European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 23, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse Saturday september 23, 1978 the stars and stripes Page 7 Eye exam mistake leaves Pilot Blind Concord . A a National guard Pilot who has survived dozens of dangerous Rescue missions in the Treacher Ous White mountains May never Fly again because an unexplained medical mix up during a routine checkup left him Blind. I thought my flying Days would end when a Mountain tip or a Pine tree crashed through my cockpit not because of a mix up in Eye drops it. Col. Russell Tilton said thursday. The work of the 46-year-old army National guard air Rescue officer is legend Ary in the state s aviation and conserva Tion Community. He has piloted Small planes and Heli copters Over the state s wilderness forests and Needle Sharp mountains survived three crashes in his 24 years of flying and logged More than 10,000 hours. There Are dozens of people alive today because Tilton slipped his chopper into places in the White mountains where other men would never try to Fly said col. Leon Parker a senior guard commander. But on sept. 9, Tilton was grounded after a routine annual flight physical at Pease fab not because of his health but because of the examination itself guard officials said. A senior flight surgeon had completed most of the examination and was running a routine test for glaucoma an Eye disease. Seconds after administering Eye drops that should have dilated his pupils Tilton s eyes began to Burn. It Felt like someone had shoved hot Pok ers into my eyes he recalled. Guard officials said the medication the doctor administered was in a bottle labelled As the required ophthalmic solution but in reality contained hem cult a highly Caus tic mixture used to test Stool samples. The bottle had the Correct Label but the wrong contents. It was a tragic Accident but we re not satisfied at leaving it at that said col. James Cuddihee a senior guard official. We have no proof that the solutions were deliberately switched but we re investigating the entire although he entered the examination with 20-20 vision and left almost Blind til ton said he does not blame the doctor. There was really no Way the doctor could have known Tilton said. I be got the pain but he s got the memories. I went to the specialists and took All the medications they offered and although there May be a time when you and your family will need the help of the american red Cross. The red Cross is there when disaster strikes when the elderly require Spe Cial assistance when blood could mean the difference Between life and death. Your contribution to the 1979 combined Federal Campaign will not Only support the continuation of these vital services but support the efforts of 30 other agencies also working to make the world a better place. This is a stars and stripes Public service advertisement reach the world a better place through your they said it would Correct itself any min Ute that minute never came Tilton said. Another team of specialists at Massachusetts general Hospital in Boston told Tilton this week it was impossible to Evalu ate the problem because of a conflict from the earlier medications and treat ment i d been Given by the other doctors he said. Many of the dozens of people Tilton has plucked off mountains or from Rivers Are writing and phoning their Best wishes and the father of three appears to be taking the Accident in stride. All i can do is wait but the waiting is killing me he said. Flying is my entire life and without it there would be an enor Mous Hole to shopping by computer Mark Geigel a Young Miami computer scientist demonstrates the computer he programmed to help shoppers find illegal amounts charge the Best grocery buys. Under his intricate setup the computer picks out bar gains from 85,000 grocery items. A doctor who provided Hughes drug cleared Campaign ends nov. 5 Ogden Utah up or. Wilbur Thain has been found innocent of charges he provided illegal amounts of codeine to the late Howard Hughes while he served As the billionaire s personal physician. A . District court jury acquitted Thain late thursday after deliberating the Case for five hours. Thain now head of the exceptional child Center at Utah state University was accused of supplying the drugs to Hughes from 1974 until he pronounced the reclusive Hughes dead two years later. The prosecution said in its closing arguments that Thain had no right to prescribe such High dosages of the drug and did it Only for the Money a $60,000-a-year con tract with Summa corp., which formed the bulk of Hughes vast Empire. Thain s defense attorneys maintained the doctor tried to wean Hughes off the pain killing drug by giving him placebos and that Thain had in fact managed to Cut the dosage of codeine. But prosecutor Max Wheeler told the 12 member jury that Thain supplied the drugs at Hughes whim and that his patient Only lived for his next delivery of drugs from Thain. Thain s attorney claimed Hughes suffered constant pain from injuries suffered in a 1946 plane crash. The prosecution disputed the claim Hughes was in chronic pain. Thain pronounced Hughes dead on a 1976 flight from Acapulco Mexico while in route to Houston Texas to get Hughes advanced medical care for the kidney Afflic Tion which ultimately killed him. An autopsy showed nearly 15 milligrams of codeine in Hughes body
