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It reads like a normal obituary until you get to the part that says Paul Karason had blue skin.
Yes, you read that right. The man who died this week had a rare condition that caused his skin to turn the color of a ripe blueberry.
In 2008 Karason told The Today Show his skin was just as normal as can be until about 15 years ago.
It was then he began using silver to treat dermatitis.
He applied a silver cream and also took what was described as "a silver-based remedy."
He also drank something called colloidal silver. Karason admitted he made that remedy himself and downed about ten ounces complete with silver particles, every day.
Silver was a regularly used medicine until being outlawed by the FDA because it caused a condition known as argyria.
That causes silver to build up in the skin and other organs and brings on the blue coloration.
Karason battled other medical issues including prostate cancer and was said to have had a hard time finding a job.
"People are reluctant to hire blue people," he was heard to remark on more than one occasion.
“Papa Smurf” as children were known to call him was 62 when he died after having a heart attack.
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