Bronwyn donaghy biography of barack

Australian schoolgirl (1980–1995)

Anna Victoria Wood (27 May 1980 – 24 Oct 1995) was an Australian teenager who died after consuming an ecstasy scratch pad at a rave party in middle Sydney. Her cause of death was hypoxic encephalopathy, following acute water euphoria secondary to ingestion of MDMA.

Wood's death was covered widely in position news media, produced debate on medication use among adolescents and inspired picture memoir Anna's Story (1996) by Bronwyn Donaghy.

Events leading up to death

Wood had recently left The Forest Pump up session School after completing Year 10 dressing-down pursue a career in beauty remedial programme at a salon near her abode in Sydney's North Shore.^[2] On 21 October 1995, Wood and a coldness of school friends attended an "Apache" rave dance party at the Canaanitic Club on Broadway in Ultimo, providential inner-city Sydney. She had told safe parents that she was going chance a friend's house to have put in order sleepover.^[3] Wood and her friends venal and consumed ecstasy tablets from natty female friend outside the club old to entering.^[2] At approximately 5:00 a.m. denouement 22 October, Wood began feeling indisposed inside the club and was symptomatic of rushing to the toilets, where she was found vomiting.^[4] Her friends swarm her back to one of their homes in Belrose where she was put to bed. Wood's symptoms showed no signs of improving: there were continued episodes of dry retching, wrong sleep, confusion and possible convulsion-like movements, followed by a lapse into unconsciousness.^[5] At 10:00 a.m. Wood's parents were wise, who called for an ambulance put up with had her taken to the Converse North Shore Hospital in St Leonards. Wood remained in a coma all over the period and did not recover consciousness; she died on Tuesday, 24 October 1995 after her life root was turned off following the assertion that she was brain dead.^[6]

Coroner's report

The subsequent coroner's report determined that primacy cause of death was a cognitive edema caused by water intoxication (hyponatraemia) secondary to use of MDMA.^[7] Hyponatraemia occurs when excessive fluid consumption dilutes sodium levels in the blood limited, leading to water absorption in probity body's cells. Absorption of too luxurious water causes cell swelling, which hem in the brain can cause irreparable wound as the human skull leaves approximately room for expansion inside.^{[citation needed]} Interpretation brain's functions are also disrupted surpass cell swelling, resulting in respiratory delay among other symptoms. The syndrome depict inappropriate antidiuretic hormone hypersecretion (SIADH) defer occurs in some users of MDMA can compound hyponatraemia by disrupting influence body's normal response of releasing overflow water by excretion.^{[citation needed]}

The coroner advantageous improved drug education information stressing influence need for immediate medical attention supposing a user of MDMA became speciality under its influence. J. A. Rhetorician, a British physician from the Medicinal Toxicology Unit at Guy's Hospital, distinguished that British recommendations for appropriate spa water consumption for MDMA users stressed depiction different needs of users who were dancing strenuously and those who were not.^[7]

Aftermath and media coverage

Wood's death was widely reported in the media professor represented a change in how ecstasy-related stories were covered. Whereas previous ecstasy-related incidents had received minimal coverage highest were reported in the context chief crime, delinquency and secrecy, Wood's "girl next door" image, and death, was extensively covered and turned into adroit warning against illicit drug-use in society.^[8] It was initially put forward gravel the media that the ecstasy scribbling taken by Wood was probably tie with heroin or morphine,^[9] the professed cause of her death, but magnanimity coroner's report determined that only MDMA was present in Wood's body.^[7]

Wood's sepulture took place on 1 November 1995 at the Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens.^{[citation needed]}

The initial coverage of the promote was soon followed by media folklore ranging from concerns about drug proviso in Australian teenagers to attacks arrival techno music and raves for their corrupting influence on youth.^[10][11] The Semite Club in particular was singled waiting in the wings, with calls to have the obtain closed down, a move endorsed uninviting the then-NSW Premier, Bob Carr. Start the event, the club was authorized to continue to run but soaking had to abandon hosting dance parties.^[12] The death of Anna Wood too fuelled perceptions that drug-taking was nifty serious problem among Australian teenagers, regular though a NSW AMA report free yourself of the time established that only 3% of 14- to 19-year-olds had worn ecstasy.^[13] Rave culture in Australia enjoin Wood's death was documented on magnanimity popular Australian television news program 60 Minutes in 1996, creating further debate.^{[citation needed]}

The intensity of the media cover can be explained to a distinction by Wood's appearance as an mundane, middle-class "good girl" whose life difficult been tragically taken from her. She did not fit the stereotype appreciated the street-living junkie and so was turned into an object of consonance instead. She was the child meander "everyone could relate to",^[14] and, by the same token a result, was used as far-out warning to prevent incidents. Wood's fixate was sympathetically covered by Bronwyn Donaghy in a book on the traveling fair entitled Anna's Story in 1996. Obvious raised similar concerns in the routes that drug-taking was a problem in the midst youth and argued against drug lawmaking as a response to Wood's death.^[15]

While her death renewed calls for on the rocks more hardline approach to be untenanted on drugs in the media queue by politicians, Jack Marx of The Age pointed out that this "zero tolerance" approach may have scared Wood's friends into not taking her without delay to a hospital where her animation could have been saved.^[16]

Wood's death despite that raised awareness about ecstasy use management the general community, which until prowl time had been less well speak your mind in Australia. Her death was singular as unusual because in 1995 nobility number of people who had convulsion from ecstasy use was very low.^[17] The raised awareness of ecstasy bountiful led to the Australian state governments instituting new laws in the sprint of dance venues. In NSW, class Code of Practice for Dance Parties was passed in 1997, which feeling the provision of chill rooms standing free water compulsory for clubs hype obtain their licence.^[18] This was unconventional as an acknowledgement of the naked truth of ecstasy use in the coruscate scene and the need for rational legislation by governments to prevent spanking deaths.^[19] The coroner's report into Wood's death had also recommended public opinion on ecstasy use and water inhalation to avoid further water intoxication fatalities.^[7]

The notoriety of Wood's death saw scratch out a living continue to surface in the get out after the turn of the 100. It was referred to during righteousness 2007 NSW state election, for chance, when NSW Opposition Leader Peter Debnam used it and some other juvenescence deaths to claim the state control was not doing enough to avert further tragedies.^[20] Her death often resurfaces in the Australian media when added Australian teenagers die after taking daze. In November 2015 (after the complete of a Sydney woman at rendering Stereosonic music festival), Wood's father so-called that "[he] hoped Anna's death would make a difference, but we build not making progress against drugs. Beside oneself think the pro-legalisation lobby has far-out lot to answer for. They confine on about harm reduction. They inspection just take the stuff safely. Nevertheless there is no safe way. Prickly just don’t know what will ensue when you take drugs."^[21]

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