July/August

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=50 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="0ab0ce82egerdp.png"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=95 BGCOLOR="#CC99CC" TEXT="#080000" background="0aa265f1ezuady.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>Hynda and Nolan's  Rome and Other Adventures</B></FONT><B>  </B><B> </B><B>|   </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hynda and Nolans Rome and Other Adventu"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id237.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Lonnie Chronicles"><U>The Lonnie Chronicles</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id238.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="2010 May/June"><U>2010 - May/June</U></A>   |   <B>July/August</B>   |   <A HREF="id243.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="September/October"><U>September/October</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id266.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="November/December"><U>November/December</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id269.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="2011 January/February"><U>2011 - January/February</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id271.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="March/April/May"><U>March/April/May</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id298.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="June/July/August/September"><U>June/July/August/September</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id241.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Bad Bus Trip"><U>The Bad Bus Trip</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=385 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFF33" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>July/August</I></div> <div> <B>Tuesday, July 6:</B> Arrived in the afternoon and found Lonnie's bed empty. Went back to the nurse's station to find out if he had been moved. They said he had not and I returned to the room to find him coming out of the bathroom - no walker - just walking. When I asked him when this happened he said that the day before he had buzzed for some help to go to the bathroom which they said he must do but when no one showed up he just got up and went to the bathroom on his own.  His physical therapy today included walking up a full flight of steps and he admitted that he was exhausted afterwards.</div> <bR> <div> He was eating full meals of mush and was hungry and asked me to bring him his favorite cookies. He requested that I bring him his cell phone, another book - he has started to read - and a small radio so he could listen to the news. He complained about the noise in the room. The nurses talk loud on the phone and one of his roommates is from China and makes loud calls to China in the middle of the night. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Wednesday, July 7:</B> We met with Dr. Wong who has been Lonnie's doctor since he first moved out of the ICU unit. She said that Lonnie is not eligible for the acute PT offered at Bellevue. That type of therapy would require about 3 - 4 hours per day of therapy and he is not ready for that. Instead he would go to one of 17 places in other parts of the city. This included some that were out of the borough of Manhattan. She said that the most reasonable one for him would be Coler-Goldwater on Roosevelt Island in the middle of the East River between Manhattan and Queens. If he was not going to be in Manhattan this would be the best location as far as getting there in a relatively short period of time. We all agreed that is where he should go and Dr. Wong thought that they could do the transfer that day. When I left Lonnie had packed up all his stuff and was very ready to go although we both assumed it would not happen knowing how fast the hospital bureaucracy works.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Thursday, July 8:</B> Lonnie called to tell me that they did indeed transfer him to Coler-Goldwater yesterday after I left. He is in a room with three other men and they are all catatonic. He said when they saw that he could walk they asked him if he wanted to go to another room with more advanced patients and he refused. He said it was a little depressing being in a room with them but it was quiet and he preferred this to the noise of the past room. Lonnie also told me that his Asian doctor looked just like our grandfather Max - short, slight, balding, gray with round wire rime glasses.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tuesday, July 13:</B> The F train, which you can catch one block from Penn Station at Herald Square, travels under the East River at the 59<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> Street Bridge and there is a stop for Roosevelt Island. The rehab facility is a three-block walk. The views across the river from Roosevelt Island of Manhattan are quite spectacular. The sign in procedure was a little different than at Bellevue. Here you needed a picture ID and they scanned it in and created a badge with your photo on it. It was in black and white and there is no way you could recognize me from the printed photo. The women operating the computer and scanner typed with only one finger on one hand and could not find Lonnie in the system. Bob who had visited Lonnie earlier warned me about the difficulty of getting a badge. Signage at the hospital was non-existent and the badge only indicated a wing and not a room number. It took me three people to get to his wing but once there they knew who he was even though he had only arrived a few days before. </div> <bR> <div> I asked to see the doctor and Lonnie and I spent about an hour with him. He did look like our grandfather and I told him that and he laughed. He was Korean and actually had the same nose as Max. I told him that we were going to call him Max - his name was Dr. Yang Lee - and he said that was OK.