Gene Hackman’s wife ‘didn’t know’ how ill she was before death as doctor delivers heartbreaking update
Gene Hackman’s wife Betsy Arakawa “didn’t know how sick she was becoming” in her final days, according to the doctor she contacted shortly before her death.
Dr Josiah Child, who oversees Cloudberry Health, has said that Arakawa had initially scheduled an appointment for February 12 but cancelled it two days earlier.
“She called on the 10th saying that her husband was ill or wanted to take care of her husband,” Dr Child explained.
She called back on February 12 seeking advice for congestion, but displayed no serious symptoms.
“She had no shortness of breath or chest pain or fever or anything like that,” Dr Child claimed to Fox News Digital.
New evidence has revealed that Arakawa, wife of Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman, made multiple calls to a medical clinic on February 12, a day after she was initially thought to have died.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Arakawa’s phone was used to call Cloudberry Health, a concierge medical service, three times that morning.
This discovery has altered the timeline of the couple’s deaths, who were found in their New Mexico home on February 26.
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Authorities had previously estimated that Arakawa died on February 11 from hantavirus, a rare viral infection transmitted from rodents to humans.
The new information suggests she survived at least a day longer than initially believed.
The clinic attempted to contact her that afternoon when she failed to show up, but received no response on February 12.
“Our office called back several times and never got an answer,” Dr Child told the BBC.
During her call, Arakawa reportedly asked about what Cloudberry described as an “esoteric treatment” without elaborating further.
Hackman is believed to have died on February 18, approximately a week after his wife, as confirmed by the last recorded activity from his pacemaker.
The medical examiner determined that the 95-year-old actor died from hypertensive atherosclerosis cardiovascular disease, with advanced Alzheimer’s disease listed as a significant contributing factor.
Experts believe Hackman’s Alzheimer’s may have prevented him from realising his wife had died in their home.
The couple’s bodies were discovered in different areas of their house, with Hackman found in an entryway and Arakawa in the bathroom.
One of their three dogs, Zinna, was also found dead in a crate, having died from dehydration and starvation after a recent surgery.
Friends of the couple have spoken about their close relationship in a recent ABC News special report.
Kevin Bobolosky, described as the couple’s real estate broker, said: “Gene was a real guy’s guy. He was a gentle giant, very calm.”
“Betsy, I think, mostly did all the cooking and cleaning on this big estate, out of love. She just adored him,” he added.
Stuart Ashman, a former director of Santa Fe’s Museum of Fine Arts, recalled meeting Hackman in the mid-1990s.
“When he talked to you, nothing else existed,” Ashman said.
Stephan Marshall described Arakawa as “a lovely and charming woman” who was a classically trained pianist.