URGENT- Don Souden Has Had A Stroke

[Archaic]

Lets see... I found essential oils that dcome in the exciting scents of leather, beer, scones, red wine, firewood.

Oh and bacon.

Close, but you forgot stewed eels and mash.

We could let him off easy and substitute fish & chips, but seeing as he's an historian i think Don would want the full Whitechapel Experience.

Archaic

[belinda]

Yes Jellied Eels for that authentic Cockney experience

[Archaic]

Update

I have a bit of an update on Don. He called me both day before yesterday and yesterday- which is an improvement, because before he just sent me blank texts & then I would try to call him, often without success.

They are still treating his stomach infection. They are also still treating him for pneumonia, which I had thought was over now but apparently not- though his voice does sound less congested. That he has both pneumonia and a stomach infection at the same time cannot be good, especially as it has forced them to stop his blood clot-busting meds. At least he isn't insulin-dependent anymore & is managing his Diabetes with 1 pill a day.

When I asked about the Cardio stress test, he said they loaded him in an ambulance, drove him to the hospital, he waited around a long time having coffee and a muffin, then they didn't even do the test, just put him back in the ambulance and drove him back to the care facility. I asked if his Cardiologist- his favorite Dr, because he tells the truth - was there and he said No. Don didn't know what it all meant; he felt it was just a big waste of time and money.

I don't know if that means the hospital was overbooked or something, or if it means that they thought his system couldn't even take the stress test. That's worrying.
I asked his sister & she was waiting for the doctor to talk to their older brother, and he will then tell her. So I'll update this when i hear any news.

Yesterday Don called me when I was outside in a huge windstorm checking on my horses. The wind & trees were roaring and Don asked what that noise was, so I told him I had lost my electricity due to the storm & was just checking how the horses were doing. I had to assure him I was fine, the critters were fine, and the power would come back on soon.

Don and his room-mate were talking about what kind of pizza they wanted to order... which of course they can't.

- Isn't that what prisoners of war do, fantasize about ordering the food they can't get?

I think they need to have Pizza Day at the care facility. It can be gluten-free, low-sodium and super-healthy, but just give those poor people some damn pizza!

I wish there were pizza flavored lonzenges I could send him. The only semi-pizza-flavored things I can think of are Doritos or Cheetos, but those are obviously unhealthy... plus, the orange crumbs & fingers will give him away.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Archaic

[Errata]

They absolutely do not give coffee to people getting a cardiac stress test. It blows the results. If they came out and there he was with coffee and a muffin, they probably just cancelled the test. If they gave him the coffee and the muffin, either they already knew they weren't going to give him the test, or they were idiots. But either way they should be communicating with him. He needs to insist on it.

[Archaic]

I'm sure they only gave him the muffin and decaf coffee after they'd decided they were not going to administer the stress test. I took my own father for cardio tests zillions of times; there are standard procedures.

But either way they should be communicating with him. He needs to insist on it.

Not only are they not communicating with Don, they're not communicating with his family. His brother is so angry about all of them getting the run around from the medical staff that he said he isn't going to pay the monthly bill until the doctor calls him with a full report. (Don's brother has power of attorney for him while he's been ill.)

It sounds to me like this place is a huge bureaucracy. When Don told me the Cardiologist was his favorite doctor, I asked why, and he answered "Because he tells it to me straight... he tells me the truth."

My Dad's cardiologist was like that too... I guess they have to be. But all doctors should tell it to you straight.

There's a 'Patients Bill Of Right' in this country. There's a "right to know." The American Medical Association says: "Patients have a right to know their past and present medical status and to be free of any mistaken beliefs concerning their conditions."

Don is very intelligent and capable of understanding his own health situation.

I'm going to suggest to Don's brother that he file written complaints. I think he needs to go over the heads of the people he's been dealing with. I'll call him today.

Poor Don. Wish I wasn't 3,000 miles away. I'd get results, even if i had to knock some heads together!

Please keep Don in your thoughts and prayers. I know his medical status is rather poor, but now I'm worried that something in his medical situation is even worse than we realize, and that's why they aren't being forthcoming with him.

Thanks,
Archaic

[Errata]

Please keep Don in your thoughts and prayers. I know his medical status is rather poor, but now I'm worried that something in his medical situation is even worse than we realize, and that's why they aren't being forthcoming with him.

Thanks,
Archaic

Don't jump to that conclusion. The usual reason is that when you get a large bureaucracy, everybody thinks somebody else is responsible. The Doc thinks the nurse talked to him, the nurse think the tech talked to him, the tech thinks the doctor did. And then when you finally get irritated enough with them, it so hard for them to find the file that it becomes a production. I have never in my life heard of a doctor concealing a serious medical condition that he was not the cause of (except with kids, but not their parents). I've heard of a couple doctors who left forceps in a patient downplaying it, but thats it. If something was serious, they would tell him. Probably he is passing every test with fair grades, and since that is unremarkable, it is going unremarked. But no one person is seeing him often enough to realize he might be getting worried.