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="123444b30.jpg" border=0 width="580" height="435" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Dr. Max told me that when patients come in from another hospital they are classified with a numbering system. If a person knows who and where they are and can walk they are a number 3. If they can only do one of those they come in as a 1. Lonnie had been classified as a 1 and that is why he was put in the room with catatonic men. They had no idea he was as `advanced' as he was. Lonnie had told me that when he was wheelchaired to the ambulance to change hospitals the attendants were going to help him from the wheel chair to a stretcher in the ambulance. When Lonnie got up to walk to the stretcher they were surprised since they also thought he was a number 1 patient. They had to put him a stretcher for the ride - all strapped in. He said they had to change ambulances at one time and the attendants of both were talking while he was in the stretcher on the street and he said he was worrying about rolling into traffic as they talked. </div> <bR> <div> We talked about Lonnie's pills, diet, rehab, room location, etc. He seemed to up on all the latest medications. His main concern was Lonnie's bedsore which is a Stage 3 wound. He thought that Lonnie would need to be in the hospital at least one month. I again brought up TB4 and Hynda's wound healing patent. He said he would look into it which was a better reaction than at Bellevue. </div> <bR> <div> Lonnie is now getting real food but not much of it. They weighed him when he arrived at Coler-Goldwater and he has lost over 30 pounds. He again requested I bring cookies and wanted a working watch. He also had a complete list of things he wanted me to do. </div> <bR> <div> The landlord called today to set up a meeting for next week to look at the problems in Lonnie's apartment. I had written a letter to the landlord under Lonnie's signature. In it he asked that specific things be done to the apartment including fixing the bath tube which right now is supported on two legs and books. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Wednesday, July 14: </B>Visited Lonnie this morning and met Phil, one of the other men on the floor. He is in a wheel chair and has been at the hospital for 4 months. It seems that everyone in this hospital has been there a long time and I do not think that this is the place for Lonnie. The floors are filled with people in wheel chairs and nothing seems to be going on. Lonnie and I did get in the elevator today and go down to the second floor in search of the computer room. We never did find it and Lonnie got tired and needed to go back. So far nothing has been done as far as physical therapy. He has an appointment tomorrow with the PT person.</div> <bR> <div> I talked to my Aunt Helen in Las Vegas while in his room and asked if he wanted to speak to her and he got on the phone. First time he has spoken to her in probably ten years. Another good sign!!!</div> <bR> <div> <B>Thursday, July 15: </B>I called Lonnie because I noticed that his bank statement showed some transfers between his savings and checking accounts. I have set up his bank account so I can access it by computer so I can pay his bills. Lonnie does not have a computer. I wanted to make sure that he was the one who did the transfer over the phone. He did and told me that I should have deposited his check in the savings account and not the checking account and accused me of micro-managing his life at this point. I take it as a good sign that he did access his account and a good sign that he is starting to care about his life. They are giving him anti-depression medication and I think it is helping. He has been calling me from the hospital.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Friday, July 16: </B>Lonnie called to tell me that the ophthalmology appointment scheduled for today had been cancelled. Turns out he did not have the correct hospital clothes to wear to the other building he would have to go to!!!! They have ordered new clothes for him but they have not arrived. This complex is made up of about 7 - 8 buildings all connected. I cannot imagine what clothes they are talking about. The PT person who was supposed to come yesterday afternoon also never came. They were supposed to come later in the day today. (Written later: They never came. Lonnie has made calls to his primary doctor, his neurologist and his shrink so he is contacting the outside world. