For more than 25 years, Minnesotans have turned on WCCO-TV and turned to Don Shelby, anchor and investigative reporter. Off the air, locals know that Shelby is an active rock climber, canoeist and sports enthusiast. So when Shelby was suddenly hit by two strokes in 2004, it was big local news.
Doctors discovered that Shelby had a hole between the upper chambers of his heart –- a hole that exists in infants, but which normally closes. Blood clots that normally are filtered by the lungs jumped through the hole in Shelby's heart and went to his brain, causing the strokes. So last summer Shelby began planning with his doctor a procedure to patch the hole with an experimental device. He reflected on these events in an in-depth interview with me.
Shelby said he saw better than ever before how commercial interests in the health care industry try to influence television news –- often successfully. His doctor reported to Shelby, "You're causing quite a stir. I've heard from several companies and they all want their device in you." A number of companies eventually made offers to Shelby, clearly interested in promoting the fact that this well-known anchorman used their device. One offered a free device, another a discounted device, and a third offered a free trip to Europe to have the procedure done there if his insurance wouldn't pay for it here.
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