September/October

<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>   |   <A HREF="id240.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="July/August"><U>July/August</U></A>   |   <B>September/October</B>   |   <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>September/October</I></div> <div> <B>Wednesday, September 1: </B>We spent the morning shopping for Lonnie. He had given us a shopping list of all his favorite things and we filled his refrigerator. We said goodbye to Dr. Lee who was sorry to see Lonnie go. Lonnie was one of the few people on the floor that he was able to talk to and make any sense of the conversation. We said goodbye to Phil, the double amputee, who was the only other patient there with any hope of ever leaving.</div> <bR> <div> We got Lonnie in the cab and up to his apartment. He was happy to be back and seemed pleased with all the work that had been done. Hynda had to return to DC for a meeting tomorrow. I convinced Lonnie to go out for dinner and I picked a restaurant that was very close so he did not have to walk far. He is still very unsteady on his feet but managed to walk up and down his stairs fine. I think it was because he has the railing to hold on to. He needs a cane to balance himself. We had a decent Italian dinner and Lonnie was in fine form. He told the waiter that the meal was the worse he has had in a long time. This is less than one day out of the hospital where the food was truly horrendous!!!!</div> <bR> <div> Before we went out I had laid out the pills he needed to take and he took them fine. Before I left I laid out the nightly pills to be taken before he went to bed. He refused to take the anti-depressant that was among the pills.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Thursday, September 2</B>: Last night I asked Lonnie what time he normally showers and he told me in the morning. I asked him not to take a shower until I got there in the morning so if he fell I would be there. I told him I would come about 10AM. When I arrived we talked for awhile and I ate breakfast. I then asked him if he wanted to take a shower and he glared at me and said it is too late. </div> <bR> <div> I noticed some of the pills that the doctor had given him were in the trash. He told me that he was taking his old pills and would not take the `crap' they gave him in the hospital. </div> <bR> <div> We walked a half block to the bank on the corner. Lonnie was pretty unsteady and I had to support him by holding onto his elbow. We had decided that I should have a durable power of attorney in case anything happened again. We needed to sit and wait for the notary and after 5 minutes Lonnie wanted to go. It took her about 20 minutes to finish with her customer and Lonnie asked me every 5 minutes to go. He has no patience. The desk she was sitting at was right next to where we were sitting but she made us walk to her `notary desk' which was all the way across the bank. She had seen Lonnie walk in so she knew he was having trouble walking but she did not seem to care. The thing that makes her desk a notary desk is she had the notary stamp and her notary book at the other desk. As ID Lonnie only has an expired passport and an expired driver license. He has gotten a new passport but his name is spelled as Janchik so he did not bring that one. She said that she could not do this unless he had a current valid ID which I understood. I explained that he had a current passport but the name was spelled wrong and I could run and get that one. She said she would accept that. I got up to go and run to the apartment and she said that Lonnie would have to walk back to the bench since she had to take care of other customers. I asked her if she was going back to her `non-notary' desk and she said yes. I told her than this desk will be empty and could he sit here until I got back. She said he would have to return to the waiting bench. Lonnie got up and walked out so no signed document today.</div> <bR> <div> The hospital told me that a social worker would come by today to access the situation and see what kind of help Lonnie needs. This would be covered by Medicare. She called in the late afternoon to say that she was not coming because nothing would be covered by Medicare. Lonnie's bed sore was healed, he could dress himself, he could walk and was fully competent to take care of himself so no Medicare.</div> <bR> <div> I hung around until I had to leave for the bus home. Lonnie had cooked lunch for himself so I knew he could do that and he seemed to be able to walk around his apartment OK.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Friday, September 3</B>: Called Lonnie late in the day to make sure everything was OK. He said that he had gone out shopping in the morning and had fallen on the way back. He bought too much stuff and he was unbalanced. Fortunately the fall happened in front of his building and Roland, the downstairs neighbor, called the paramedics and they bandaged up Lonnie's chin which he hurt in the fall. He did say that the night before he had gone downstairs to sit on the steps with a glass of wine and lots of neighbors were glad to see him and some gave him their phone number in case he needs them.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Saturday, September 4</B>: Called today and all is OK. He was on the stoop again drinking wine at night and talking to people. A good sign. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Monday, September 6</B>: Lonnie has not gone out for two days. He is very unsteady on his feet. He is doing exercises in the apartment. I keep telling him to call his cleaning lady and ask her to come in a few days a week to shop and do laundry for her. He keeps saying he will call. He is convinced that they damaged something when they drilled the holes in his head. I keep saying it is because he is not taking the pills that they gave him.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Sunday, September 12</B>: Talked to Lonnie a number of times this week and he is not happy about his condition. He has fallen twice more. One fall was the result of a trip to the Green Grocer on 1<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >st</FONT> Avenue and 6<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> Street - about 5 blocks from his apartment. He made it there fine and did not buy much and made it home OK. He was so relieved that he went again to get more stuff and fell in his lobby. He said he was able to get up himself after he rested on the steps for awhile. The second fall was on the way back from the Union Square market on Friday. He goes to Union Square to buy bread and it is about 10 blocks from his apartment. He said that he fell crossing the street in front of a moving truck. The truck was going slowly and stopped and people helped him up. </div> <bR> <div> He did tell me that he is having one glass of wine each day and is smoking cigars. These are life pleasures that he has denied himself and he said at this point he is just going to enjoy them. Bob, his upstairs neighbor, told me that one day he came home and found Lonnie in St. Marks Park, across the street from his apartment, sitting on a bench and smoking a cigar.</div> <bR> <div> Although I have asked him to call Elaine who cleans for him to come in and help with cooking, laundry and shopping, he has not called her yet and I will stop bothering him about it. He has made an appointment to see his neurologist and Bob will accompany him.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Sunday, September 12</B>: Talked to Lonnie a number of times this week and he is not happy about his condition. He has fallen twice more. One fall was the result of a trip to the Green Grocer on 1<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >st</FONT> Avenue and 6<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> Street - about 5 blocks from his apartment. He made it there fine and did not buy much and made it home OK. He was so relieved that he went again to get more stuff and fell in his lobby. He said he was able to get up himself after he rested on the steps for a while. The second fall was on the way back from the Union Square market on Friday. He goes to Union Square to buy bread and it is about 10 blocks from his apartment. He said that he fell crossing the street in front of a moving truck. The truck was going slowly and stopped and people helped him up. </div> <bR> <div> He did tell me that he is having one glass of wine each day and is smoking cigars. These are life pleasures that he has denied himself and he said at this point he is just going to enjoy them. Bob, his upstairs neighbor, told me that one day he came home and found Lonnie in St. Marks Park, across the street from his apartment, sitting on a bench and smoking a cigar.</div> <bR> <div> Although I have asked him to call Elaine who cleans for him to come in and help with cooking, laundry and shopping, he has not called her yet and I will stop bothering him about it. He has made an appointment to see his neurologist and Bob will accompany him.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Wednesday, September 15:</B> Lonnie went to see his old neurologist. Bob from upstairs accompanied him and they took a cab since it was a long walk. When I talked to Lonnie I asked him how the appointment went and he said that all the doctor said was that he would get better over time. I had asked him to check with the doctor about a couple of things - his bedsore, take his records and the stitches in his forehead from the surgery. He did not do any of these things. He did say that he asked the doctor for some prescriptions and the doctor gave him them. I have no idea what he requested.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tuesday, September 21</B>: We did not go up to see Lonnie this past week but I called him almost everyday and he seemed to be doing fine. We arrived in New York about 2:30PM on our usual bus. The bus driver was glad to see us since he knows that Hynda always makes some brownies or blondies for him. </div> <bR> <div> Lonnie seemed to be a little off although he looked great. His barber, Tony, had come to the apartment and given him a very nice haircut. The problem was with his speech. He seemed to hesitate when responding and sometimes he could not finish a sentence. He seemed to be searching for words. At times he used the wrong word. For example, we asked him if we could do some shopping for him and he gave us a list. On the list he had `p-nuts'.  I asked him what kind and he said pistachio nuts. The next thing I asked him was about where something was located - it was in the bathroom but he said to me that it was in the `pistachio'. He obviously had that word stuck somewhere in his brain. We asked him to go out with us to eat dinner and first he said yes and then he said no.