The Strange Medical Saga of Howard Hughes

What started as a medical investigation on the death of Howard Hughes nearly 50 years ago, has now become a fascinating historical work. A whole new perspective on the life of Howard Hughes is delivered here, brought forward through the lens of his medical history. In 1976, HH died suddenly without a will. His toxicology report showed large amounts of codeine in his system at the time of death. Was HH murdered, or was he kept addicted to control his money and empire? Did he die an...
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What started as a medical investigation on the death of Howard Hughes nearly 50 years ago, has now become a fascinating historical work. A whole new perspective on the life of Howard Hughes is delivered here, brought forward through the lens of his medical history. In 1976, HH died suddenly without a will. His toxicology report showed large amounts of codeine in his system at the time of death. Was HH murdered, or was he kept addicted to control his money and empire? Did he die an early death due to medical neglect? There were multiple lawsuits and investigations. Most suspected nefarious motives behind his drug use, given the circumstances of his then reclusive lifestyle and mysterious death. Enter Dr. Forest Tennant, who received an unexpected phone call two years after HH died, from an agent of the Federal Government. He was asked to be a medical consultant on the Hughes case because of his vast experience at the time in treating addiction and pain. He was hired to investigate and analyze the few records that existed on Hughes secret medical conditions and to review the autopsy and toxicology reports. He was to give an opinion and testify as to whether his physicians had illegally supplied HH with narcotics. Was this the story of a deranged man addicted to drugs, or was he just a man who was in pain? HH was the 20th century's true renaissance man and was certainly the most enigmatic. The moniker "he came, he saw, he conquered" are fitting words. He was a mechanical genius and was wildly successful at multiple endeavors from his early 20's onward. This famous tycoon was the object of the press that filled the headlines of newspapers around the world for 50 years. From filmmaking success, aviation triumphs, business dealings, political machinations, and a dash of Hollywood starlets, the newspapers were filled with stories of HH. At age 24 during the filming of Hell's Angels HH experienced the first of a succession of serious injuries that permanently altered his life. Unfortunately, not much was known about head trauma at that time. He remained busy and engaged nonetheless in life and love but was starting to make rash decisions and at times showed lack of judgement and strange behavior. His germaphobia and other obsessive-compulsive behaviors were worsening. After another devastating plane crash in 1946, he sustained terrible injuries that he was extremely fortunate to survive. Upon release from the hospital was prescribed daily codeine due to severe pain. He remained very productive and active in his business dealings despite his medication use and pain. In the mid 1950's he entered a phase of life where he all but disappeared from public view and lived a reclusive life. He still managed his large business empire up until the time of his death. Dr. Tennant takes us on a historical journey into the medical conditions uncovered in his investigation that plagued HH and inadvertently forged his life. He suffered from a trio of disorders in which little was known about at the time: obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and intractable pain syndrome (IPS), and these disorders explain many of his unusual life habits. His medical saga is still of great interest to us today and much is to be learned from it. His medical treatments allowed him to live a very productive life despite severe injuries that caused constant pain. Thankfully, there is much that can now be done for the various maladies HH suffered from. This work sheds a compassionate and humane view of a man who contributed a great deal to the world in the 20th century.