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posted by janrinok on Saturday August 16 2014, @02:54AM   Printer-friendly
from the nothing-funny-to-say dept.

The Alabama Media Group reports

According to Susan Schneider, Williams' wife of three years, he was battling Parkinson's Disease.

"Robin's sobriety was intact and he was brave as he struggled with his own battles of depression, anxiety as well as early stages of Parkinson's Disease, which he was not yet ready to share publicly," said Schneider. She added that hopefully his death will encourage others to reach out.

"It is our hope in the wake of Robin's tragic passing, that others will find the strength to seek the care and support they need to treat whatever battles they are facing so they may feel less afraid."

Parkinson's Disease is an incurable, progressive disease that affects movement, causes tremors and speech changes. Actor Michael J. Fox and Linda Ronstadt also have Parkinson's Disease.

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  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Username on Saturday August 16 2014, @04:10AM

    by Username (4557) on Saturday August 16 2014, @04:10AM (#81985)

    Leave the dead man and his family alone already. Do not need to sensationalize his death, or put on a act with vicarious empathy.

    • (Score: 0) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday August 16 2014, @04:27AM

      by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Saturday August 16 2014, @04:27AM (#81986) Homepage

      Jesus, no shit.

      SN is desperately grabbing.

    • (Score: 5, Interesting) by Tork on Saturday August 16 2014, @04:29AM

      by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Saturday August 16 2014, @04:29AM (#81987) Journal
      Although we mostly agree in sentiment, I do want to mention something that has been a silver-lining in the coverage of his death: Lots of people with depression are openly talking about what it's actually like. I have read a number of insightful posts on places like Reddit and it is helping me understand my mother's daily life a lot more clearly. It is helping me communicate with my mother. I am sad he's gone, I am not comfortable with the thought that the media is hounding his family at such a dark time, but at least I'm seeing some serious discussion happen that, frankly, needs to happen and not later.

      So, yes, I agree with you about letting him go, but the Parkinson's detail is important in understanding why his final moments went the way he did. Hopefully the release of that damage will mend some of the harm that idiot Limbaugh has caused.
      --
      🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
      • (Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday August 16 2014, @04:30AM

        by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Saturday August 16 2014, @04:30AM (#81988) Homepage

        PFFFFFFhahahhHHAHAHHA! That's cute.

        • (Score: 3, Funny) by Tork on Saturday August 16 2014, @04:54AM

          by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Saturday August 16 2014, @04:54AM (#81992) Journal
          If you don't mind me asking, what is it you were diagnosed with?
          --
          🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
          • (Score: 2) by mendax on Saturday August 16 2014, @06:48AM

            by mendax (2840) on Saturday August 16 2014, @06:48AM (#82015)

            I think he has the giggle farts.

            --
            It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 16 2014, @06:07AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 16 2014, @06:07AM (#82007)

          You Sir, are the biggest and least mature asshole on Soy, and everyone knows it.

      • (Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 16 2014, @05:23AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 16 2014, @05:23AM (#81999)

        Michael J. Fox was mentioned in the article.
        I added a link about Linda Ronstadt.
        (The editor folded it into the summary in a way differently than what I submitted.)

        Fox testified before Congress and made a point to -not- take his meds before doing so.
        Some Wrong-Wing douchebags on talk radio criticized him for that.

        I mentioned in my submission that Ronstadt no longer has the muscle control necessary and cannot sing any more.

        Robin's entire being was about using his voice and his physicality to take on a multitude of identities.
        It could be that he was already at the point Ronstadt is.
        It could be that he recognized what the future held and his well-documented depression took over.

        As you note, perhaps people reporting his situation will convince others to seek out professional help when all seems dark.

        -- gewg_

        • (Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Sunday August 17 2014, @12:25AM

          by Hairyfeet (75) <reversethis-{moc ... {8691tsaebssab}> on Sunday August 17 2014, @12:25AM (#82167) Journal

          This is why I support the right to die, because sometimes the alternative is worse. Look at the former guitarist for Racer-X and David Lee Roth that has ALS, he went from making the most beautiful music to being a head in a box...that is fucking nightmare fuel! To be trapped in a body that feels pain but which you have ZERO control over, knowing there is zero hope of it ever getting any better?

