Alex James (September 24, 1982 - September 18, 2002)
Photo by Jim Cox (Cox Sports Photos)
Alex's photograph was taken at the 2001 Summer Kick-Off Fun Run
Alex James and my son, James Glenn shared much in common. Tragically the most important thing they shared was an early death from an undiagnosed illness at the age of 19. Alex's father, John, and I are both runners. The last run we ran together as father and son was the Lunar Rendezvous Run (Alex and John in 2002, James and I in 1991).
James' death, I am told, was caused by a genetic defect which had no prior symptoms and caused an unrecoverable heart arrhythmia. Alex's father feels that his son's illness was also undiagnosed or diagnosed incorrectly and he has written a book in which he makes a compelling case that our health care system failed his son.
John James' book is both a personal account of the events around his son's death and an examination of accountability in our current health care system. It also touches on a rare, but serious problem of concern to all runners (electrolyte replacement). His book may be ordered from
http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail~bookid~46331.aspx
or
I have no financial interest in John's book and if you read it you will realize that money was not the motivation for the many hours he spent researching and writing this book.
Stephen Glenn