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Monday, July 19: </B>Hynda and I went up on the 5PM bus and arrived in NYC at about 10:30PM. It was hot and we decided to stay at Lonnie's. The Hotel 17 where we normally stay was booked for the night. It was unbearable in the apartment and I do not know how Lonnie has managed without air conditioning.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tuesday, July 20:</B> Lonnie told us that he was going for PT at 10AM so we planned on going at 9AM and then returning to the apartment to meet the worker who was going to start on the various things that we asked them to do. We went for a run early and then we were getting ready to leave when we remembered that visiting hours at Bellevue started at 11AM and we did not know what they were for Coler-Goldwater. We called Lonnie and he told us that they started at 10AM so we changed plans and told Lonnie we would see him in the afternoon after the man came to the apartment.</div> <bR> <div> Mr. Garcia showed up at 12:30 and we went through the list I had sent to the realty office. He knew nothing about the visit from the week before from the realty office where they met with Bob and took pictures. He jotted down notes and measurements and realized that the tube was going to be a problem. He said he would talk to the realty office and let us know when he would start but it would probably be next Monday or Tuesday.</div> <bR> <div> The visit with Lonnie was very good. We found him sitting in the `solarium' reading. He is taking the PT seriously and is walking the stairs all by himself whenever he can slip away. He asked for real coffee. We met with Dr. Max and he showed us a photo of Lonnie's bed sore. Not a pretty sight but he said it is clean which is good and will get better faster now that Lonnie is out of bed a lot. </div> <bR> <div> Hynda went home tonight and I will stay over and see Lonnie tomorrow. When I dropped Hynda off at the bus John, the bus driver, asked me where we stayed last night and I told him in Lonnie's apartment. He took out $100 and told me to take it and get a room in the hotel tonight. I did not take it and am staying at Lonnie's in the steam bath.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Wednesday, July 21: </B>Today's highlight was getting Lonnie to walk outside. It was hot in NYC so we did not last long but we took the elevator down to the second floor and walked between buildings to an exit to a garden where there was supposed to be a jazz concert at 3PM. No one was there except two patients. This was clearly a non-smoking area - there were many signs. These two guys were out there smoking marijuana. </div> <bR> <div> Lonnie had been going to PT everyday and his walking seems to be getting better. He is also walking up and down the stairs when no one is looking. He is taken to and from PT by wheelchair. It is two floors down and in another building. He told me that when he finished PT he decided to walk back to his room since no one was there to push his wheelchair. They yelled at him but he just walked back.</div> <bR> <div> Lonnie had requested coffee - anything but Starbuck's. At the exit to the train there is a small complex with a Starbuck's, a drug store, a fancy restaurant and a small pizza place. In the pizza place they had coffee and I bought him a large cup - it was half the price of Starbuck's. He told Bob later in the week that he liked the coffee. I also bought him some orange juice since Hynda told him vitamin C would speed the healing of the bed sore. </div> <bR> <div> John was the driver tonight and Becky from Ghana was on the bus. We also had another talkative guy - this time from Jamaica - mon - behind us who did not shut up.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Monday, July 26:</B> Took the late bus up to NY since the workmen will be at the apartment at 10AM to start work. I received a call on the bus at 8PM from Mr. Garcia who said they would like to come earlier. I called back after the bus trip at 10PM and left a message that we could come anytime since we were already in the city.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tuesday, July 27: </B>This trip we decided to stay at the Hotel 17 since the workmen would be working on the bathtub and it may not be available for this visit. It is also very hot still so we needed the air conditioning. At 10AM the workmen were not there so I called Mr. Garcia. He said that he sent the men to another job when I did not answer my phone. He could not tell when he would be there since he had to go pick up the glass for the broken windows and some other materials. I asked for a time and told him I wanted to go to the hospital and could not wait around all day. He got all huffy and said he could not be expected to stay up waiting for my call until midnight. The workers showed up at noon and we left for the hospital.</div> <bR> <div> We sat with Lonnie in his room and I called our cousin Cheryl who he has not talked to in about 15 years. While we were there Lonnie got up to go to the bathroom and when he returned he had to maneuver around the wheel chair that Hynda was sitting in and some items on the floor and he fell over backwards and hit his head. Although his is gaining strength he is still a little shaky on his feet. We held our breath, helped him up and put ice on the back of his head. He seemed to be OK.</div> <bR> <div> We told Lonnie that we were going to have Thai food for dinner and he asked us to bring him some. He has gained 10 pounds since he has been on Roosevelt Island but he hates the food. We promised to bring him his request of Chicken Satay.