I haven't said much in the Prince threads, because honestly, I wasn't very familiar with his work. I was trying to figure out why. And what I figured out, is that, the height of his popularity was one of the busiest times in my life, and, for a few reasons, I didn't listen to a lot of modern music. (A, I liked older music best, B, places where I worked either didn't play music, or played older music, and C) college studies and working took up most of my time.) At any rate, I understand how people feel because I felt the same way about Michael Jackson (and others, as I've said on another thread). I was really blown away when it came out that Michael died from propofol, because I knew, from working in a hospital, that that particular drug wasn't used outside of a hospital setting where stringent monitoring and advanced cardiac life support procedures were in place. I also couldn't believe a doctor would administer that to him in his home. And yes, I felt sorry that his life had become so sad and desperate, and angry that somehow he couldn't get help for his problems other than propofol for "sleep". Tragic. (I also remember a lot of people being critical on that thread.)
I do agree with the bolded above (although I might substitute "many" for "most), that many celebrities do struggle with addictions. Brian Wilson was mentioned (I realize for being a musical genius, not his addictions) so I will use him as an example. Brian and the rest of the Beach Boys made millions of dollars when they were just teenagers. Filthy rich at like, 16 or 17. Along with their money came access to drugs and really anything else they wanted. Brian took so many hallucinogenics he crashed and burned and didn't get out of bed for like three years at one point. (I'm not sure it's ever been exactly determined whether he had a longstanding psychiatric illness, but regardless, growing up he was relatively normal, if shy, but later on he became severely withdrawn and catatonic. Some question whether his drug use caused brain damage.) Brian has had a degree of recovery in more recent times, thankfully, but when he was on drugs he did some crazy things - like chasing his two girls' school bus buck naked (when he was like 300+lbs), boarding when it stopped, and asking schoolchildren if they had any drugs, while his daughters sat completely mortified. Today's drugs are different than those drugs. More available and more potent. Some are cheaper, as well. As we know from reading about celebrities, they battle demons just like anyone else. Drugs can be a mask for the hurt (and other emotions and dysfunctions) that are underneath. Celebrities may have more resources to buy drugs, and conceal their use. They also have people around them who will enable them.
Piecing together what I've read about Prince, it sounded like he really did have the flu - for a couple of weeks before his death. We also know he took opiates for his chronic pain issues, and didn't want to have surgery because of his religious beliefs, etc. One thing we know about people addicted to opiates is that they develop a tolerance, so that it takes higher doses to get the same effect as time goes on. His plane stopped unexpectedly in Illinois (?) on his way home last week, and reports were that he needed a "save shot" there (narcan, which means he had likely stopped breathing, or close to it), and that he refused a hospital stay because no private rooms were available (which I can't blame him for, if true - imagine the chaos and everyone trying to get footage with their phones). I mentioned on one of the "flu" threads a couple of weeks ago that I'd taken care of a man, younger than Prince, who came close to dying from the flu, and I understood, after caring for him, how people die from it. (And we have heard of lots of deaths from influenza this year.) This guy was so sick that he had to be intubated and ventilated (lungs), and even then, he had a rough go of it, developing ARDS (adult respiratory distress syndrome) and difficulty weaning off the vent. Eventually he came off, but he was left with organ failure, and his body was so deconditioned he couldn't even move on his own. Now this guy wasn't aiddicted to opiates (for whatever the reason), but imagine if he was, and imagine if he kept taking them, or had someone administer them to him, in that condition, at the same levels he was used to taking. (If anyone knows anyone who takes drugs for pain chronically, you know they HAVE TO HAVE THEM, RIGHT ON TIME, AND THEY WILL NOT TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER!) When organs are failing, or have failed, drugs don't get metabolized like they would normally, so they build up and take longer to clear. I wonder if this is what happene with Prince: if he was in such a weakened state from the flu, that the pain medication he was used to taking built up to toxic levels and unintentionally caused respiratory arrest, as it had several days before - but this time, he was alone. Supposedly his brother in law was telling people he'd been awake for many days straight, without sleep, as well. Certainly not saying this is exactly what happened, for sure, but if the pieces of information we're hearing are accurate, I could see this as a possibility.
I am not of the belief that people who "contribute to their own demise" are any less worthy of our care and sympathy than anyone else. None of us are perfect, and there but by the grace of God go I. As a nurse, I take care of all kinds of people. I try to educate them, but I don't sit in judgement of them. My father was a diabetic, as were many of his family members. I think it did contribute to his relatively early demise because he didn't take care of himself the way he should have, and it accelerated his cardiac disease. His sister learned from it, though, and despite her diabetes, lived, healthily, to 82. I do think we have a drug epidemic in this country and we have to fix it, because too many people are dying because of it. Changes have begun, thankfully, with laws evolving about prescription drug use and more programs to help people, rather than punish them, cropping up. Those are good things, as a start. If it turns out that Prince died of prescription medicine, I'm sure that will have an impact as well.
). Prince was a soundtrack to many lives -- music runs deep through our souls. Like my earlier post, we don't mourn the star we didn't know, we mourn the emotional impact he gave to our lives. Even my vet husband understands that! And most vets I personally know don't want the hoopla. They don't like the show.
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He encouraged people to celebrate, to "party like it's 1999," and many of his fans did and still do because of his lasting musical legacy. Having died at age 57, he once again teaches the importance of partying while one can, as, (regardless of how one dies,) we never know how much time we have here.
Because of our military, Prince was able to do some of the very things our military fight for: our freedom of expression, freedom of speech and the ability to have and voice a difference in opinions. Certain countries, like China & Russia, one would be persecuted for that. Exhibiting a difference in sexuality means death in some countries. Displaying a difference in wardrobe, just not allowed in other countries (and in many places here.) 
