The legendary Mexican singer Vicente Fernández died in a hospital in the city of Guadalajara on Sunday 12 in December. He was 81 years old. His health had deteriorated after a fall he suffered in August.
On August 6, the singer known as “El Rey” suffered a fall at his ranch in Guadalajara, in Jalisco, in the that his spine was severely damaged. It was then that they discovered that Fernández suffered from Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Segán explains the ADAM medical library, and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS, for its acronym in English) is a serious health problem that occurs when the body’s defense system (immune system) attacks part of the peripheral nervous system by mistake. This leads to nerve inflammation causing muscle weakness or paralysis and other symptoms.
GBS damages parts of the nerves. This nerve damage causes tingling, muscle weakness, loss of balance, and paralysis. This syndrome most often affects the covering of the nerve (myelin sheath ). This damage is called demyelination. This leads to nerve signals moving more slowly. Damage to other parts of the nerve can cause the nerve to stop working.
It is more common in people among the 30 and 50, which, although there is no cure, can cope with the condition with treatment and therapies. But in older adults like Fernández, the cataract of debilitating symptoms generates a more serious prognosis.
At the end of October, Fernández presented an improvement, and he left the intensive care unit, but towards the end of November his health begins to plummet.
The death of an idol
A fan of the The Bee Gees said on his blog when Robin Gibb died in 2011, that the best way to mourn the death of one of his idols was to listen to his music.
There is no doubt that in thousands of houses, cars, in the small space of iPods these days the music of Vicente Fernández, “El Rey” will sound more than ever.
The same happened with Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, Whitney Houston. With them, the resource of collective celebration also worked for many. Spontaneously, groups gather in front of the houses of the deceased, in the corners of the neighborhoods where they were born, carrying photos, humming and dancing to their popular songs.
According to the psychologist Jorge Bucay, something fundamental is not to feel ashamed for crying to the lost idol.
In one of his books that make up the series “Roadmaps”, tells the process of mourning and this includes stages in which crying plays a central place.
It is that when the idol, the artist, in this case the dear Vicente , die, a loved one is dying.
“We must not feel ridiculous because we are crying for someone we definitely do not know , that artist for us is part of our lives, he is important, he is our friend, he guides us with his music, “said American Idol host Ryan Seacrest when the death of Michael Jackson was known on 25 June 2009.
It was very difficult to to the drivers who covered the tragedy, detach from the information and remain objective.
In the case of fans, the sinuous line of objectivity does not exist.
According to Bucay, you have to allow yourself to mourn, express that sadness and celebrate the life and art of the lost idol. The process is known as “opening the heart to pain.”
And this process encompasses 20 specific steps, ranging from admitting that the person you love died, to moving on. In the middle: acceptance, crying, depression and the click that indicates at some point that life goes on and that good memories must remain.
The process of grief
Faced with a difficult moment, such as the loss of a loved one or an idol, many people experience a process known as grief. This consists of a series of feelings ranging from pain to sadness, with periods of anger and even desperate attempts to deny what happened.
Collective grief is a process in which there are massive and shared reactions of grief that occur when there is the death of someone known. Like all mourning, it unleashes psychosocial and psychological processes that are set in motion before the tragic event.
And, as people we experience grief in our own way. There are even common stages to the grieving process, which begins with acknowledging the loss and continues until it is finally accepted. Depending on the circumstances of death, the person’s response to grief will be different.
One way to describe this process is through five stages, which are not presented in one order and are not experienced by all people: 1) denial, daze and disbelief, 2) anger, blaming others, 3) making promises, 4) depressed mood, sadness and crying, and 5) acceptance.
Family and friends can offer emotional support during a process like this. And, as in the case of the death of a mythological singer like Vicente Fernández, knowing that the person is not alone with their pain will also help.