Get the facts straight, People

Have you heard about Casey Johnson? She was the 30-year-old heiress to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, who died unexpectedly last month.

Today, the Los Angeles County Coroner announced that Johnson died from diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), and People magazine posted an article on Johnson's death here.

Naturally interested, I read the article, and it bothered me.

The article states, "Johnson had suffered from severe diabetes since childhood."

Severe diabetes??? She had type 1. When is type 1 diabetes not severe??? Is it ever easy??? The statement is so misleading. It could easily be misinterpreted by those who don't know that there are two types of diabetes and that those two types are very different diseases. Type 1 is an autoimmune disorder. Type 2 is a metabolic disorder. Type 2 can be prevented. Type 1 can not. And type 1 is never ever anything, but severe, harsh, difficult, challenging, demanding and serious.

To say that Casey Johnson "had suffered from severe diabetes" makes it seem as if her condition was particularly bad, and that could lead someone to think that Jack and all of the others battling this blasted disease have a less severe case. No matter who you are, if you have type 1 diabetes, it's severe. That's just the nature of the beast.

The article additionally stated, "Shortly after her death, a law enforcement source told People that hypodermic needles were found in the home, and they suspected Johnson partied the night before she died and neglected to take her insulin. No illicit drugs were found."

If Johnson wasn't using an insulin pump, of course, she would have possessed hypodermic needles. She would have needed those needles for her insulin administration.

I don't know much about Casey Johnson. Maybe she was a partier. Maybe despite the fact that no illicit drugs were found in her home, she wasn't sober the night before she died and maybe she did neglect to take her insulin. But maybe she didn't party that night and maybe she was sober. DKA can strike hard and fast, and if not treated quickly enough, it is lethal. If Johnson had been alone, she may not have been able to have helped herself. Because of her high blood sugar, she may have been absolutely out of it and in no shape to have sought treatment all on her own.

Regardless, the way the story reads, it suggests something wasn't Kosher, that hypodermic needles perhaps shouldn't have been there, and that's just not necessarily true.

I'm guessing Ken Lee, the author of the article, knows nothing about type 1 diabetes, and I don't expect him to be an expert. Nor do I expect his editors to be experts. But I do expect them to conduct a little research and report the facts in a way that's not misleading. I expect the plain, unadulterated truth.

I know I'm being a bit sensitive here. After all, type 1 diabetes is a subject close to my heart. However, I am a writer and editor by trade. I have spents years and years writing magazine articles and editing publications. In my humble opinion, this story was poorly executed. It's just bad journalism. While People is not exactly some high-brow publication, it's not total tabloid trash either. Or is it? Next time, get the facts straight, People!