</div> <bR> <div> Bob came down to see us and we were sitting around talking. It was about 6PM. Lonnie just started to get undressed and walked into his bedroom and went to sleep. He took no pills - just laid down on the top of his comforter. We all left and went out to dinner.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Wednesday, September 22: </B>We went by first thing in the morning and Lonnie asked us to bring him a bagel. He ate fine but there was still something about the way he was talking that was funny. I asked him if he realized that he was having problems finding words and using words incorrectly. He said that he was aware. We talked about what it could be causing it and I said it had to be something that happened since left the hospital. It had to be from different sleeping patterns, not eating enough, not taking the right medication at the right time or some additional brain bleeds. I was hoping that it was just the medication and I told him that is what I think.</div> <bR> <div> I went out to Best Buy and bought him a new high def 19” TV for his bedroom. He had an old analog set that no longer works since the TV signals are now all digital. I also got a little crappy antenna. When I hooked it up and did a channel surf the TV picked up over 40 channels with some of them being high definition. The picture was very good. If you do not want to pay for the 400,000 cable channels that you never look at anyway this can save lots of money. The only problem was that of the 40 channels over half were Russian, Chinese, Spanish, etc.</div> <bR> <div> We left Lonnie and told him he should take him medicine on a regular basis. I again offered to get him one of those Monday-Friday pill organizer boxes but he insisted that he has a system. We left at 3PM and he was already in bed.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Friday, September 24</B>: I called Lonnie on Thursday and Friday and received no answer or callback. I called Bob on Friday and asked if he seen Lonnie and he said that he had not and would knock on Lonnie's door when he walked the dog. He called back and told me that Lonnie eventually answered the door - he had been in bed in the middle of the day - and he could/would only talk in one-word answers. Bob was a little worried.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Saturday, September 25:</B> More calls and more no answers. Bob again knocked on Lonnie's door and when Lonnie answered the door Bob had to catch him to keep him from falling. He was still in the same clothes as the last day and immediately returned to bed. Bob asked him if he wanted Bob to fix lunch and Lonnie told him he was not eating. Bob called me to report the situation and Hynda and I decided to go to New York the next day.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Sunday, September 26: </B>Hynda and I arrived at Lonnie's at about 1PM in the afternoon. We found Lonnie in bed. When we woke him up he staggered into the living room and sat down. He could not speak is sentences - only one word answers and those were mostly yes and no. He did not remember the last time he had something to eat and drink. We began to suspect that it was probably Wednesday when we left him. Hynda did give him a glass of water and made him some lentil soup which he ate. He kept going back to bed and I had to help him to keep him from falling. It was obvious that he had been going to the bathroom room in the bed and his clothes. I asked him if he wanted to go back to the hospital and he said no. We had no choice but to call 911. </div> <bR> <div> The ambulance came right away - it was Sunday - and the two EMS guys were very good. They had a hard time getting info from Lonnie but kept very patiently trying. I went with Lonnie in the ambulance to the hospital - I insisted on Bellevue since that is where he was and they would have all the records. Hynda remained behind to clean up the apartment. </div> <bR> <div> At the hospital Lonnie was scheduled for a CT scan. At this time he still could answer yes or no and obviously understood what you were saying. He knew what month it was and other facts that indicated he was fully engaged but he could not speak in sentences - even two words. The person in the bed next to Lonnie recognized me from Coler-Goldwater where he had been a patient. We had a 7PM bus back to DC and Lonnie was taken up for CT scan as we left. The doctor called me on the bus with the result. Lonnie had another bleed in his brain. This one was more severe than the last one. The neurologist that called me was the same one that had operated on Lonnie in August. He said that he talked to Lonnie and Lonnie made clear that there was to be no drilling in his head. The doctor told Lonnie that meant he would die and Lonnie was clear that is what he wanted. Since he knew that was what Lonnie wanted in August with the last episode he wanted to know if I had any discussion with Lonnie since which would indicate that this was not Lonnie's wish. I told him no. He indicated that they would do another CT scan in a day or so to see if the bleeding was continuing or had stopped.</div> <bR> <div> The bus left NY a little late. A passenger who had a reservation had arrived two minutes after we were supposed to depart. The bus monitor had sold his seat and the bus was full. The website clearly states that you have to be at the bus 15 minutes before departure or your seat could be sold. He was objecting and when the bus driver tried to close the door so we could leave he stuck his arm in the door. (John, our favorite driver, told us if it had been one of the new buses he would not have been able to do that.) The bus driver had to call the police to get the guy to stop and let us go. They tried to tell him that there was another bus that had a seat that was leaving later but he was not interested. