July 12, 2008
Scots cabbie died after eating 10 rubber gloves after 'giving up' on life', inquest told
A TORMENTED Scots taxi driver died after eating up to 10 rubber gloves.
Derek Omand Brown, 64, had fallen victim to a wasting disease and "given up" on life.
And an inquest heard he began eating surgical gloves and swabs he found in hospital bins.
He confessed to doctors that he had swallowed as many as 10 gloves.
Coroner John Hughes described Derek's habit as "self-harm". The gloves damaged his intestines and contributed to his death.
Derek, of Edinburgh, began eating gloves after he was told he had muscular dystrophy.
Mr Hughes said the Scot had a "Calvinistic work ethic" and could not cope with "a sentence of effectively a living death".
He added: "This was a man who had given up."
Derek's brother Alex, 67, of Wrexham, found a sheltered home for him in the Welsh town but he later had to be admitted to a psychiatric to hospital.
Then, in January this year, Derek was rushed to accident and emergency after vomiting up a latex glove. He told the doctors he had been stupid and promised not to do it again.
But he later admitted he had swallowed up to 10 gloves, as well as surgical swabs.
He had an operation but two gloves were still found inside him after his death. Mr Hughes said it was possible he swallowed them after the surgery.
Derek was rushed to A&E again in February after a fall and died two days later.
The doctor who carried out the post mortem said the gloves had damaged Derek's small intestine and caused "biochemical disturbances" which led to his death.
He said heart disease was also a factor.
The inquest in Flint, Wales, heard that Derek had taken a drug overdose in Edinburgh before his move to Wales.
But Alex said he did not believe his brother had been suicidal. He said Derek would have taken an overdose of his medication if he had wanted to kill himself.
Alex said the family were only aware of one incident when Derek ate a glove. But Mr Hughes said it happened many times and there were reports of him vomiting up three gloves on one occasion.
The coroner gave a verdict of death by misadventure. He said Derek's reasons for eating the gloves would remain "cloudy", but told Alex: "I believe your brother knew there was an inherent danger in ingesting those items."
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