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Wednesday, July 28: </B></div> <bR> <div> We got up early and ran from the hotel to a hardware store where we purchased a shower bar for Lonnie's shower stall. Yesterday the workmen fixed the bathtub, replaced three of the four windows, spackled the ceiling which had the remains of a leak of about three years ago, and reattached the closet door in the bathroom which had been off its hinges for many years. </div> <bR> <div> We went to the Chinese laundry to pick up the laundry that we had dropped off the day before. The owner asked me if I was a relative of the man who comes in and always wears jeans and has a toothpick like thing in his mouth. Lonnie does not go anywhere without one of the combination toothpick and floss things. When we cleaned up the apartment initially we found about three hundred used ones - located on every surface in the apartment. I told the owner that is my brother and told him what happened. He told me that he and his wife were wondering what happened to Lonnie since he was a regular customer. They wished him well.</div> <bR> <div> We showed up for lunch with Chicken and Beef Satay from the Thai restaurant and Lonnie immediately said that he did not want the beef and why did I get it. He was a little snippy but he devoured both appetizers.  After lunch we went on a long walk - about one half hour - and Lonnie did well. We found the Subway in another building and a very nice greenhouse that is tended by some of the patients. The person who runs the greenhouse told Lonnie he needs to join the horticultural club. </div> <bR> <div> The sash chains for the upper windows in Lonnie's apartment are mostly broken and he has put screws in them to keep them from falling down. He never uses these windows and last week he wanted them fixed when the workmen were there. I convinced him that it was not important since he does not use the windows. When I reported on yesterday's progress he asked about the top window sashes and when I told him they did not do anything he screamed that I was `useless' for not getting it done. When I reminded him that we had decided they did not have to do it he did not remember.</div> <bR> <div> We told him we would not be back before the third week in August since we were going to go to Martha's Vineyard for two weeks. I suggested that by that time we could come back by way of NYC and take him to DC for a period of time. He said that he wants to go back to the apartment. How he will manage without air conditioning and climbing the stairs at this point I do not know.</div> <bR> <div> When we returned to the apartment before we went to the bus the workmen were just finishing up. They were working on the front door lock and painting the ceiling. The only left was to fix the door in the living room closet and Mr. Garcia could not find the right size door yet. They will have to return for that and coordinate with Lonnie's upstairs neighbor Bob.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Wednesday, August 11:</B> Talked to Lonnie a number of times about going home and he feels that he wants to leave on Monday August 23. At that time he will have been at Coler-Goldwater for 4 weeks and the bedsore should be OK. They are starting to only dress it once per day instead of two times per day. I tried to convince him to make it on the 25<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> since Hynda and I will be leaving the vineyard on the 21<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >st</FONT> and had planned to spend at least three days in the Boston area seeing people. He said he would take a car service home and Bob will be there. I told him we would stop in NYC on our way home on the 25<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT>. Bob is leaving for New Hampshire for one week on the 26<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> so he will essentially be alone at that time.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Thursday, August 19</B>: Received a call from Coler-Goldwater on my voicemail saying that Lonnie had fallen, was confused and was not able to stand up. They had transferred him to Bellevue emergency room. We were up on Martha's Vineyard and we do not have good cell phone service. I finally got back to the hospital and the doctor was already gone and the only thing they would tell me was that Lonnie was at Bellevue. I called Bellevue later and was told that Lonnie had been transferred back to Coler-Goldwater. The nurse would not tell me anything about his status.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Friday, August 20:</B> I called Coler-Goldwater in the morning and talked to Dr. Lee. He told me that yesterday they found Lonnie on the floor of his room. They suspected that the confusion was the result of the fall and they sent him to Bellevue. At Bellevue they determined he had another small brain hemorrhage and they wanted to remove the blood from his brain by operating. Lonnie had refused and said he did not want anything done so they sent him back to Coler-Goldwater. Dr. Lee said that he was remaining in bed since he did not have the strength to walk.  