<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

A bunch of people mentioned refractory sprue.

"I would think that the only reason he would be taking pills would be for refractory sprue. Some people take steroids for this, and the tube maybe a feeding tube??"

"I would say he had a severe form of Celiac, sometimes referred to as Refractory Sprue.  In these cases the diet will not work on its own.  You can read about it at www.celiac.com or the Mayo clinic."

"Maybe he had such extensive damage to his system that he had to be taking supplements, etc on a daily basis just to stay alive in addition to the gf diet.  The tubes could very easily have been bc he couldn't digest food properly and that was the only way to get it in his system."

Other people found additional material about the person in question:

FROM http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/nirvana1/Rock_Death.html
"Joe had something called celiac disease. Celiac disease is a fairly common intestinal disorder, although most people can control it just fine through diet. But Joe had a particular serious case since he was very, very young and it somehow led to other complications that stunted his growth. It also messed up his kidneys to the point were he was taking up 72 pills and spending up to eight hours hooked up to a kidney dialysis machine." 

FROM http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/nirvana1/Rock_Death.html
"Joe was less than three feet tall. His buddies used to stand on him on the tables down front. At first, Kid Rock thought that someone kept bringing their child to all his gigs. But when Joe showed up backstage with a fistful of joints one night, the truth came out. Joe had something called celiac disease. Celiac disease is a fairly common intestinal disorder, although most people can control it just fine through diet. But Joe had a particular serious case since he was very, very young and it somehow led to other complications that stunted his growth. It also messed up his kidneys to the point were he was taking up 72 pills and spending up to eight hours hooked up to a kidney dialysis machine."

FROM http://slick.org/deathwatch/mailarchive/msg00131.html
"Joe C. had suffered since childhood with Celiac disease, and as a result stood at only 3-foot-9-inches. His health maintenance regimen had included taking 65 pills a day and daily dialysis treatment. Despite this, he had been in good health, and his death was unexpected, a label publicist said."


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