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Monday, September 27:</B> Lonnie has been admitted to Bellevue. As of midnight last night I have gotten five calls - 3 from different neurologists, 1 psychiatrist and one palliative care doctor. Each of them had spoken to Lonnie - he must be going crazy answering the same questions from these doctors. They all were very good on the phone and were really calling just to make sure that I understood and agreed with what Lonnie is telling them. He is being very clear that he does not want to hasten his death but does not want anything done to keep him alive if there is more brain bleeds. The doctors all said that he is fully competent to answer them as long as they phrase their questions so he can answer with a yes or no. They have to be careful because if the question requires anything other than yes or no he just cannot respond although he tries. </div> <bR> <div> The palliative care nurse went through options for him. He cannot stay in Bellevue if he lingers - he will have to be moved to a hospice environment. In light of the fact that nothing will be done if the bleeds continue they are not going to give him another CT scan. They are going to monitor his neurological signs for additional problems that could be inability to swallow, more loss of function in his right arm and leg or non-responsiveness as an indication of whether there are continuing brain bleeds.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tuesday, September 28: </B>I went up to NY and arrived at the hospital at 3PM. The palliative care doctor was with Lonnie when I arrived. She told me that there had been a marked change in Lonnie since yesterday. He was no longer responding to questions. I tried to get him to say yes or no to several questions and he just stared at me. I told him I was going to tell him a joke and his mouth formed a small smile. I told him I got him to smile and I did not even have to tell a joke and he continued to smile - I think. </div> <bR> <div> I had a discussion with the doctor and the psychiatrist who confirmed that the situation had deteriorated. We then discussed whether Lonnie should be hydrated and artificially fed in light of his desire to not have his death hastened. If I had not been so emotionally involved in the discussion I would have found it almost a `talmudic' discussion. What does it mean to not `hasten' your death? The result was that I asked them to give him food and water and if he eats or drinks it that will be our answer. When I returned in the evening to see him and to say goodnight there was an indication that food and water were there but the shift had changed and I did not find out whether he did in fact eat.</div> <bR> <div> I returned to the apartment late at night to pack up the TV I had just bought him to return in the morning. He did tell me that he had turned it on. I ran into Lonnie's upstairs neighbor Sandy on the stairs. Lonnie absolutely dislikes Sandy. She is one of the new (non-rent controlled) tenants in the building. She is young and obviously has money since she is paying more than four times what Lonnie is paying. She complains when Lonnie smokes his cigars in his apartment because the smell goes up to her apartment and Lonnie does not care. He has also complained that she makes too much noise walking up and down the stairs. She told me that two weeks ago she spent 1-½ hours in Lonnie's apartment talking to him and remarked about his incredible knowledge and the stories he told. She said he seemed to be the happiest he has been since she moved into the building over three years ago - probably the anti-depressant medication he had been taking in the hospital had not worn off yet. She said he was really doing all the things he liked - listening to music (over 3000 CDs), reading, going to the markets, and sitting on the stoop with a cigar and a glass of wine. </div> <bR> <div> A note on the bus trip up… at the entrance to the New Jersey turnpike a double trailer had just lost the second trailer and it was sitting in the middle lane of a three land interstate. John, the driver, saw it at the last moment when the truck in front of us suddenly changed lanes. If he had not been paying attention we would have ran right into it. I sit up front in the VIP seat so I can talk to him on the ride up and he remarked if we hit it we both would not have looked real pretty.</div> <bR> <div> A note on bike paths.. in NY they have striped lots of bile lanes all over the city. The bike lanes are in the curb lane and they have moved the curb parking out into the first lane of the street. Today I was nearly hit by a biker - my hand actually grazed her - when I stepped off the curb without thinking about the bike lane. I wonder how many accidents there have been as a result of these new lanes… which I think are wonderful…</div> <bR> <div> <B>Wednesday, September 29</B>: I met Elaine, the cleaning lady who `loves Mr. Lonnie', at Lonnie's early in the morning and then went to the Post Office to get Lonnie's mail forwarded to DC. Bob had been picking up his mail but I figured this would be the easiest way to go from today forward. I also repackaged the TV I bought for Lonnie last week and returned it to Best Buy. I could not bring myself to cancel his phone yet.