David Bloom Dies

Shakita

NBC's David Bloom died apparently from natural causes in Iraq. So sad. What a spitfire reporter he was.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/896267.asp?0cv=CB21
Mrs. Shakita
teejay

I was about to start a post about this.
NBC News' David Bloom dies in Iraq
NEW YORK (AP) — NBC correspondent David Bloom has died of a pulmonary embolism, the network reported Sunday. The 39-year-old journalist was embedded with U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division.
Bloom had been an anchor of the weekend Today show since March 2000. Bloom, whose career in journalism spanned 20 years, joined NBC as a correspondent based in Chicago in 1993.
Most recently, he had covered recovery efforts at Ground Zero in the aftermath on Sept. 11. He had also reproted on escalating violence in the Middle East from Israel.
Bloom attended Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif. from 1981 to 1985. He is survived by his wife, Melanie, and three daughters, 9-year-old twins Nicole and Christine, and three-year-old Ava.
Bloom's death was announced on the Today show.
David was cool. I'm sorry he died. I'm sad whenever the death of a wartime journalist occurs, but not as sad as I might be. There's no doubt about their courage and professionalism, but when I hear about the children they leave behind -- my sympathy for them fades a bit.
There's nothing wrong with doing your job, but professionals like david usually request/demand assignments like Iraq. They WILLINGLY AND WILLFULLY leave their (in David's case) three beautiful daughters behind and put themselves in danger of not going back home. For what? For TV time and career advancement.
I think that when you have children a parent's priorities should change. I thought it a bit laughable when they said on the Today show how much he put his family first. Oh really? By leaving your family for weeks on end and traveling to the other side of the world and volunteering to go to war?
When children bless the union, IMO parent's have to step back from their dreams and shift their focus. No matter how strongly their were pursuing their life's ambition, they must now always consider how their decisions will impact the first 18 years of their children's life. Now David's children stand the chance of being raised without the influence of a father -- all because their father was doing something that others could have done just as easily. Sad.

moreisbetter

Mrs. Shakita,

Yes, very sad indeed. I happen to be a fan of NBC news as well as the Today shows. IMO, David Bloom was an excellent anchor for Weekend Today as well as a remarkable reporter.

Here is some additional info:

By Michael Moran
MSNBC

NEW YORK, April 6 — David Bloom, an NBC News correspondent embedded with the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division outside Baghdad, died Sunday, NBC announced. Bloom, a 39-year-old husband and father of three, was the second American journalist to die in Iraq since the war began. His death was not combat related, according to NBC News.

edited to add: I didn't see your post until after I finished mine. You made an interesting point.

teenyuck

He died from a pulmonary embolism....a blood clot that impacted his lungs.
I am very sorry he died. I saw him live on Friday on MSNBC.
He could have died at home after a cross country flight.
There's nothing wrong with doing your job, but professionals like david usually request/demand assignments like Iraq. They WILLINGLY AND WILLFULLY leave their (in David's case) three beautiful daughters behind and put themselves in danger of not going back home. For what? For TV time and career advancement.
I think that when you have children a parent's priorities should change. I thought it a bit laughable when they said on the Today show how much he put his family first. Oh really? By leaving your family for weeks on end and traveling to the other side of the world and volunteering to go to war?
When children bless the union, IMO parent's have to step back from their dreams and shift their focus. No matter how strongly their were pursuing their life's ambition, they must now always consider how their decisions will impact the first 18 years of their children's life. Now David's children stand the chance of being raised without the influence of a father -- all because their father was doing something that others could have done just as easily. Sad.
How self-righteous.
If he were a businessperson on a routine trip, you would not say this. My husband routinely travels to Asia. Should he tell his employer he won't go because of stress and the impact of leaving his family behind? He is one of thousands of employees, employed by thousands of employers, who require their associates to travel. For weeks at a time is not unusual. If my husband tells his employer that he won't travel, then he will be looking for a new job.
Yes, what the reporters are doing is very dangerous. However, he died from something he would have died at home for. He could have been sitting on his sofa watching the Final 4 and keeled over. He was not hit by a bomb or friendly fire.
Pulmonary Embolism

What Happens
Pulmonary embolism can affect people in different ways. Symptoms, when they occur, often come on suddenly. Sharp chest pain and shortness of breath may occur when a blood clot (or other material) becomes lodged in one of the pulmonary arteries. If the embolus is large, it can cause sudden death. In contrast, a smaller pulmonary embolism may not cause any major problems and may even go unnoticed. Pulmonary embolism is likely to recur without treatment.
Shortness of breath and rapid heart rate and breathing are caused by significantly reduced blood flow to one or both lungs. Chest pain may result from low blood oxygen levels, which can damage tissue on the surface of the lung.Aggressive treatment may be considered when treating a large, life-threatening pulmonary embolism. Death caused by pulmonary embolism usually occurs within 2 hours of the onset of symptoms. 2 Sometimes, death is caused by a second pulmonary embolism.
This info is from WEBMd
DIM

