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28. 07. 09. - 11:00

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28. 07. 09. - 11:00

Inside Jacko´s world by personal medic

Michael Leidig

A medic who became tragic pop icon Michael Jackson's personal doctor has told how the star was completely drugs free as recently as just six years ago.

Romanian-born Dr Alexie Ionache first met Jackson when he was a house doctor for the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas where the singer was staying in 1996.

But within days Jacko had asked the medic to join his personal staff, Dr Ionache told Libertatea newspaper.

"He had no need of my help as a doctor, but I called on him to make a routine check and he told me he always wanted to have a doctor with him to monitor his health.

"So we met and he asked me to come onto his staff as his personal doctor," he explained.

But Ionache claims that the troubled star had no health problems when he worked for him and was not taking cocktails of painkillers.

"Back in 2003, Michael was not receiving any treatment and never asked me for any painkillers. He was not dependent on anything," said the doctor.

But he would never go out in public without applying layers of special cream to help disguise his vitiligo - a skin pigmentation disorder, he revealed.

"The only thing he was very careful about was his was skin.

"He always covered his face in cream and wouldn't leave the house without make-up," added Dr Ionache.

"I examined him from head to toe and he was perfectly healthy. But the law in America forbids me to give information about the health of a patient," he explained.

The doctor became close to the star and regularly examined his three children during nearly 10 years as one of Jackson's medical team.

And he denies claims that Jackson had become a shambling wreck living an eccentric reclusive life.

"I went several times to his home and his place was clean and tidy. I could see he had a room where he kept his cash.

"He used to mention this room from time to time and every time, before leaving the house, he would go inside," he said.

But the doctor says Jackson was desperately lonely.

"He spent a lot of time with his kids. He played with them a lot and you could tell he loved them very much.

"He told me he did not like the fact that he could not go around like a normal person because of the fans and that he prefered living his life around the children.

"He could not go to a supermarket like a normal person.  When he did, his bodyguards would go ahead of him and evacuate the location so that he could have some privacy," he said.

But Dr Ionache has called on American authorities to jail whoever is responsible for the star's death after downing a cocktail of potent painkillers.

"The problem with the anesthetic propofol, or diprivan as it is called, is that it only stays in the blood two to three minutes.

"If the autopsy and the tests can prove the drug was still in his system at the time of his death then whoever administered it, should go to prison.

"This drug cannot be used at home but only in medical clinics," he said.

But despite his own troubles Jackson always had time to help others, said the doctor who lost touch with the star after his 2005 world tour was cancelled amid child sex allegations.

The medic lost touch with Jacko after his 2005 tour was cancelled over the child sex accusations the star faced, and beat.

He once saw the singer make a 45,000 USD cash donation to a charity to help a child with a rare skin condition.

"I was at his home when his dermatologist came over and showed him a special case. Michael went into another room and immediately brought him the money the charity needed," he said.

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