, as I explained to Reynolds, a doctor halted
   the procedure after a pre-operation ultrasound mistakenly indicated I
   was 15 weeks pregnant.

   My husband is described as having âdark, unruly hairâ when his hair is
   sandy blonde and straight.

   The article includes a fictitious scene in which I âset my son up with
   his homework at the kitchen table.â In fact, school he attends does
   not assign homework until third grade which he begins this fall.