We are very sorry to hear about the loss of Mr. McManus.
From the Lynn Item:
McManus death ruled accidental
Widow says accidental painkiller overdose claimed ex-mayor
By Thor Jourgensen / The Daily Item
LYNN - Former Mayor Patrick J. McManus died from an accidental overdose of Tylenol with codeine prescribed to him for back pain, his widow said in a statement released on Wednesday.
“Pat was in a lot of pain the three or four weeks before he died, and he was taking medication to help him deal with it until he could get to the doctor,” Debra McManus said.
McManus, 54, died July 10 at his East Lynn home and the state Medical Examiner initially labeled cause of death as “pending.” His widow and other family members initially thought the former mayor may have suffered a fatal heart attack. In confirming the cause of death, the medical examiner’s office told her an autopsy showed no damage to her husband’s heart.
McManus said her husband was taking Tylenol with codeine in the weeks before his death in response to severe pain in his lower back and side that he thought may have been a recurrence of kidney stones. He had an appointment with his urologist scheduled for the week after he died.
She added McManus suffered from chronic neck and back pain that dated back to disc surgery he had almost 20 years ago. She said that and the recent severe pain he experienced were likely exacerbated by the frenetic pace he had been keeping since announcing he was running for mayor again this fall.
“He was 100 percent committed to his campaign. He went to 47 block parties (July 4) the weekend before he died, and he had been campaigning door to door for weeks.”
McManus jumpstarted the 2009 political season in a city where politics is a major source of interest by revealing in early March his interest in a return to the office he held from 1992 to 2002. He announced his campaign at the summer's start, pledging to use his experience on the U.S. Conference of Mayors to bring federal dollars into Lynn.
He had held a fund-raiser and opened a Wyoma Square campaign headquarters when news of his death on a sunny Friday morning stunned Lynn residents who lined up for hours on July 14 to attend his wake in St. Pius V Church.
Debra McManus said learning the cause of her husband’s death does not have a significant effect on her, their five children and the rest of his family. “Pat was a beloved son, husband, father, brother, and friend who is sorely missed by many people,” she said. “Nothing changes that.”
