Chulsey Graham - RIP

[Chris250]

Saturday night, January 29, Chulsey Graham, top NPC National Bodybuilder, was with his wife Tonia and his three daughters in his McKinney, Texas home. He was recovering from back surgery he had the day before. Just to let everyone know, Chulsey's back problems had been very well documented as you can see for yourself in the video below.
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Chulsey decided, after much deliberation, that he couldn't continue to progress in his training without going under the knife. I spoke to Graham family friend and NPC Judge and posing coach, Sheilahe Brown, today and she explained that she spoke to Chulsey the Friday before the surgery and he seemed pretty comfortable and confidant with the routine back surgery he was going to undergo.

Graham's back surgery was a success, and his close friend IFBB Pro Charles Dixon spoke to him to him the following day. Dixon described Graham as being "out of it", and "groggy". This isn't that strange as the effects of anesthesia depend greatly from person to person. That Saturday
<TABLE border=0 align=right><TBODY><TR><TD>

</TD></TR><TR><TD>Chulsey Graham (l) and Charles Dixon (r)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
night Graham experienced some pain from the surgery and took some of his prescribed pain medication. After taking the pain meds, he laid down to rest, and, an hour or so later, his wife Tonia checked on him and found him dead.

Obviously, when something tragic like this occurs everyone starts to wonder how this could possibly have happened to a 39 year old man, in good health. Current speculation is that Graham, like many large bodybuilders (myself included), have varying degrees of sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is defined as a sleep disorder characterized by abnormal "pauses" in breathing or instances of abnormally low breathing, during sleep. Each "pause" in breathing, called an apnea, can last from a few seconds to minutes, and may occur 5 to 100 times or more every hour.

The autopsy hasn't been performed yet, but what the doctors currently believe is that the anesthesia plus the pain meds, inconjunction with SEVERE obstructive sleep apnea, depressed Chulsey's breath to the point of resperatory failure.

From all accounts, Chulsey was a great friend, father, husband, and bodybuilder, and he will be sorely missed.

 

[meow]

Sad.. r.I.p.

 

[big in vegas]

That's a terrible story...Fucking nuts that something like this can happen and does more regularly than we all think