Heart Ailment Blamed For Disney Ride Death - WESH,

Originally Posted By Darkbeer

<a href="http://www.wesh.com/news/5328073/detail.html" target="_blank">http://www.wesh.com/news/53280
73/detail.html</a>

>>A 4-year-old boy who died on a Disney ride earlier this year had a rare heart ailment, WESH 2 News reported.

The Orange County medical examiner is set to release full autopsy results Tuesday in the death of Daudi Baumuwamye, WESH 2 News reported.

According to a source who has seen the report, the boy died of cardiac arrhythmia due to heart disease. In June, Baumuwamye suffered a seizure while riding Epcot's Mission Space attraction.

Neither his parents nor Disney will comment until after the report is released.<<

 

Originally Posted By trekkeruss

After all the suppositions that went on here after the accident, I am not surprised by the findings. Whether this will lay it all to rest, that's another matter.

 

Originally Posted By MinnieSummer

I hope that the family can get some peace now that the autopsy is done. I'm always shocked when I hear about young adults having heart disease that is undetected but when it happens to a child it is even more shocking.

 

Originally Posted By Darkbeer

<a href="http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/breaking_news/13173093.htm" target="_blank">http://www.bradenton.com/mld/b
radenton/news/breaking_news/13173093.htm</a>

>>The death of a 4-year-old boy after he went on a rocket-ship ride at Walt Disney World was caused by abnormal cardiac rhythms from a heart condition that he apparently had since birth, according to an autopsy released Tuesday.

Daudi Bamuwamye died after riding "Mission: Space" in June. He had an abnormality of the heart muscle called idiopathic myocardial hypertrophy, with fibroelastosis of the left ventricle, the Orange County Medical Examiner's Office said.

"People with this condition are at risk for sudden death throughout their life due to abnormal electrical heart rhythms," the medical examiner's office said. "This risk could be increased under physical or emotional stressful situations. This condition may also eventually lead to heart failure."

The $100 million Epcot ride, one of Disney World's most popular, was closed after the death but reopened after company engineers concluded it was operating normally.

"Mission: Space" spins riders in a giant centrifuge that subjects them to twice the normal force of gravity, and it is so intense that some riders have been taken to the hospital with chest pain.<<

 

Originally Posted By Darkbeer

<a href="http://www.mcall.com/news/local/orl-bk-statement111505" target="_blank">http://www.mcall.com/news/loca
l/orl-bk-statement111505</a>,0,5867229.story

>>We have just received the Report of the District Nine Medical Examiner's Office, and would like to thank Dr. Caravaglia for meeting with the family, via teleconference, last evening. The Medical Examiner spent five months analyzing the physical findings to attempt to determine exactly what happened to Daudi while riding Mission Space at Epcot.

There is overwhelming curiosity, understandably, and there have been numerous inquiries to my office regarding the Bamuwamyes' legal options and intentions regarding ride forces, height requirements and other issues. We will have no comment until we have adequate time to carefully review this report.

Mr. and Mrs. Bamuwamye and their daughter, Ruthie, remain crushed by this devastating loss. They would like to thank everyone for their continued thoughts and prayers.

Any inquiries can be made through my office. Thank You.

Robert A. Samartin, Esq.

Tampa, Florida<<

 

Originally Posted By Darkbeer

From a press statement by District Nine Medical Examiner's Office

>>In consideration of the circumstances surrounding the death and after examination of the body, review of the microscopic slides, and toxicology results, and after neuropathologic and cardiac pathology consultation, it was determined that the death of Daudi Bamuwamye, a four year old male child who collapsed on an amusement ride, was the result of a cardiac arrhythmia due to heart disease.

He has an idiopathic myocardial hypertrophy with fibroelastosis of the left ventricle. This is an abnormality of the heart muscle of unknown cause, but appearing to be congenital.

People with this condition are at risk for sudden death throughout their life due to abnormal electrical heart rhythms. This risk could be increased under physical or emotional stressful situations. This condition may also eventually lead to heart failure.

No external or internal trauma was found at autopsy and a detailed examination of the brain by a neuropathologist found no evidence of brain trauma. <<

 

Originally Posted By RoadTrip

It is certainly not the fault of Disney or any of their attractions, but potential riders would be well advices to take the warnings posted on rides seriously.

<<TUESDAY, Nov. 15 (HealthDay News) -- A wild roller coaster ride can trigger an irregular heartbeat in some riders, which could lead to death among those with cardiac conditions.>>

Source: <a href="http://12.31.13.50/healthnews/healthday/051115HD529168.htm" target="_blank">http://12.31.13.50/healthnews/
healthday/051115HD529168.htm</a>

 

Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA

I wonder if young kids really need go on these extreme rides.

Sure, they go and they 'survive' -- but perhaps there's something more going on 'behind the scenes' -- brain trauma and all kinds of stuff.

I have a mitral valve prolapse, and take medication for high blood pressure, so I monitor myself on rides.

I was standing in line at Cedar Point's Millennium Force, and I thought to myself: 'I just don't think I should ride this' -- so I stepped out of line and didn't ride.

I rode 'Goliath' about 5 years ago at SFMM, and wasn't quite 'right' for the rest of the day....

