Dani Strehle
Senior Manager
After a long and bitter battle with Lewy Body Disease, one of the world’s most iconic voices, Casey Kasem, has finally found peace. The voice of many generations passed away today, June 15, in a California hospital at the age of 82.
The last month of his life has been a tumultuous one, mainly because of the insane antics of his wife. On June 12, a judge reversed his previous order that demanded maintaining life-sustaining measures, and ordered that Kasem’s daughter hold all medical power of attorney. In fact, the judge stated that, based on the medical evidence, sustaining Kasem’s life would actually inflict harm.
It would be acutely harmful for Mr. Kasem to have nutrition and hydration restored at this time. This was at the advisement of doctors at St. Anthony’s.
Lewy Body Disease is a gruesome form of dementia that also regularly leads to the loss of speaking and walking abilities. Kasem’s daughter, Kerri, has also kept her place as her father’s conservator, and she and her siblings made the gut-wrenching decision to remove their beloved father from life-sustaining care and transition him into “comfort care,” or hospice.
The siblings swear that they’re acting on Kasem’s wishes, as he had no desire to be kept alive in a vegetative state, telling TMZ that his health directive stated:
If the extension of my life would result in mere biological existence, devoid of cognitive function, with no reasonable hope for normal functioning, then I do not desire any form of life-sustaining procedures, including nutrition and hydration.
Having experienced something similar with my own loved ones, I know that this is never an easy decision to make. Typically it comes down to not wanting to watch those that we love suffer, which is exactly what Kasem was doing: suffering. Kerri Kasem described some unsavory details about what the life-sustaining measures were doing to her father to The Daily News:
We have tried everything to keep him alive. We did put him back on fluids, but we had to take him off again because his lungs were filling up. It sounded like he was drowning. It was excruciating to watch.
I think we can all agree that this is an enormous loss for our country. Kasem has been a staple of the airwaves for as long as I can remember, and I’ve only got 29 years under my belt. His charisma and voice have spanned the generations, and his contribution to American radio will not soon be forgotten.
Thank you for being a part of all our lives, Mr. Kasem; I hope you’ve found the peace you sought. We are sending a “Long Distance Dedication” to heaven just for you.
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