[quote]There's nothing wrong with doing your job, but professionals like david usually request/demand assignments like Iraq. They WILLINGLY AND WILLFULLY leave their (in David's case) three beautiful daughters behind and put themselves in danger of not going back home. For what? For TV time and career advancement.
I think that when you have children a parent's priorities should change. I thought it a bit laughable when they said on the Today show how much he put his family first. Oh really? By leaving your family for weeks on end and traveling to the other side of the world and volunteering to go to war?[/qoute]
This is perhaps the most idiotic statement I've ever read on this board. I sometimes have to travel around the country for my job....does that mean I'm not a good husband to my pregnant wife? Give me a break. David Bloom was one of the top reporters for NBC, I'm sure his wife and family accepted the different risks involved. Unless you have inside info from Bloom's family or NBC, your comments about this situation are highly idiotic and offensive.
DIM

hmmm...my quote thingie didn't work. sorry about that!
Robdar

but professionals like david usually request/demand assignments like Iraq.
Not always, my friend. Sometimes, when you are a journalist, you have to do what you are told to do and go where you are told to go. I am sure that David, like other well paid professionals, felt that he was taking care of his family by supporting them and supplying them with a good life.
You are a good father TeeJay. I am sure that your family appreciates your sacrifices for them. But what is right for you may not be right for others.
Love,
Robyn
SheilaM

but when I hear about the children they leave behind -- my sympathy for them fades a bit.
Ya, I'm sure he felt the same way. I mean he didn't plan a pulmonary embolism now did he. He was boffing a whore he was doing his JOB and deserves respect for the way in which he did it.
teejay

How self-righteous. If he were a businessperson on a routine trip, you would not say this. My husband routinely travels to Asia. Should he tell his employer he won't go because of stress and the impact of leaving his family behind?

It appears to me that you personalized my post—as if I was talking about your husband. For that, you bear the responsibility since I don’t even know the cursed soul. What your husband and thousands of others do has no bearing whatsoever on my opinion as to what parents need to consider when leaving their families—particularly their children—for professional reasons. Your husband might decide to follow his dream of racing cars or mountain climbing... of what concern is that to me?
The fact is: David Bloom had a secure job and likely didn’t have to be in a war zone when his life ended. It’s very likely that he was in Iraq BECAUSE HE VOLUNTEERD/WANTED TO GO. Comparing that to “a businessperson on a routine trip” is ludicrous, but that’s the thought process I’ve come to expect from you. (Even if his employer demanded that he go, his response could have been, “No, I’m a father first and a journalist second.”)
I stand by my stated opinion: No matter how strongly we wish to pursue our life's ambition, parent’s (IMO) have an obligation to always consider how their decisions will impact the first 18 years of their children's life. Either you don’t have children and so are clueless as to what I’m talking about or your opinion simply differs from mine. If the latter is the case, does that make you an unloving parent in my view? No, and I’d never say you were based on your stated opinion. That being so, please don’t characterize my opinion as “self-righteous.” I’d appreciate it.
Yes, I’m quite aware that he died of an embolism. I also realize that it’s likely that being home wouldn’t have made a difference. But who’s to say? Being closer to emergency medical treatment rather than on an Army jeep out in the desert just might have made a difference. Can you say for certain that it WOULDN’T have? Regardless, the days and weeks prior to his death would have been spent AT HOME where his family (daughters) would have seen him more often, if not every day.
He is one of thousands of employees, employed by thousands of employers, who require their associates to travel. For weeks at a time is not unusual. If my husband tells his employer that he won't travel, then he will be looking for a new job.
Again, he was where he was quite likely BY CHOICE, a choice (MS)NBC didn’t require him to make. In the past 6 or 7 months, I’ve twice been offered jobs that would have paid me a salary twice the one I have – each with one serious downside: they required that I be away from home almost six months out of the year. Having been raised without a father, I considered what impact the jobs would have on my daughter and easily said “no” to both offers. That’s all I’m saying. Does that make me some superdad? No. It’s simply that based on my personal experience, IMO, parents must first take into account how their decisions will affect their children.
teejay

But what is right for you may not be right for others.

Robyn,
Would you or someone else please show me where I said anything different? Would you please show me where I said that parents who leave home on business trips are poor/irresponsible parents or that they haven’t’ taken their children into account? I’d appreciate it.
All I said is that I personally feel that parents must taken into account what impact their actions will have on their children. I'm sorry but I feel less empathy for David than I might for someone who had no choice but to be in Iraq when the end came. That’s all.

David Bloom Dies

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