I asked Dr. Lee if I could talk to him and he said that Lonnie had the phone near his bed and I should call him. I called him a number of times but there was no answer. Dr. Lee called back and said that Lonnie's condition was deteriorating and he was not able to answer the phone and he wanted to send him back to Bellevue. Lonnie was no longer speaking.</div> <bR> <div> A doctor called me from Bellevue later to say that it was very clear from yesterday that Lonnie did not want the operation. They had a therapist and two doctors talk to him to make sure that he understood the problem with not having the brain bleed done. If he did not then he could expect the possibly of paralysis, decreased mental function and death. Lonnie said he understood and they were unsure whether they could operate today even if I gave permission. There was a certain hospital ethics involved and since they judged him mentally competent to make the decision on his health the day before that is what they were going to do. They had decided to do a CT scan of his brain and call me back to let me know what had happened since yesterday. </div> <bR> <div> They called me back and told me that there was no more damage but even if they did the operation because of the swelling and pressure on the brain since yesterday they was a chance he could have some paralysis on his right side and some diminished mental capacity. They also said that because the therapist had neglected to file a report yesterday they have to go with the therapist report of this morning at Coler-Goldwater where he determined that Lonnie was not in a condition to make his own health decisions. This meant the decision was mine. I told them that I wanted them to go ahead with the procedure. The procedure is to drill a hole in both sides of his head to reduce the swelling by draining the blood out. This is a 15-minute procedure and they were supposed to call after the operation. </div> <div> Doctor Roberts called late to say that the operation went very well and Lonnie was up and talking although his speech is slightly slurred. He did know who the President was and what year it was. A good sign!!!</div> <div> <B>Saturday, August 21:</B> Called the NICU (Neurological Intensive Care Unit) where Lonnie is now to find out how he is doing. The nurse said he ate about half his breakfast and said hello to her when she walked in. They are doing another CT Scan this morning to see if there is anymore bleeding and I asked to have the doctor call me with the results. </div> <div> Bob called in the late afternoon after he visited Lonnie. He told me that Lonnie is very angry with the doctors for performing a procedure that he said he did not want. He does not know yet that I was the one who made the call on that. I know I will get a lot of grief from him about this when I visit. This is one of the reasons I am putting off going to NYC immediately. I prefer to let him cool off awhile before I appear. </div> <div>  No callback on the CT Scan today.</div> <div> <B>Sunday, August 22:</B> We are still in Boston. Called the nurses station and all they would tell me was that Lonnie is stable, eating and talking. Left a message again today for doctor to call about CT scan results. We right now are planning to go to NYC on Tuesday morning.</div> <div> <B>Monday, August 23</B>: All my calls to the nurse's station over the weekend did not get me much information about Lonnie's condition. The nurses keep referring to the HIPA rule which forbids patient information to be given out over the phone. All I learned was that he was eating and talking. They would not tell me if he was making sense. He was not getting out of bed and was catheterized again. </div> <bR> <div> A social worker at Bellevue called me to say that Lonnie was going to be transferred back to Coler-Goldwater AMA (against medical advice). I asked her what the medical advice was that he was going against and she did not know. I told her I had been calling all weekend asking a doctor to call me back about the CT scan of his brain that they did after the operation on Friday night and his status. No one had called. She said she would have a doctor call me back.</div> <bR> <div> About a half-hour later Dr. Rubin, who performed the surgery, called me back. He told me that Lonnie was doing well and the surgery went as expected but they recommended some more surgery where they would lift off the top of his cranium and `suck' out the residual blood and the old dried blood from previous brain bleeds. He said the procedure, drilling two holes in his head that had been performed, was a `bedside' operation and was not real surgery. In order for the operation to be `successful' they would have to do the further procedure. He said that Lonnie was fully aware and could make his own decision but he said that he did not want them doing anymore. Lonnie was going to meet with the patient advocacy people at the hospital to rewrite his medical directive to make sure no one at the hospital touches his head. The doctor said that he was very angry at them for going against his wishes and operating after he said he did not want it. The doctor said that Lonnie knew it was my decision and that `he would talk to me later about it'. He was not removing me as his health proxy - just rewriting the document. He also needed to be seen by a therapist to determine if he was able to make his own decisions but the doctor said he appeared to be and he wanted out. </div> <bR> <div> The doctor compared himself to a car mechanic. He said if someone brings in a car, the mechanic looks at it and tells the person what needs to be fixed and how much it will cost. If the person does not want to do the recommended procedure and backs the car out of the garage there is nothing that the doctor can do. Lonnie has chosen to back the car out of the garage.