</div> <bR> <div> At the hospital I found Lonnie in bed and sleeping. There was a tray of food at his bedside and not much had been eaten. They had removed Lonnie's catheter. I had noticed yesterday that there was almost no urine in the bag - if he is not drinking then I guess there is little urine produced. When I talked to the doctor later she told me that she had tried to feed Lonnie at lunch time and he had eaten a little bit and had a little bit to drink. His eyes were less focused than yesterday and he was not responding to questions at all. When she tried to get him to open his mouth for her in the afternoon he did not. At lunch he did open his mouth to eat and was able to swallow fine. I brought a book to read and spend most of the day sitting at his bedside and waking him occasionally to try to get him to respond. I also spent time rubbing his feet and hands.</div> <bR> <div> Late in the afternoon another doctor came in and woke Lonnie up and started to ask him to respond to prompts like `raise you arm' or `nod your head'. Lonnie was not responding so he bent down close to his ear and screamed `raise your arm'. Later I told the palliative care doctor that I did not want this doctor anywhere near my brother. It made no sense to test him like that at this stage. She said it was a staff neurologist and she sort of rolled her eyes when I confirmed his name so he must be a problem. She said that this was another reason to get him out of Bellevue and to a hospice where they will not do this.</div> <bR> <div> I met with the Social Worker again and we agreed that we would try to get Lonnie into the hospice program at Beth Israel. It is close to Lonnie's apartment and Bob will be able to get there easily. The other option was Calvary which has one facility way up in the northern Bronx and one in close by Brooklyn. The one in Brooklyn would be fine since it is on the N/R subway line close to Lonnie's apartment. She made an appointment to have the nurse come over from Beth Israel tomorrow at 3PM to make an assessment of Lonnie to see if he was a good candidate for hospice there. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Thursday, September 30</B>: Dr. Cohen, the palliative care doctor, told me that she had good news and bad news. Today was a day off for her but she knew the nurse from Beth Israel was coming in to evaluate Lonnie so she decided to come in. She fed Lonnie at lunch and he ate 3/4 of his meal. She also told him that he looked better and he responded 'I think so' which is the first time he has put together more than one word in a couple of days. She said that this could mean that he has stabilized or it could just be a momentary improvement. The bad news is that the nurse from Beth Israel said he is not ready for hospice. There are other options that will be explored.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Friday, October 1</B>: I received a call from Beth Vera, the social worker at Bellevue. She said that they were now working on getting Lonnie admitted to Rivington House which is an AIDS only program on the lower east side of Manhattan. Nothing will be known until Monday. Not sure about what will be covered by insurance and what will not. lonnie's policy is strictly an HMO type program so it is hard to see how he could go to any facility that they do not cover. He does have money in the bank and with Social Security income of $1300 per month he is not eligible for Medicaid. The Medicaid cutoff is $700 per month.</div> <div> Bob did go up to see Lonnie this evening and he said that Lonnie was up and was able to drink a cup of juice by himself. He did not say anything but Bob thought that he definitely knew that they were there. The nurse said that Lonnie had eaten his dinner.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Saturday, October 2</B>: Cousin Gale visited Lonnie today. She brought him a teddy bear and a balloon and she said he smiled when he saw it. She said that the nurse told her that Lonnie had eaten both his breakfast and lunch. She did say that he was not able to respond to her questions - no yes or no today.</div> <div> <B>Monday, October 4:</B> Hynda and I went up to New York. Upon arrival Lonnie was in bed and did look at us when we came in. He was barely able to answer yes and no - his voice was very low. He was eating and opened his mouth very wide when the spoon came near. He reminded us of a baby bird being fed by his mother. </div> <div> We met with Dr. Cohen and the social worker. The social worker told us that he could go to Rivington House and it would only cost $750 per month. It would not be covered by insurance. I told her that I thought it was very reasonable - too reasonable - and that Hynda and I would walk over there in the morning and look at it. I asked her to check on the price again and when she did she told us that her associate had made a mistake - it was $750 per day. </div> <div> Dr. Cohen said that she wanted to try to get Lonnie into the TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) rehab center at Bellevue and would have one of her friends do an evaluation. This would be a 3-week session where Lonnie would have to be able to do 3 hours of therapy a day that would also include speech therapy. I told her that he had been tested for that before they had sent him to Coler-Goldwater and at that time he was in much better shape but failed. She said she wanted to try - that it would be better than any nursing/hospice situation and it seemed like he was getting better.