          That is why I have already made it clear to my family that if I get something nasty like the lung cancer my grandma had i am NOT going out like that, constant pain and skin and bones, fuck that shit. Instead I'll pull a Brian Keith, whom when he found out he had inoperable cancer went home, had a glass of 20 year old scotch and a great cigar, and then blew his brains out. If there is one thing I've learned over the years its that death isn't the worst thing that can happen to a person, not by a loooong shot!

          --
          ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by wonkey_monkey on Saturday August 16 2014, @09:53AM

      by wonkey_monkey (279) on Saturday August 16 2014, @09:53AM (#82036) Homepage

      Yes, leave his statement-releasing wife alone.

      She added that hopefully his death will encourage others to reach out.

      Oh, wait, she actually wants this to be reported to get the message out and have something good come from something sad.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk
      • (Score: 2, Offtopic) by Tork on Saturday August 16 2014, @03:00PM

        by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Saturday August 16 2014, @03:00PM (#82075) Journal
        Why is this 'redundant'? It's a perfectly valid response!
        --
        🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
  • (Score: 2) by mendax on Saturday August 16 2014, @04:43AM

    by mendax (2840) on Saturday August 16 2014, @04:43AM (#81990)

    Hitler is believed to have had had Parkinson's disease (the condition was not yet completely known at that time) but that's nothing to write home about... or worth reporting here.

    --
    It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by FatPhil on Saturday August 16 2014, @09:04AM

      by FatPhil (863) <{pc-soylent} {at} {asdf.fi}> on Saturday August 16 2014, @09:04AM (#82026) Homepage
      Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't human bodies start to fail after many decades of use? Unlike other animals, and unlike machines too.
      --
      Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
      • (Score: 2) by Tork on Saturday August 16 2014, @05:56PM

        by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Saturday August 16 2014, @05:56PM (#82100) Journal
        You're wrong in that you phrased that question in the form of a rebuttal.
        --
        🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
      • (Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Saturday August 16 2014, @06:52PM

        by wonkey_monkey (279) on Saturday August 16 2014, @06:52PM (#82106) Homepage

        Unlike other animals, and unlike machines too.

        ...what?

        --
        systemd is Roko's Basilisk
  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by cngn on Saturday August 16 2014, @09:43AM

    by cngn (1609) on Saturday August 16 2014, @09:43AM (#82033)

    I'll still miss him and his crazy Stand-up comedy saw him in Melbourne and thought I was gonna have a heart-attack I was laughing so hard.

    He was a bright light in this other-wise droll existence that we live in today....

    • (Score: 1) by mathinker on Saturday August 16 2014, @01:12PM

      by mathinker (3463) on Saturday August 16 2014, @01:12PM (#82061)

      > droll existence

      Was that intentional, or just a slip (vs. "dull existence")?

      • (Score: 1) by cngn on Thursday August 21 2014, @10:36PM

        by cngn (1609) on Thursday August 21 2014, @10:36PM (#84130)

        I stand corrected sir I did mean "dull" instead of Droll, I tend to get ahead of myself:)

  • (Score: 3, Funny) by Horse With Stripes on Saturday August 16 2014, @07:30PM

    by Horse With Stripes (577) on Saturday August 16 2014, @07:30PM (#82114)

    Williams could have joined forces with Fox for the new hit comedy "Park n Sons", about a law firm that helps those worse off than they are. Ronstadt would have played their receptionist who greets everyone is song (or warbles, yodels, whatever). The signs over the couches in their reception area would have said "Park it here". They could have participated in stenographer speed & accuracy tests. This stuff writes itself folks ...

    Yes, yes, I am a shameless and horrible person.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 17 2014, @11:08PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 17 2014, @11:08PM (#82406)

    I thought this disease only happened to people who travel back and forth through time!