</div> <bR> <div> When I talked to the Social Worker later she said that everything was set for Lonnie to be transferred back to Coler-Goldwater but they were just awaiting approval from the insurance company. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Tuesday, August 24</B>: We left Boston early in the morning without knowing where Lonnie was going to be. They were still awaiting approval from the insurance company for the transfer from Bellevue to Coler-Goldwater. As we approached New York we called again and learned that Lonnie would be getting in an ambulance at about 1PM so he would not be at Coler-Goldwater on Roosevelt Island until at least 2PM. To get to Roosevelt Island from Manhattan you have to go over the bridge (or tunnel) to Queens and back over the only bridge that connects the island to the city. Going to Coler-Goldwater would be much better for us. We had the bikes on a rack on the back of the car and the car was full of stuff from being on the road for three weeks and it would have been almost impossible to find a parking garage around Bellevue. We could leave the car on the street if we could find a parking space but with all the stuff in the car it would not be the best thing to do. At Coler-Goldwater, the hospital is at one end of Roosevelt Island and nothing but hospital traffic can go there. It is fairly easy to find parking although there is no official visitor parking area. (Nobody ever seems to have visitors at this hospital.) You can park in the restricted spots but you need to get a parking pass from the guards at the entrance. </div> <bR> <div> Since we arrived in the New York region earlier than Lonnie would be arriving at the hospital we stopped in Astoria had a very nice greek lunch at Uncle George's. Nobody in the restaurant - customers and waiters spoke English - everyone spoke Greek. We managed to find a parking space next to the restaurant where we could watch the car and the bikes. Actually we picked the parking spot first and then picked the restaurant based upon being able to see the car. </div> <bR> <div> Lonnie was in the same bed as before and when we got there we were surprised to see him up and about. The only sign of the operation was the small area they shaved on both sides of his head about half way between his eye brow and the top of his ear. He immediately made clear his intention to go home at 2PM (?) the next day no matter what they said at the hospital. We met with Doctor Lee for over an hour and he explained to Lonnie that the visiting nurse had not been set up yet, he would not be able to prescribe medication for him and he would not be able to file any reports on his behalf because he would be leaving AMA - against medical advice. We explained to Lonnie that his neighbor Bob would be gone for a week and that no one else was in the building. Lonnie said that he had a whole support group he could set up - something about neighbors that he could call on. (When we talked to Bob about this later he said Lonnie was dreaming as he never talks to the people that he mentioned to us.) We tried to convince him not to go and to spend another week so that he could be discharged to a visiting nurse and get medication from Dr. Lee. Lonnie said no way. Dr. Lee then took us into his office and gave us cleaning supplies and bandages for us to clean and dress his wound if Lonnie insisted on going home. He told us that this was being given to us `underneath', that is, he was not supposed to be doing this. I think he meant `under the table'.</div> <bR> <div> We left the hospital exhausted and resigned to Lonnie walking out tomorrow. We double parked in front of Lonnie's apartment and I carried the bikes upstairs. I had planned to put the car in a garage for the night but a spot opened up on the street right so we parked there. They were filming an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm in Lonnie's apartment building and they had half the street blocked off so I thought it would be safe to park there with the stuff in the car. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Wednesday, August 25</B>: We woke up in Lonnie's apartment to the sound of a piano being played in the apartment below him. They had moved out all the furniture, painted the walls lavender and moved in other furniture including a piano for the filming. We saw them later in the day repainting the walls back to white and moving in and out the furniture. Why they selected this apartment I have no idea. They are supposed to paint the hallway before they leave.