The light in that room was a glow; I seem to remember the color green, or perhaps flowers. A pale green sheet covered his inert body but not his head, which lay (eyes closed, mouth set in a tense and terrible grimace) unmoving. Gianluca. Barely able to see, barely able to stand - my knees kept buckling – and breathing so quietly I thought that I, too, might die; that out of shock, I would just drift away, the shell of my body cracking open. No longer anchored by my brother’s love, I would be reabsorbed by sky. Gianluca. If there was never another sound in the world, I would understand – yes, that would be appropriate, it would be fitting. This was the antithesis of music, the antithesis of noise. My brother’s death seemed to demand silence of all the world. Gianluca.

~ Antonella Gambotto-Burke

Antonella Gambotto-Burke Asphyxiation Bereavement Depression Despair Gassing Grief Heartbreak Helium Suicide Identification Loss Morgue Mourning Sibling Loss Suicide Viewing

When I worked at the W. M. Keck Observatory on the 13,796 feet very high altitude summit of Mauna Kea, we would routinely be engulfed in cold clouds of helium and nitrogen gas as we discharged it into the video camera systems daily. The management team never warned us that we were in a hazardous oxygen deprived environment during this activity that was known for its ability to adversely affect physical and mental health, and possibly bring on death by asphyxiation.

~ Steven Magee

Steven Magee Activity Adversely Affect Altitude Asphyxiation Camera Clouds Cold Daily Death Deprived Discharged Engulfed Environment Gas Hawaii Hazardous Health Helium High Kea Keck Liquid Management Mauna Mental Nitrogen Observatory Oxygen Physical Summit Systems Team Very Video Warned