The autopsy IS frustrating. Everything was normal, extraordinarily so, so his death doesn't seem related to an illness like cancer or heart issues. The only other thing that may have been a factor is some sort of neural disease or genetic disorder that may not necessarily show on autopsy.
Some of the wasting issues are very strange. Example, the wasting of the muscle in the temporal area of the face which would have hampered his ability to chew. It's much smaller than say, the calf muscle, but would wasting occur more quickly on smaller muscles than larger ones?
I'm thinking about the large amount of urine in his bladder. One of the symptoms of ALS is the inability to pass urine due to spasticity of pelvic muscles. It's also a symptom brain disorders like MS and Parkinson's disease called neurogenic bladder. Retaining that much urine could definitely cause an infection. Both of those disorders should show on autopsy, though.
Same with tetanus. Tetanus used to be called lockjaw due to paralysis of the jaw. I wondered if he had some infection, through a cut or abrasion. But again, it would have shown on autopsy. His brain didn't seem to have any abnormalities.
Someone earlier mentioned the death of Chris McCandless and that he may have succumbed to poisonous plants. There are poisonous plants in Florida. There are two trees, the poisonwood and manicheel tree that emit a sap that has proven to be fatal in some cases.
There is also a virus found in south Florida called the Everglades Virus. There's not a lot of info on it other than it can cause neurologic manifestations. Here's a link:
Serologic Evidence of Widespread Everglades Virus Activity in Dogs, Florida
I tried to link to another site regarding Everglade virus but I keep getting kicked out. It may be because I'm not the US. The site is
www.lcmcd.com
Years ago, a friend of mine, ended up with impacted bowels after childbirth. She was afraid to go, and lied repeatedly to the nurses when asked if she'd had a bowel movement. She ended up being hospitalized to remove what she characterized as 'gravel' since the body removes much of the moisture. Something called GBA (gut/brain axis) affects the ability to pass stool.
I was wondering about the drugs or lack thereof in Denim's system. I don't suffer from allergies, thank goodness, but I don't remember anyone discussing whether Denim had any symptoms of allergies on the trail. Hiking through forests and grasslands would definitely be a high risk for allergies. Because of Florida's warm climate they have high pollen counts all year long. I wonder if fellow hikers could affirm Denim discussing allergies or witnessed him taking the medication.
The reason I'm curious about the allergy meds is that Diphenhydramine is used to delay or slow down early symptoms of Huntington's disease. We've always thought that the health issue that Denim mentioned to his fellow hikers was something that made the hike a bucket list item. HD is a terrible disease that can only be detected by genetic markers before the illness presents. I remember the conversation Denim had with a fellow hiker when he discussed his father's pugilistic attitude toward his son and that they didn't get a long. One of the early symptoms of HD is a belligerent attitude and anger management issues. HD is pretty much a death sentence, once that takes a long and tortuous journey through the body and mind.
Here's a link to a story about a women who chose to starve to death rather than be ravaged by the disease.
Kim’s Choice: Inside one woman's decision to starve herself to death
I felt like a voyeur reading the most personal aspects of Denim's death. I have a hard time correlating the friendly engaging man seen in all those photos and his anonymous, lonely death. It's nearly two years since he died and we are no further ahead in terms of his identity.
