Michael Jackson: The Man in His Mirror or the Man that We Wanted Him to Be

Let's face it folks, Michael Jackson was not a happy person. Most of his life was fill with pain, sorrow, and people trying to bring him down. He tried his best to find a happy place in this world but he just could not hide from us. Most of us loved his music but made it hard for him to live his life. All in all he still gave us what we wanted, music, joy, and a great show.

Michael Jackson was somewhat "accident prone".

In 1979, at the age of 21, Michael Jackson fell while practicing his dance moves and broke his nose. His first nose surgery was not a complete success. He complained of breathing difficulties that would affect his career. He was referred to Dr. Steven Hoefflin, who performed a second rhinoplasty.

Then came 1984, when the special effects went wrong with the Pepsi Cola commercial. Michael was 25 years old. He was treated for second degree burns. He was also having a discomfort and hair loss what resulted in a major surgery on his scalp.

June 29, 1999 at the Olympic stadium in Munich, Germany, Michael Jackson fell more than 50 feet after the bridge that he was performing on collapsed. The bridge was supposed to drop during the performance, but it separated too soon and the middle section fell into the pit of the stage. After the show, he was taken to a Munich hospital suffering from a few bruises and minor burns.

Feb 28, 2001, Yahoo Music News Canada and ABC News reports: Michael Jackson broke his right foot after a fall at his Neverland Ranch in California. According to Jackson's publicist, the "King of Pop" was resting comfortably at his home with a plaster cast on the injured leg that extends from the foot to his knee. At press time, the exact specifics of the incident have not been made public.

Some of us thought he was a hypochondriac when we saw in the news items as follows:

In 1986, Michael Jackson was diagnosed with Vitiligo and Lupus. Vitiligo is a pigmentation disorder in which melanocytes in the skin are destroyed and Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune syndrome that can injure any part of the body, skin, joints, and organs inside the body. Extreme fatigue and joint pain are common with Lupus.

June 4, 1990 Michael was hospitalized with chest pains. He was taken to the emergency room of hospital in Santa Monica.

December 6, 1995, Michael was 37 then he was hospitalized suffering from apparent dehydration and low blood pressure. He collapsed on stage during a rehearsal at the Beacon Theater.

In 2005 Michael suffered chronic depression. Again he was in court for child molestation. This lawsuit lasted in total more than a year had a huge negative effect both on Jackson's mentality and physical state. Once he stayed at home instead of attending on of the trials to recuperate from a back injury. After being proclaimed as not guilty Jackson again sought medical attention for the back injury and dehydration.

Dec. 2008, about 6 months before he died, Jackson has been diagnosed with Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency, an occasionally fatal genetic condition. Author Ian Halperin said that Jackson 'can barely speak' and 'the vision in his left eye is 95 percent gone.' Michael's brother Jermaine didn't deny the reports but told Fox News, "He's not doing so well right now. This isn't a good time."

"Alpha-1-anti-trypsin deficiency is a relatively rare genetic disorder that becomes apparent in young adulthood and early middle age, especially if smoking is added to the equation," Horovitz said in a hospital news release. "The liver can also be affected, causing cirrhosis. The disease produces early-onset emphysema, just as one might see in an older smoker. Treatment for mild or moderate cases involves infusions of a specific medication. In advanced stages, a lung transplant may be necessary."

Now that he is dead and the autopsy report is in, now we know that Michael was in pain.

The autopsy listed a mild arthritis in the lower spine and some fingers, and mild plaque buildup in his leg arteries. Most serious was his lungs, which the autopsy report said were chronically inflamed and had reduced capacity that might have left him short of breath.
He had surgery on his one of his knees. He did have depigmentation of the skin around his face, chest, abdomen and arms, corroborating reports that he had suffered from Vitiligo.

The Los Angeles County coroner's report shows that Michael Jackson was a fairly healthy 50-year-old before he died of an overdose. His 136 pounds were in the acceptable range for a 5-foot-9 man within doctors' "acceptable" range. His heart was strong with no sign of plaque buildup. And his kidneys and most other major organs were normal. He was fit and well fed.

He wasn't the sickly skeleton of a man portrayed by tabloids. His remaining hair, according to the report, was short and tightly curled. His face and neck were scarred. He had scars behind his ears and beside his nostrils, likely caused by cosmetic surgery. Michael also had tattooed eyebrows and lips.

Let's face it. He was 50, and like most 'stars', he tried to look good for us but it must have been sad for him to see himself in the mirror and see the "real" Michael Jackson.

Michael's arms were covered with puncture marks. Most likely he did have trouble sleeping. He was in pain both in body and mind. For over 20 years he suffered from Vitiligo and the last 6 months of his life, he had to come to terms that he had Alpha-1-anti-trypsin deficiency. Michael had chronic depression over being accused of being in court twice for child molestation.

I can't help but wonder if his illness had something to do with why he was divorced twice. It could had something to do with the 'real' Michael Jackson. He was not the man they hoped he would be because of his depigmentation which might had caused him to be shy about his body? This to could be another thing that had him depressed.

Yes, most of us say we loved Michael but we loved the 'super star' that he is. It is sad that very few of us really knew and loved him.