Anguish exploited

I am writing in reference to your April 13-14 feature story on the rescue by Bangor firefighters of the gentleman who had jumped into the Kenduskeag Stream. The swift-water rescue was both commendable and newsworthy. The fact that the fire department was practicing cold-water rescue just a half-mile upstream certainly offered added interest.

However, I was appalled to see the man’s anguished face in full color with his name printed immediately beneath the photo. I am a student nurse who was present in the Eastern Maine Medical Center emergency department when he was brought in. The skill of the staff as they worked to preserve his life and the sensitivity with which they dealt with him stands in stark contrast to the blatant sensationalism exhibited by the Bangor Daily News. This man’s privacy deserved your protection. Instead, your irresponsibility and lack of compassion resulted in the exploitation of a vulnerable human being. Sandra J. Homer Dover-Foxcroft