Sometimes you can talk to the coroner directly and tell him your situation I did that when my dad died as my brother lived in Oregon and I lived in New Mexico my dad lived in Georgia the coroner came thru for us. You live in a large city but it's worth a try. You would be surprised what you can get if you just ask and explain your situation.
Thanks, JP. I did talk to the ME's office and they were super nice. It is in Houston, where my brother lived. They finally issued a pending death certificate which we
may be able to pick up on Friday. Since my brother died at home and he was only 50, the medical examiner autopsied him to find out why he died. They told me yesterday that, of course, there was no sign of foul play but there was also no grossly apparent cause of death - he didn't have another heart attack. So his fluids and tissues have been sent for multiple studies and it may take 4-6 months.
It could have been a problem with one of his heart meds. He got a letter yesterday from WalMart Pharmacy titled "Urgent Drug Recall". It seems one of his heart meds could have been from a lot that contained twice the amount of digitalis than it should have. The letter said to stop taking this med and call your doc immediately for further instruction. It said too much of this drug can cause sudden death.
I called the ME's office to tell them about this. They had taken all of his meds with them when they came to collect his body so I couldn't check the lot numbers on his prescription. They asked if I could fax them the letter and they would pay special attention to his digitalis levels.
I got home after midnight last night because my son's 16th birthday is tomorrow. Then it's back to Houston again on Saturday. Honestly, there has been so much to do and my mom's health is so poor that I've really been on auto-pilot for the past 2 weeks. Driving home last night it finally hit me and I cried all the way home. It was a really good cry. And even though my eyes are still swollen today and I look like crap, I feel much better. I know this is all TMI and I thank you for being my good friends who will let me vent this stuff.