</div> <bR> <div> Today it was pouring rain and Hynda and I opted not to run. Instead we went out to eat at B&H - a vegetarian breakfast and lunch place on 2<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >nd</FONT> Avenue near Lonnie. I used to go there in the 70s when I did work in NY and the place has not changed much except for the owners who used to be two Jewish guys who argued all the time. Now the help is a mixture of Spanish and Polish. Hynda had a fruit smoothie of watermelon and cantaloupe except the do it by putting in the whole thing including the rind!!! It was quite bitter. </div> <bR> <div> Lonnie was waiting for us when we got there and proceeded to insist that he wanted to leave. We sat with him for what seemed like hours trying to talk him out of it. We also learned that if he leaves AMA he may lose certain Medicare benefits. I tried to find out exactly what but the social worker who deals with him was not in. 2PM came and he did not walk out and we continued to talk. He called his own neurologist and made an appointment for the next day. The nurses at the desk told me that he could not leave the hospital grounds and if he wanted to just go outside he needed a day pass. I told him that and we decided to test the system so we walked down to the entrance where there are two guards who sign you in and out. Lonnie just walked out past them and they shouted that he could not go out and they needed his patient number from his bracelet. He told them he was not a prisoner and walked outside. I went out and got the number from his bracelet and the guards were satisfied. We just went out to the enclosed porch and watched the rain on the East River and Manhattan. The setting is really nice. </div> <bR> <div> When we went back in to his room he told us he would very reluctantly stay for another week. He will make arrangements to leave next Wednesday.  He did admit that the four days in bed had set him back a little physically. We were quite relieved. We left just before dinner and got in our car and drove back to DC.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Thursday, August 26</B>: I am in the DC apartment and I get a call from the social worker at Coler-Goldwater. She wanted me to know that this morning the guards reported that Lonnie left the hospital and no one knows where he went. I told her that I think he may have gone to Manhattan to see his neurologist. She explained the rules, which I already knew, and told me that when he gets back they would have a meeting with him and if he does it again they would throw him out of the hospital. I did not tell her that he would probably welcome that. I told her the name of the doctor and she called me back a half hour later to say that she had called the doctor's office and Lonnie was there. I asked her to call me back when Lonnie returned. I received no callback so I called at about 6PM and they said that Lonnie had returned at about 4PM.</div> <bR> <div> I left a message on Lonnie's phone but he did not call me back until the next day. He said he called to have a cab pick him up. There are no cabs on Roosevelt Island so you have to call a car service. When he tried to leave the guards at the door said he could not go and one was getting up to stop him. The guard got a phone call at that moment and when he went to answer the phone Lonnie walked out just as the cab pulled up to the entrance. He went into the cab and told the driver to DRIVE!!!. (Just like in the movies he made his escape.) He got to the doctor OK but he was busy and Lonnie sat in his waiting area for two hours and then went downstairs and took a cab back to the hospital.  Nobody said anything to him when he got back. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Monday, August 30</B>: We have made reservations to go up tomorrow. We will visit Lonnie in the hospital and get a shopping list from him and stock his apartment. I called him today to make sure everything was on schedule. He said he had not seen the visiting nurse and had not talked to Dr. Lee about leaving on Wednesday. I told him that the same thing was going to be repeated like last week and he said he did not care and he was leaving and it was a mistake to stay another week. I tried to call Dr. Lee about Lonnie leaving but could not get him. Hopefully we will be able to get him out `legally' on Wednesday.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tuesday, August 31</B>: On the way up to NYC on the bus I received a call from the social Worker at Coler-Goldwater. She said that she had just learned that Lonnie wanted to go home on Wednesday and she was not sure she could arrange everything in time. I told her we would be up later in the day and we would come and meet with her. The idea would be to stress that Lonnie needed to leave and would be unhappy not going home on Wednesday.</div> <bR> <div> We met with the Social Worker and some agency that handles home health care. They had a plan to turn over all over Lonnie's income to some `agency' that would pay all his bills for him and that they would have someone come in 5 days a week for 4 hours per day. I sort of indicated that Lonnie probably would not like this and that he was also perfectly able to handle his finances. The Social worker said that the earliest that Lonnie could leave would be Friday. Hynda and I told her that they needed to get him out on Wednesday. The medication that was supposed to take 48 hours to get they could get by Wednesday. The free ambulance to take him home could not be arranged in time but I told them we would pay for a cab. </div> <bR> <div> When we met with Lonnie he was pleased that he was going home tomorrow. </div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>