Shannon Price, the ex wife of late actor Gary Coleman, has defended herself for taking the Diff'rent Strokes star off life support.
While taking a polygraph test on A&E show Lie Detector: Truth or Deception, Price was asked if she physically caused Coleman to fall, which led to his death. After answering 'No,' Price failed the exam. In May 2010, the actor was comatose after suffering from the fall, causing him to have an intracranial hemorrhage. Just two days after being hospitalized, Price requested that the hospital take her ex-husband off life support, despite his living will asking that he be kept alive for fifteen days after the termination of treatment. Coleman died at 42 years old.
According to People, in an upcoming episode of Lie Detector, Price explained why she took Coleman off life support. The former spouses were married from 2007 to 2008.
Price said she had "no choice," continuing, "He had gone into cardiac arrest, and that is ultimately what took his life."
Price says she was contacted by the hospital about Coleman having a "Do Not Resuscitate Order" and that she tried "everything in my will" to keep the entertainer alive. She added that while visiting the hospital that Thursday, doctors told her that they did not believe Coleman would make it to the next day.
"Meaning his condition is not going to get any better. I made the right decision," she explained.
Price added that she "asked the questions" and "saw the condition he was in," but "knew" that Coleman would not pull through.
"I mean, he was basically already gone. And I said, 'Okay, are his eyes dilated?'" she continued. "And they said, 'Yes.' And I said, 'Okay, can I see?' And they showed me, and that’s when I knew."
Although the two were no longer married, Coleman was named advanced medical directive of Coleman's, meaning that she oversaw his end-of-life treatment. Price went on to call their divorce "a mistake."
"There’s two things I regret: divorcing him, and not being able to save his life," she said.
Price also reflected on the 911 call she made upon Coleman's fall, acknowledging that she could've done more to render aid.