Anything more than 'California Screamin' is more than I want to do.

Anyway, I guess we'll not know for some years what impact these extreme rides have on little kids.

 

Originally Posted By danyoung

Y'know that swinging pirate ship that they have at mall parking lot carnivals? I used to ride those all the time, and they were just barely the slightest thrill. Did one this last summer (first one in about 20 years), and was yelling for the operator to shut it off before it got halfway up!

I'm such an old wuss. . .

 

Originally Posted By vbdad55

Yep, that ride off my list -- as well as the spinning rotor where the floor drops a little and you are pinned to the wall -- and basically anything else that spins a lot in a circle -- all of the faves of my youth -- gone !

 

Originally Posted By Fe Maiden

I love those rides, admittedly it's been a few years since I went on the Gravitron.

In the late 70's/early 80's on Sportland Pier at the Wildwood Boardwalk there was a version called the Hell Hole. Everything in the room was painted black except the floor of the ride which was painted bright red, orange, and yellow with these fake flames coming out from the middle. The ride operator was dressed like Death and they played heavy metal while you were stuck to the walls. I also remember they had this wooden puke box at the exit for those that couldn't quite make it through "hell".

They don't make rides like that anymore.

 

Originally Posted By danyoung

I also used to like that round cage that spun, and then stood up on end so your spinning cage was perpendicular to the ground. I don't think I'll be trying it again any time soon, though.

I miss my youth. . .

 

Originally Posted By RoadTrip

<<I also used to like that round cage that spun, and then stood up on end so your spinning cage was perpendicular to the ground. I don't think I'll be trying it again any time soon, though.

I miss my youth. . .>>

Are you talking about the Round Up? That was one of my faves. The good old days... back in the time you didn't consider it a REALLY GREAT ride unless a person or two had been killed on one like it.

 

Originally Posted By Inspector 57

Congenital heart defects aren't all that uncommon. This incident makes me wonder what percentage of them are undiagnosed.

Do kids get an ECG as part of their routine check-up series? Do they check the newborn's heart at birth? At a 6-month visit? Before school?

It sounds as though the ride, per se, didn't cause his heart to fail, but that the excitement or fear that it caused could have contributed. What's scary about that to me is that theme park rides aren't the only times that kids are subjected to (extreme) exhilaration. How do you know whether taking your kid on a super-speed stroller ride might kill him?

 

Originally Posted By vbdad55

<Are you talking about the Round Up? That was one of my faves<

that's the name !! At Riverview Park ( think Coney Island type park here for those not from Chicago ) - before they tore it down 38 years ago - they had a ride called the Rotor.

<a href="http://www.riverviewmemories.com/RVM3page.htm" target="_blank">http://www.riverviewmemories.c
om/RVM3page.htm</a>

Same concept as the Round Up-- except you stepped down into the ride and the floor dropped out from beneath you and the centrifugal force kept you on the wall --

 

Originally Posted By Inspector 57

<<except you stepped down into the ride and the floor dropped out from beneath you and the centrifugal force kept you on the wall>>

I loved riding The Rotor as a kid! Upon leaving the ride, it was always interesting to hear the chatter: "I was so stuck to the wall I could not move my arms!" along with the inevitable, "It didn't work on me. I was slipping down toward the floor the whole time!"

As a geeky junior high student, I decided to do a science report on The Rotor. I wrote to the Operations Manager of Cedar Point to ask how it worked: How does the centrifugal force make people stick to the wall? Why do some people stick better than others? He wrote back a long and very nice letter in which he explained how "centripetal" force keeps people in place. The reason that some people stick better than others wasn't related to their weight, but by what they were wearing. People would stay put if they were wearing high-friction quotient clothing (cotton, for example). If they were wearing silk or polyester, their clothing would probably stick to the rough rubber wall, but they would slide down inside their clothing.

Cool!

Here's an explanation of centripetal and centrifugal forces. Open the link at your own risk. Reading it makes my head spin more than the Rotor ever did.

<a href="http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0811114.html" target="_blank">http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/
sci/A0811114.html</a>

Later, as an employee at Cedar Point, I discovered that The Rotor was a great end-of-the-night, employees-only ride. It was fun trying to crawl around the walls.

 

Originally Posted By danyoung

Yes, you're right about the Round Up. All this carny talk brings back memories of the Zipper. I can't believe I ever crammed myself into one of those things!

 

Originally Posted By vbdad55

yeah my biggest memory of the zipper was the fact that if you looked under the ride -- there was enough loose change to buy another block of tickets --
also another ride off my list ( as well as the salt n pepper shaker

 

Originally Posted By t1lersm0m

Ok, I'd like to comment, for the record, that when this story broke in the summer, I vehemently defended the mother. However, after now knowing all of the facts, I take back everything I said in her defense....

 

Originally Posted By ssWEDguy

>> as well as the spinning rotor where the floor drops a little and you are pinned to the wall -- and basically anything else that spins a lot in a circle -- all of the faves of my youth -- gone ! <<

I never could do the "spin & puke" rides. I suppose nowdays I could get a lawyer and sue the owners of Tilt-A-Whirls everywhere in a class-action suit.

Hey -- maybe that's my ticket out of this 'burg!