He can ask for copies of every test result he gets. It's usually a quick printing affair. He can then take them back with him and discuss the results with the nurses. I mean, thats sort of a plan b, because he should be getting it from the docs. Of course another option (one that I favor) is refusing to get dressed and leave the exam room until I've talked to the doctor. They want that exam room. They want it badly. They can't throw you out of it. That 8 foot square room is the most valuable hostage you can take. When the doc comes, he should ask four simple questions. "What was this exam/test/image for?" "What are the results of this test?" "What does that result mean for me?" "What is my prognosis?". If they tell him they don't have the results yet, say, it has to be sent out, then he needs to tell them that for "legal reasons" he needs a hard copy of the test results, mailed to him is fine, as well as official notification of the results by a doctor. Phone calls are acceptable as long as the doctor is willing to carve out 10 minutes for the call, to answer any questions. And then he needs to ask him for a copy of the patient's bill of rights, which every hospital has for the purpose of giving them to patients.

And then he needs to thank the nurses effusively. First of all, they go through hell, even if not with him, and secondly nurses are the ones who get things done, and greasing the wheels never hurt anyone.

[belinda]

So sorry to hear Don's having so many problems.Give him my best wishes

[Archaic]

So sorry to hear Don's having so many problems.Give him my best wishes

I will, Belinda.

I don't know how Don copes with this all. In a few weeks it will be one year since he almost died of diabetes and was hospitalized, then put in a nursing facility for physical rehab. In the beginning of August he had recovered so well he was about to move into a new apartment, then all of this happened.

So much suffering and so many disappointments, but he still manages to joke about it. Apparently there is a swallowing issue, which is part of why his diet is so restricted. I'm trying to find out more. But I know from experience with my own father that it's a critical health issue. One can lose the ability to swallow after suffering neurological damage. If the ability to swallow is compromised badly enough it comes down to whether the patient wants a feeding tube or not... it's pretty awful.

Don told me again he's very grateful for all the postcards & notes people are sending him; they really brighten up the monotony. Please keep them coming, they do him so much good emotionally and psychologically, and help him practice his reading. He said he's doing better and can read some of the text in magazines and newspapers, thank God.

You are welcome to send photos too - of you, your pets, where you live, interesting sites, etc. I just rescued a big dapple gray horse named 'Peanut' whose owner died in a motorcycle accident, and the estate executor sold all 4 of his beautiful horses straight to the kill-buyer. Peanut was being adopted out of the kill-lot where they fatten the horse for slaughter, then it fell through at the last minute and he was at his deadline to be trailered to Mexico or Canada for slaughter. So I bought him "long-distance" via the internet & PayPal. I just felt like i needed to do something really positive as there's been so much sad news about friends lately, and it was the one year anniversary of Linda's (Celesta) sudden death.

Don's been very interested in how Peanut is settling in- asks me every single time I talk to him. He has asked me to send him a photo of Peanut. I can't email or text it, so this morning I printed a color photo for him & am popping it in the mail.

Don's really starved for interesting news about his friends, so if you have any kind of news - a good book you've read, research you are doing, a funny story, a pet photo, a joke, an idea for an article for his next magazine project (which he's already planning) anything, he'd love to hear.

Thanks,
Archaic

[Archaic]

Good News!

Despite the stomach infection, blood clots and pneumonia there is finally some good news...

During his PT session,

DON TOOK 4 STEPS HOLDING ONTO THE PARALLEL BARS!

[belinda]

That's wonderful news!

[Mayerling]

Despite the stomach infection, blood clots and pneumonia there is finally some good news...

During his PT session,

DON TOOK 4 STEPS HOLDING ONTO THE PARALLEL BARS!

It's a good start! May it continue for Don.

[Archaic]

More Good News!!!!

Don called me tonight with some terrific news-

yesterday he was able to walk 6 steps on the parallel bars!

He said his therapist was really surprised and impressed. They said that the 4 steps he took the other day was such a huge achievement that they expected Don to be worn out and not be able to repeat his feat for a little while, much less surpass it.

Don said today he had "the let down" at PT; after doing so well and walking twice, he said today he "couldn't get up off the floor." I wasn't sure exactly what he meant and asked if he he had fallen, but he said, "No, I just couldn't get up off the floor."
So I think maybe his legs sagged underneath him when he tried to take a step and he ended up sitting on the floor. I told him it was fine; that's how rehab goes.

Don sounded great, very sharp and energetic. He had so much mental energy he amazed me! He's so determined to get out of that place. I have a feeling that when he gets to where he can walk or wheel himself out the side door, he's gonna take off, and the nurses and therapists will all have to run to catch him...probably has his Great Escape all planned out. I suspect he will make a bee-line to the nearest Italian pizzeria.

Don talked a mile a minute about all kinds of Ripper stuff- ideas he has for articles, his excitement about the upcoming conference, stories from the Wolverhampton Ripper Conference that he attended, etc.

(I forget if Wolverhampton is the conference he was talking about recently when he suddenly remarked, "...and Philip Hutchinson stole my salad." Watch out, Don tells me the real low-down! )

He's dying to hear some news about this year's conference- it would be wonderful if some of you attending could send Don a quick postcard from London.

He told me looks at his cards, photos & postcards over and over, and plans trips to visit his friends and see interesting new places.

Thanks everybody.
Archaic

[Robert]

That's great news! I don't suppose these things go in straight lines - he's bound to have quiet days - but the important thing is that the level rises overall. And his mental state sounds marvellous.

[belinda]

Yes it's bound to be up and down but it sounds like he is making great breakthroughs. Is he planning a trip to Australia

[Errata]

Tell him that Charlie tunnel comes out just beyond the treeline.