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PATAGONIA, Ariz. - A 59-year-old southern Arizona woman who survived two hours in a deadly Sedona sweat lodge on Oct. 8 is suing self-help guru James Arthur Ray. Her attorney is calling the sweat lodge a "death trap."
Sidney Spencer said she paid $9,000 to attend the 5-day "Spiritual Warrior" retreat. Spencer was one of 21 people who fell ill while sitting in a 120-degree makeshift sweat lodge that was supposed to cleanse the body and take people to another spiritual level. Three people died.
Spencer, of Patagonia, Ariz., says James Arthur Ray coerced and intimidated people to stay inside the tent -- to conquer their discomfort. That was despite reports that people were screaming for water, vomiting and passing out.
Spencer was taken by helicopter to Flagstaff Medical Center -- and she says she nearly died from kidney and liver failure.
"When she came to, she was spitting up blood, she had double vision, she was in intensive care for four and a half days," says Spencer's attorney, Ted Schmidt.
"There were numerous times when people attempted to leave. He did not physically restrain them, but he told the group, 'You stick it out, you have to stick it out, break through your barrier,'" says Schmidt.
In an interview with AP earlier this week, a 43-year-old survivor from Texas, Beverly Bunn, says that Ray was dismissive of participants' cries for help. Bunn recalls hearing someone cry from within the tent, "I can't get her to move, I can't get her to wake up!" to which Ray apparently responded, "Leave her alone, she'll be dealt with in the next round."
Bunn says the 5-day retreat began with days of physically-demanding exercises and stringent fasting, all culminating in the sweat lodge ceremony. |
