[SIERA] Update on Bob Evans, N6YMA's Condition

[Wplewis2 at cs.com]

Hello to all,

This is the latest information about Bob's condition.  Merrily's email came 
this morning (12/24/04), and I am passing it on to SIERA, DCART, and CVRC to 
help her keep you all informed.  

Will Lewis, KD7NIR



Dear All, 
Thank you for all of your inquiries about Bob's condition since this latest 
surgery. I wish I could talk to you each individually, but it is just not 
possible at this time.

 Bob had a resection of the vena cava done Monday morning at Stanford Medical 
Center. At this writing he is still in ICU. His recovery is not following the 
path we would have liked, but he is holding his own at the moment. Every 
night that I don't get a call from the hospital is a good night! He has had 
multiple blood clots that have caused breathing problems, circulation problems, and 
renal failure. For a time they thought they would have to put him on a 
respirator, but he hung in there and has been breathing successfully since then. They 
are, however doing dialysis as his remaining kidney had no function for a 
couple of days, and now has very limited function. Tuesday and Wednesday 
afternoon they performed procedures to clear out the clots and restore renal function, 
and have had some success, but not enough as yet. 

Sadly he will not be out of intensive care for Christmas, so the caroling 
that we had planned won't happen, but we will be spending much of the day with 
him. Freja Jeanne, Dan and Chris have all be in to visit frequently and I have 
been spending every afternoon/evening with him. I carry with me messages of 
love and encouragement from his many friends and family which Bob appreciates so 
much.

 We have every reason to believe that he will recover from this surgery, it 
will just take longer than we had planned. The entire medical team at Stanford 
has been very communicative and informative with us and we feel comfortable 
and confident in their care.

 We wish you all a beautiful Christmas. Our Christmas may be a little unusual 
this year, but we have so many wonderful friends and such a great family that 
the beauty and peace of Christmas is with us, giving us the strength to make 
it through each day. We know is a very tangible way that we are in the Lord's 
care and so can joyfully celebrate His coming.

 Love to all, merrily