URGENT- Don Souden Has Had A Stroke

[Steadmund Brand]

Hello

I was just wondering if there was any update on Don... My thoughts are still with him.

Steadmund Brand--

[Archaic]

Update On Don

Hi Steadmund.

I just got an update on Don last night from his sister and was going to post it today. I haven't been able to talk to him yet but she was finally able to do so.

She said Don sounded really good. He was able to go and eat in the dining room with others for the first time since his stroke last August. (He has been eating in bed up til now.)
Don can't operate a wheelchair by himself due to the stroke damage, so a nurse or aide must have pushed him. Just getting out of his room and amongst other people is a very positive thing for him.

Apparently they had a little Easter service this weekend for Palm Sunday/Holy Week/Passover, and Don said he took communion for the first time in a long time.

He joked to his sister that he is "officially old" because some children came in to sing for the residents and gave them Easter plants which made them all smile.

His sister and I are so happy that Don was able to get out of bed, get out of his little room, and socialize with others. We're especially pleased that he could participate in a holiday celebration and see happy children.

Now if we can just get him to be able to go outside for a little while, into the sunlight and fresh air and maybe into a garden... That would be so wonderful!

I guess it's a good reminder for all of us to remember to appreciate the "little things in life", which are actual quite profound when you are deprived of them.

Take care,
Archaic

[GUT]

Him going to the dining room is a BIG step.

Outside next, them maybe home.

Go Don.

[Hunter]

Indeed they are, Bunny. Indeed they are.

This is inspiring news about Don. Thanks very much.

Have a happy and pleasant Easter y'all.

[Steadmund Brand]

Wonderful news!!! thank you so much for sharing....Please tell him we are all behind him cheering him on in his recovery


Steadmund Brand

[Archaic]

You're welcome everyone. I'll keep posting as I learn anything new.

I sent Don a funny Easter card.

It shows a 'Far Side' type cartoon of a little chocolate Easter bunny laying on a psychiatrist's couch while the shrink scribbles notes, and the chocolate rabbit is saying,
"I don't know what it is, Doc... I just feel so hollow inside..."

Happy Easter everybody.
Bunny

PS: Please keep the postcards, cards and letters coming so Don knows his friends are thinking of him. I tell him, but a card from you says it better.

[Robert]

I think we should hide Don's Easter eggs in Africa, China and Europe, then he'll be forced to get fit for that world tour.

[Cogidubnus]

Great stuff Bunny...really good news of Don being in far better spirits!

All the best

Dave

[Archaic]

Announcing Official Joke Drive for Don!

I think we should hide Don's Easter eggs in Africa, China and Europe, then he'll be forced to get fit for that world tour.

Good idea Robert. Science has proven that chocolate is one of the world's great motivators.

Hi Dave. I'm hoping that Don still has the recent room-mate who used to be a professional an actor, because Don really enjoyed chatting with him.

I heard part of The Prairie Home Companion's annual joke show on National Public Radio, and fortunately caught a pretty good Baseball joke, so I added it to Don's Easter card:

"I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger... And then it hit me."

(I bet $5 that Don has told that joke to every single person he's seen or spoken with since receiving the card!)

Does anybody have any other good jokes to share with Don?

I think we need to do an official Joke Drive for Don... You can send it to him on a postcard (that's the best way) or post it here & I'll pass it along.

Thanks,
Bunny

[Archaic]

Don's Address...Send Your Jokes!

Fairview of Fairfield
ATTN: DON SOUDEN
930 Mill Hill Terrace
Southport, CT
06890
USA

If you have any kind of regional jokes - say Haggis jokes or Cricket jokes - please send those, he'll love them.

Maybe Don can enjoy some vicarious international travel via your jokes.

Thanks,
Archaic

PS: Please remember it helps Don to be able to read them himself if you use large legible block-printing. Thanks, guys!

[Archaic]

Update on Don's Medical Condition

Hi everyone.

Today Don's sister told me Don's doctors have stopped one of his medications because "his liver isn't doing very well." He is scheduled to have some tests.

I asked if the medication they stopped was one that has been helping to stop his body from forming dangerous blood clots. She isn't sure, but is going to ask the doctors, and try to get more details.

I will update this thread as I learn anything new.

Please continue to keep Don in your thoughts and prayers.

Thank you,
Archaic

[Sam Flynn]

Please continue to keep Don in your thoughts and prayers.

I'm sure we all will, Archaic. Regards to Don and family.

[Archaic]

Hi Sam, how are you?

I'll tell Don and his family. They appreciate everyone's concern, kindness and prayers very much.

I just found out his roommate, the retired actor, recovered and went home. I'm pretty bummed about that. Don enjoyed their conversations so much, and it was so good for him.

So Don really needs support from his old friends.

I wrote him a postcard today that says,
"I told everyone at Casebook you are on holiday at The Seaside Home...to make them believe it, you might have to steal an ashtray."

Hope that makes him laugh.

Take care,
Bunny

[Sam Flynn]

Hi Sam, how are you?

I'll tell Don and his family. They appreciate everyone's concern, kindness and prayers very much.

Thanks, Bunny. If you tell him that the atheist Sam Flynn is praying for him, it might raise a chuckle

[Archaic]

Hi Sam.

I'll be sure to tell Don that he has at least one Conversion Of The Heathen to his credit.

Don has told me many times that he's very touched to know that people care about him enough to take a minute to think of him, send him positive energy, and remember him in their prayers.

He always says "You know, Bunny, I really think it's helping!"

He's also touched that his friends continue to send him cards. This is definitely the best and almost only way to reach him now, as he has continual difficulties with his phone and his Ipad was stolen, which sadly took away any hope of email access.

Cards & postcards that a nurse or friend or relative can help him read when Don isn't able to do so himself are his lifeline to the world now. Don loves to know what books people are reading, what kind of research they're doing, what they think of the articles they've read, any trips they've taken, etc.

Please don't think you have to have something 'exciting' to write about in order to justify a postcard... All the ordinary things people are doing are of interest to Don, stuck inside that boring care facility. If you cooked a good meal (or even a bad one!), planted a garden, or got a puppy, he'd love to hear about it.

In fact, Don has told me a couple of times that told me that he "wasn't a big animal person before", but now he "finds himself very interested in animals", and in his friends' pets in particular.

He always asks about my horses and my dog, and even remembers their names and the comical things they've done. I sent Don a funny photo of my Appaloosa mare named Pokey who adopted a neighbor's chicken. It kept escaping the coop to come over and sit on her stall gate and just hang out with her.
Don finds that story very entertaining, and likes to be able to tell others about it. He desperately needs funny or interesting new stories to muse over and tell people, as very little that's funny or interesting ever happens in the care facility.

Feel free to send Don photos of yourself, your pets, the trips you've taken, the cake you baked, the pub you visited, anything; he will be so happy to receive them. (Please write names etc on the back of photos.)

And if you have any good message boards "gossip", please throw that in as well!

Thanks everyone,
Bunny