[ ]   [ ]   [ ]                        [ ]      [ ]   [ ]
LennytheB WILL recover!   

Posted by helenofjoy - Jul 26, 2014 - 2:12pm
I got to speak with my brother today and he was coherent, although still not in very good shape.  He is still with us though, and it looks like he will keep his foot and his ankle.  He may not be able to walk for months, but by golly he is alive!  He said of all the health challenges he has faced in his entire life, this is without a doubt the very worst.  This vibrio vulnificus bacteria apparently just goes right for complete destruction if it enters a compromised immune system.  Another man contracted the same bug and was in the next room of the hospital where Lenny is. He only lost a finger, but he got to go home already.  They offered to have Lenny's wife Joanne stay in their beach-front home with them instead of at the hotel while Lenny is hospitalized in Alabama.  She wants to be closer to the hospital, so she declined their generous offer.

Why they don't have more warning about this posted at beach restaurants seems inconceivable to me, as with our unhealthy diets and our polluted land, air and water, I would guess a greater number of us have compromised immune systems than 20 years ago.  I remember being told never to eat raw shellfish in the months that do not have an "r" in them - the summer months.  We learned this from childhood as we spent a lot of time at the shore, but I guess I just never realized it was because of bacteria like this and what it could do.  Some folks only get a mild form of food poisoning from this, some folks simply don't have any response to it at all.

I have his photo printed out and I keep it in front of me most of the day.  I am making every effort to stay positive, rested and healthy so I can generate healing energy to send into the universe for him.  I have called on every ancestor I know about to ask for help.  He is still in very bad shape and has some other complications, not the least of which is that this thing has almost destroyed his liver and he will most likely be on the transplant list and waiting for a donor.  He is accumulating fluids but can only breath well laying on his back.  They have him loaded up with dilaudid and he says he likes that because it lifts his mood while killing his pain.  They believe the bacteria has been cleared from his system.  I am grateful for that.

Thanks to those of you who offered positive thoughts and prayers and to the rest of you for just being here.  I know I haven't been posting much, but I do come in here to keep up with you all and to be able to laugh during what is a pretty rough time for my family.  I think its important to keep a good attitude.
15 comments on this journal entry.
onlylynne
Still here somewhere....
onlylynne Avatar

Location: On a bluff near the Missouri River


Posted: Aug 18, 2014 - 8:25pm

I hope your brother is continuing to improve.  {#Meditate}
What an awful thing to go through.
Coaxial
Shine On.
Coaxial Avatar

Location: 543 miles west of Paradis,1491 miles east of Paradise


Posted: Aug 8, 2014 - 5:08pm

{#Good-vibes}Great news, Helen, hope his recovery continues going strong.{#Good-vibes}
helenofjoy
What Day Is This?
helenofjoy Avatar

Location: Lincoln, Nebraska


Posted: Aug 8, 2014 - 7:24am

Way better news for Lenny!  His liver is working better and he is turning pink again instead of yellow!  They've changed wound dressings on damaged foot - I refuse to see the photos, but the docs at the hospital are pretty excited.  Overall, the care he has received at this wonderful hospital (South Baldwin Regional Medical Center) is simply amazing!  From the physicians to the nursing staff, techs and assistants - my brother has received what I think is the best care he could have had with this condition.  He still has some problems getting food into his gut, which he really needs to do to help with the healing process, but his outlook is positive and he is alert most of the time when he is awake and able to communicate.  Still has a great sense of humor!  They think he will be able to travel via ambulance back to Atlanta early this coming week.  {#Good-vibes}
helenofjoy
What Day Is This?
helenofjoy Avatar

Location: Lincoln, Nebraska


Posted: Jul 29, 2014 - 10:08am

Lenny is improving!  He is still fighting all this fluid rolling around and his inability to get up and about complicates getting rid of the fluid.  PT has begun though!  Still not at a point where he can travel back to Atlanta yet.  They will coordinate with the hospital and docs there when he is well enough to travel.  It's a 61/2 hour drive home. He has had 5 surgeries now in two weeks time.  He is a scrapper!  He still has a sense of humor!  He is very loved and we are all so grateful for the prayers and healing energy.  Tiny little steps but they are all in the right direction! {#Good-vibes}

http://www.wkrg.com/story/26156447/orange-beach-tourist-contracts-flesh-eating-bacteria
BlueHeronDruid

BlueHeronDruid Avatar

Location: planting flowers


Posted: Jul 29, 2014 - 12:41am

Please let him know we're here. For you too.
miamizsun

miamizsun Avatar

Location: (3261.3 Miles SE of RP)


Posted: Jul 28, 2014 - 1:52pm

{#High-five}

{#Good-vibes}
sirdroseph
Endeavor to Perservere
sirdroseph Avatar

Location: Yes


Posted: Jul 28, 2014 - 12:22pm

{#Good-vibes}{#Hug}
lily34
i need a bogle for my glotch.
lily34 Avatar

Location: GTFO


Posted: Jul 28, 2014 - 6:28am

you're awesome.
Antigone

Antigone Avatar

Location: A house, in a Virginian Valley


Posted: Jul 28, 2014 - 5:01am

{#Good-vibes} {#Hug}
ScottN
We're all riders on this train
ScottN Avatar

Location: Half inch above the K/T boundary


Posted: Jul 27, 2014 - 12:28pm

{#Good-vibes}   {#Dance} soon?
helenofjoy
What Day Is This?
helenofjoy Avatar

Location: Lincoln, Nebraska


Posted: Jul 27, 2014 - 11:43am

Lenny said he knew about the R rule, but hadn't thought of it in years!  Until this happened!  He said this is without a doubt the worst challenge he has ever faced in his life.
Coaxial
Shine On.
Coaxial Avatar

Location: 543 miles west of Paradis,1491 miles east of Paradise


Posted: Jul 27, 2014 - 9:24am

{#Pray}{#Meditate}{#Hug}
Alexandra
Living with passion
Alexandra Avatar

Location: PNW


Posted: Jul 27, 2014 - 7:53am


kurtster

kurtster Avatar

Location: drifting


Posted: Jul 26, 2014 - 7:31pm

Great news !  I remember the R rule now that you mentioned it.  Yep, a big part of growing up in California.  Hadn't thought about in forever.

Hang tough.  You know how to do this.  {#Hug} 
ScottFromWyoming
I eat pints
ScottFromWyoming Avatar

Location: Powell


Posted: Jul 26, 2014 - 2:43pm

Wow I guess I missed the original post... scary. As a kid raised in the desert, when I got to California and heard all the "rules" about when you could and could not eat shellfish, I just decided to play it safe but I did hear of some people who got quite ill when they broke the R rule.