2007.04.15: April 15, 2007: Headlines: Lariam: Safety: Hometownannapolis.com: Family says malaria medicine contributed to mother of four jumping to her death
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2007.04.15: April 15, 2007: Headlines: Lariam: Safety: Hometownannapolis.com: Family says malaria medicine contributed to mother of four jumping to her death
Family says malaria medicine contributed to mother of four jumping to her death
She took the medicine for a trip to South Africa a year ago to train a young American tennis star. Three days after she began her prescription, she was hospitalized, said her brother Peter Baglieri from Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. When she returned to her home in Sherwood Forest, she tried to take her life but her family stopped her. They monitored her around the clock and by August 2006 she seemed to be back to her normal, happy self, Mr. Baglieri said. "What (happened) last year was devastating. What happened this year was worse," he said. Lariam can stay in a person's system long after they stop taking it, the medicine's producer Roche said. Now, a year after she first took the medication, Mrs. Pastirik went to Gettysburg, home of her high school alma mater, and climbed the stairs of the 76-foot tall Longstreet Tower and jumped to her death.
Family says malaria medicine contributed to mother of four jumping to her death
A prescription for tragedy?
Family says malaria medicine contributed to mother of four jumping to her death
By MARY P. FELTER and JOSHUA STEWART Staff Writers
An Annapolis woman killed herself by jumping off an observation tower at Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.
Mary "Sissy" L. Pastirik, 47, was found dead at the bottom of an observation tower by Canadian high school students. Evidence indicated that the death was a suicide, Adams County Pennsylvania Coroner Patricia Felix said.
Mrs. Pastirik's family said the suicide was unusual and unexpected. They believe Lariam, an anti-malarial medication Mrs. Pastirik took a year ago, contributed to her death by causing suicidal thoughts.
"This wasn't normal - you don't know how much she loved her kids. She had so many more things she was going to do," said Cheri Cochran, Mrs.
Pastirik's cousin from Annapolis.
She took the medicine for a trip to South Africa a year ago to train a young American tennis star. Three days after she began her prescription, she was hospitalized, said her brother Peter Baglieri from Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
When she returned to her home in Sherwood Forest, she tried to take her life but her family stopped her. They monitored her around the clock and by August 2006 she seemed to be back to her normal, happy self, Mr. Baglieri said.
"What (happened) last year was devastating. What happened this year was worse," he said.
Lariam can stay in a person's system long after they stop taking it, the medicine's producer Roche said.
Now, a year after she first took the medication, Mrs. Pastirik went to Gettysburg, home of her high school alma mater, and climbed the stairs of the 76-foot tall Longstreet Tower and jumped to her death.
It was the last thing anyone ever thought Mrs. Pastirik would do. She was a dedicated wife and mother of four, a professional tennis player, an active member at St. Mary's Catholic Church and relished her career as a life coach at Athletic Performance Inc., a sports center in Millersville. She was partially responsible for the creation of Springhill Center for Family Development in Crownsville, an organization dedicated to strengthening communities through families.
"She was a ball of energy. Always very peppy and energetic," said Del. Ron George, R-Arnold, who volunteers at the center.
Lariam caused the woman they knew to change, Mrs. Pastirik's family said.
The medication's physical side-effects, like nausea and dizziness, are common among medications, but the psychological ones - though rare among the drug's users - are serious. Some people who take the medication have mild nightmares, trouble sleeping, hallucinations, depression and suicidal thoughts, the Food and Drug Administration said in a special guide it created for patients.
"Some patients taking Lariam think about killing themselves and there have been rare reports of suicides. We do not know if Lariam is responsible for these suicides," the FDA said in an online report.
After a series of murders and suicides among soldiers taking the anti-malarial drug both stateside and in the Middle East, the Army began its own research and determined that Lariam was not a causal factor in the incidents. However, the Army first developed the drug and then licensed it to Roche.
"This drug has gone to perfectly healthy people. People in the military, the Peace Corps, have killed themselves, have murdered their families," Ms. Cochran said.
Regardless of the circumstances surrounding Mrs. Pastirik's death, her life and legacy is what matters to those who knew her.
"You look at her and you look at her beautiful family, her wonderful family. They are really leaders in themselves. What a reflection on her," Mr. George said.
Born Dec. 8, 1959, in Sleepy Hollow N.Y., she graduated from Gettysburg Area High School in 1978 and from Slippery Rock University in 1982.
She worked as a life coach and events coordinator for Athletic Performance Inc. and was also a certified professional by the U.S. Professional Tennis Association as well as a trainer at Wake Forest University.
"She was all over the country training top people in the field," Mr. Baglieri said.
She was particularly dedicated to her church and a member of the Regnum Christi movement, an organization that promotes the Roman Catholic faith.
"She was a devout Catholic," Ms. Cochran said. "It is so sad; she was such a special person who touched so many lives. ... She was such a leader who brought people closer to God."
Her energy and devotion to her faith, which forbids suicide, makes her death especially troublesome, family said.
"She was a major person. She was a Catholic who didn't believe in (suicide). She was an amazing person who touched so many people in such a short time, from little children through adults. She was the ultimate connector, not in a business way but in a spiritual way," Mr. Baglieri said.
Surviving are Mrs. Pastirik's husband Thomas Pastirik. They married in 1998 and had three sons, Christian, Graceson and Gabriel, and one daughter, Mary Rose. Her father, Frank Baglieri, lives in Gettysburg. Her grandmother, Susan A. Melaville lives in Sleepy Hollow. Besides Peter Baglieri, she has two other brothers, Michael and Gerald Baglieri, of Berlin in Worcester County and Singapore, respectively. She was the daughter of the late Mary Lee Baglieri.
Visitation is from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. tomorrow at Kalas Funeral Home, 2973 Solomons Island Road, Edgewater. A funeral Mass will be said at 9:30 a.m. Monday at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, 620 N. Bestgate Road. Burial will be at St. Mary's Cemetery.
- No Jumps-
Published April 14, 2007, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2007 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
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Story Source: Hometownannapolis.com
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