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Changing Hawaii
TEN years ago this summer, California resident Daniel Scott Lucas flew to Maui with two friends for a short vacation and celebration. On the agenda were a few days of surfing before Dan -- a 26-year-old former firefighter -- was scheduled to begin a rigorous and extremely selective industrial design program at California State University at Long Beach. A beating
in Hawaii kills a man
10 years later
A pair of Lahaina punks spoiled their plans. One evening, as the three visitors strolled along Front Street, two "locals" confronted them in a reportedly unprovoked attack.
Dan was blindsided by a whack to the forehead with either a tire iron or crowbar. When he collapsed in an unbroken fall, the back of his head bounced off the sidewalk.
Because his symptoms indicated a severe skull fracture, a paramedic told Dan's friends -- who weren't as badly hurt in the incident -- that he probably wouldn't make it.
Dan defied the odds. He returned to the mainland and recuperated from the assault, going on to graduate from CSU and do industrial design work in L.A.
Unknown to family and friends back in San Diego, however, Dan had changed. The once cheerful, gregarious athlete slowly became a different person.
In retrospect, Dan's loved ones believe the change had everything to do with the blows to his head, known in medical circles as "closed head trauma."
For periods of time, Dan would stop communicating -- not responding to questions, not reacting to anything around him. He'd sometimes get only three hours of sleep a night. Once, he watched the same videotaped movie three days in a row. At one point, he wore two hats at the same time, one on top of the other.
Dan certainly needed help. His wife and relatives took the problem to various health professionals, but these experts often discounted their concerns and described Dan's symptoms as typical of everyday stress and fatigue.
Finally, this past Memorial Day weekend, his family drove Dan to a nearby psychiatric hospital to have him admitted. Because it was a holiday, the lone nurse on duty turned them away, saying that all Dan needed was a "good night's sleep."
The next morning, he did seem better. A few days later, though, his wife found him dead. Dan had committed suicide.
IF there's any moral to this sad tale, maybe it's that people should become more aware of the long-term consequences of violence, especially when it involves head injuries, and that families and physicians should patiently keep an eye on those who suffer head injuries, watching for extraordinary behavior.
Medical and psychiatric problems can crop up years later that need immediate attention. Just because someone "recovers" from a head injury, we can't assume that everything is fine.
Look at the case of Dan Lucas. His wife is a widow, his daughter is fatherless and his parents and friends blame themselves for not getting him help sooner. Meanwhile, the two Maui men who assaulted Dan probably don't even realize that what they did to him may have taken its final, fatal toll -- 10 years later.
Diane Yukihiro Chang's column runs Monday and Friday.
She can be reached by phone at 525-8607, via e-mail at
dchang@starbulletin.com, or by fax at 523-7863.