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THE TRIAL OF THE PHARMACIST
ACCUSED OF DELIVERING TOXIC
STEROID INJECTIONS BACK IN
2012 IS UNDERWAY IN FEDERAL
COURT. THE TAINTED DRUGS
KILLED DOZENS AND SICKENED
HUNDREDS MORE ALL ACROSS THE
COUNTRY. TONIGHT ONE LOWELL
MAN... WHO STILL SUFFERS FROM
THE EFFECTS OF THE INFECTION
HE ACQUIRED... WILL BE GOING
TO REPRESENT VICTIMS IN THE
COURTROOM AND TO SEE THE
DEFENDANT FACE-TO-FACE.
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24 HOUR NEWS 8'S BARTON
DEITERS SPOKE TO THE MAN TODAY
AND RETURNS WITH HIS STORY.
BARTON?
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IT'S BEEN MORE THAN FOUR
YEARS SINCE THE SHIPMENT OF
NEARLY 18,000 CONTAMINATED
VIALS OF PRESERVATIVE-FREE
STEROIDS MADE THEIR WAY FROM
THE NEW ENGLAND COMPOUNDING
CENTER IN MASSACHUSETTS TO
PHARMACIES THEN PHYSICIANS
ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THAT
INCLUDED A PAIN TREATMENT
CENTER WHERE LOWELL RESIDENT
BILL THOMAS WAS BEING TREATED
FOR BACK PAIN HE SUFFERED
FOLLOWING A MOTORCYCLE CRASH
IN 1973.
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BARRY CADDEN FACES FEDERAL
CHARGES THAT INCLUDE
RACKETEERING AND 25 COUNTS
SECOND-DEGREE MURDER. HE
PLEADED NOT GUILTY.THE TRIAL,
WHICH BEGAN JAN. 9, IS
EXPECTED TO LAST AT LEAST TWO
MONTHS.THE U.S. ATTORNEY SAYS
THE STEROIDS WERE MIXED IN
UNSANITARY CONDITIONS WITH
EXPIRED INGREDIENTS.THE
OUTBREAK OF FUNGAL INFECTIONS
LINKED TO THE INJECTIONS
KILLED AT LEAST 64 PEOPLE AND
MADE AT LEAST 700 PEOPLE SICK,
ACCORDING TO THE GOVERNMENT.
AFTER NEARLY TWO DECADES OF
COMBATING THE BACK PAIN FROM
HIS INJURIES, BILL THOMAS GOT
AN INJECTION IN SEPTEMBER OF 2012.
2012. ((16:42:43-54)) ((11))
((BILL THOMAS, RECEIVED
TAINTED STEROID INJECTION)) "I
DIDN'T FEEL RIGHT EVEN BY THE
TIME I LEFT THE CLINIC, I JUST
FELT SICK, I FELT OFF, I FELT
WEAK, I FELT LIKE THERE HAD
BEEN SOME SORT OF SHOCK TO MY
SYSTEM." HIS DOCTOR COULD NOT
FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS WRONG,
THOMAS' BLOOD TESTS WERE
NORMAL BUT HE WAS PLAGUED WITH
EVER-WORSENING FLU-LIKE
SYMPTOMS, LIGHT SENSITIVITY,
INSOMNIA, PAIN,
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((16:43:55-44:01)) ((06))
((BILL THOMAS, RECEIVED
TAINTED STEROID INJECTION))"IT
INCREDIBLE, IT WAS UNLIKE
ANYTHING I'D EVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE."
BEFORE." ((16:44:07-12))
((05)) ((BILL THOMAS, RECEIVED
TAINTED STEROID INJECTION))
"(REPORTER: 'WHEN DID THEY
FIGURE IT OUT?') THEY DIDN'T.
I FIGURED IT OUT."HE HEARD A
TV NEWS STORY LINKING
MENINGITIS TO TAINTED STEROIDS
THAT WERE GIVEN IN HOWELL. HE
DID MORE INTERNET SEARCHES AND
THEN TOOK HIMSELF TO THE
HOSPITAL, TOLD THEM HE HAD
MENINGITIS AND THE HOSPITAL
CONFIRMED HIS SELF-
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DIAGNOSIS.HE WAS THE THIRD OF
WHAT WOULD BECOME A FLOOD OF
PATIENTS. DOCTORS TREATED
THOMAS WITH VERY TOXIC
ANTIBIOTICS THAT CAN CAUSE
SEIZURES AND EVEN BRAIN AND
KIDNEY DAMAGE.HE WAS IN THE
HOSPITAL A WEEK, BUT STILL HAD
TO GET TOXIC ANTIBIOTICS HE
SAID DAMAGED HIS BRAIN. HE
CONTINUED TO FEEL SICK FOR YEARS.
YEARS. ((16:50:03-08)) ((05))
((BILL THOMAS, RECEIVED
TAINTED STEROID INJECTION))
"SO TWO YEARS AFTER THE
INITIAL INJECTION IS WHEN I
STARTED TO FEEL BETTER AND
RECOVER."HE HAD FEVERS AT
NIGHT UNTIL JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO.
AGO. ((16:50:29-35)) ((06))
((BILL THOMAS, RECEIVED
TAINTED STEROID INJECTION))
"MY MEMORY'S SHOT, I CAN'T
CONCENTRATE, I GET CONFUSED
EASILY, I MISUNDERSTAND THINGS
EASILY."THE INFECTION COST HIM
HIS JOB, HIS QUALITY OF LIFE.
LIFE. ((16:52:26-29)) ((03))
((BILL THOMAS, RECEIVED
TAINTED STEROID INJECTION)) "I
JUST WANT TO EMPHASIZE HOW
WORSE OFF SOME MANY OFF MOST
OTHER PEOPLE ARE."IN HIS
CONDITION, IT WILL BE A
HARDSHIP FOR HIM TO GO IN HIS
CONDITION, SO WHY GO?
GO? ((16:56:50-59)) ((09))
((BILL THOMAS, RECEIVED
TAINTED STEROID INJECTION))
"TO LOOK THIS GUY IN THE FACE
AND TO JUST SORT OF REPRESENT
THAT THESE ARE REAL PEOPLE
WHOSE LIVES YOU DESTROYED.
DESTROYED. ((16:54:11-15))
((04)) ((BILL THOMAS, RECEIVED
TAINTED STEROID INJECTION)) "I
HOPE HE'S CONVICTED AND SPENDS
THE REST OF HIS LIFE IN
PRISON."
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BILL THOMAS WON'T BE
TESTIFYING BUT HE HAS A LOT TO
SAY. HE SAYS THIS INCIDENT IS
AN INDICTMENT OF THE AMERICAN
MEDICAL ESTABLISHMENT WHERE
THERE ARE HUGE PROFITS TO BE
MADE BY CUTTING CORNERS AND
INADEQUATE ENFORCEMENT TO KEEP
IT FROM HAPPENING. LIVE
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THANKS, BARTON.
