Pubdate: Mon, 01 Jun 1998 Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI) Contact: Website: http://www.jsonline.com/ Author: Jamaal Abdul-Alim, Journal Sentinel staff MANY VICTIMS HAD OTHER HEALTH PROBLEMS Other disorders were exacerbated by cocaine abuse, reports show Many of the accidental cocaine death victims in Milwaukee County last year suffered from poor health conditions or psychiatric disorders that were most likely worsened by their cocaine abuse and other habits harmful to their health, medical examiner's reports show. Here are snapshots of some of the victims: A 47-year-old A.O. Smith welder had been using cocaine for more than a decade despite the fact that he suffered from asthma and sometimes used a breathing machine and inhalers. The man not only smoked crack cocaine, but smoked cigarettes and drank half a pint of brandy two times a week. A 39-year-old amputee had been taking narcotics to control the pain he suffered since being injured while working at a Harley-Davidson Inc. plant. The man lay dead in his home for several days while his friends tried to reach him by phone. The friends said later they were fearful of visiting the man without calling first because he had "numerous guns and knives in his apartment," and they were afraid that he "may take action if he feels threatened." A 37-year-old woman suffered from hypertension, had a history of psychiatric problems and had to undergo dialysis because a gunshot wound required that both of her kidneys be removed. "I don't want to live," the woman said once, complaining about her health. "I have no life." The woman's boyfriend says he used to "lock her up" in the house to keep her from going out on the streets to buy drugs. A 50-year-old Milwaukee County social worker was described by relatives as "always a junkie" also suffered from bronchitis and depression. The man's family "used to call him a garbage can" because he would "take anything he could get his hands on," including cocaine, heroin and marijuana. A 35-year-old man who died after taking cocaine and heroin had been using drugs since age 10. Relatives said the man, who once tried to hang himself in the Milwaukee County Jail, "uses just about any drug he can get his hands on," including marijuana, cocaine, morphine and methadone. The man also smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol. A 41-year-old woman whose children -- ages 17, 12 and 10 -- found her shortly after she overdosed on cocaine had a history of alcohol abuse and suffered from cirrhosis of the liver. The woman also suffered from hepatitis and AIDS. A 48-year-old unemployed man had previously suffered three heart attacks and had undergone five bypass surgeries. The man died after taking some cocaine at the residence of a man named "Sly." When investigators arrived at the scene, they found numerous people inside Sly's house "flushing things down the toilet." - --- Checked-by: Melodi Cornett