</div> <div> <B>Tuesday, October 5: </B>Lonnie seemed a little better today - a little more responsive. Dr. Cohen told us that Lonnie had not been accepted by the TBI rehab place. Now we were back to finding another place for him. The social worker asked if we thought that Coler-Goldwater would be OK for him again. I said not in the same unit because he could not feed himself and he needed to be changed and looked after more frequently. </div> <div> We returned home not knowing what was going to happen. We had made a decision that we were going to Rome so our goodbye to Lonnie was a little different since we were going to not be back for a month.</div> <div> <B>Wednesday, October 6:</B> The social worker called to ask me what I wanted to do with Lonnie. My feeling is that her job has turned into just getting him out of Bellevue. I want to prevent that as long as possible since he is getting great care there. </div> <div> Hynda came up with the idea that we should call his Primary Care Physician and social worker at New York Presbyterian where he has been going for 15 years. They know him very well and ask them for advice. I talked to the social worker and told her what was going on. She said that knowing Lonnie and how talkative he is that she cannot imagine how he is doing not being able to talk and not being able to read. She was going to talk to the doctor and they would call Dr. Cohen to see what his status is and what they could recommend. </div> <div> Dr. Cohen called at the end of the day and said that she was not going to give up and Lonnie going to the TBI unit and she wanted my permission to do another CT scan to see where the bleeding was. She said that things had obviously changed since he was completely non-responsive a few days ago and now he is responding more and eating. We are not longer looking at hospice and the situation had changed. I told her that I agreed with them doing another CT scan.</div> <div> <B>Thursday, October 7</B>: I left a few messages for Dr. Cohen but she did not call back all day. We were getting on the plane to Rome in the late afternoon when Dr. Cohen called. She said that Lonnie was speaking in full sentences. She could almost - but not quite - have a conversation with him. She asked him if he minded if they did another CT scan and he said OK. She told him that she had talked to her friend in the TBI unit and he has agreed to have Lonnie do some rehab at the bedside for a few days and then determine if he could be accepted into the TBI unit. She said that originally he said no but she told him that she had been told that he was very intelligent and full of stories and she wanted to be able to see that and wanted to see him eat by himself again. He agreed to give it a try. This Dr. Cohen is fantastic - too bad she is married - would have been perfect for one of the boys.</div> <div> <B>Friday, October 8: </B>Lonnie's friend Bob visited Lonnie and confirmed that Lonnie is talking in sentences and responding.</div> <div> <B>Sunday, October 10: </B>Cousin Gale spent the afternoon with Lonnie and also confirms that he is talking in sentences. This is Gale's email report of her visit: </div> <div> Went to visit Lonnie today. He was speaking in sentences.  He seemed happy to see me and thanked me for coming to visit him. One of his friends brought him a little pumpkin and I asked him if he was going to draw a face on it and he responded that it is a thought.  I told him I went to Coney Island to see the Burlesque show and he asked me how it was, and if I had fun. He was laughing. Than I asked him if he was going to put on a costume for Halloween, he asked me what would be a good thing for him to dress as, and I responded superman. Again he laughed. He also stated that he is tired of living like this, and that he is not really living. I said maybe he will get better, and he said do you think, and I said you never know.  He said they don't even know what was wrong with him. We held hands, he gave me a kiss. I asked him if he ate, he said yes, that he can eat whatever he wants. I asked him if I could get him anything and he said no, he did not need anything.  Finally, he said he was getting sleepy and wanted to take a nap so we kissed again, and I told him I will see him soon.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Wednesday, October 13: </B>I have been trading voice mails with Dr. Cohen. She said that she still hopes Lonnie will be able to go to rehab in the hospital.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Friday, October 15</B>: In a voice mail Dr. Cohen said that Lonnie is getting more depressed. I talked to Bob who visited Lonnie earlier in the week and he said that Lonnie pretty much turned over and went to sleep while he was there. He did not seem to want to talk much to Bob. He was there for Lonnie's lunch and he said that he did eat. He seemed to grab for things on the tray but the nurse had an order that she wanted him to eat in and she sort of forced to do that.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Saturday, October 16</B>: I have been playing phone tag with the Social Worker at Bellevue and she called last night at 2 AM our time in Italy. She got permission to call me in Italy. Of course, when the phone rang at 2AM and I saw the 212 exchange I thought the worse. She just wanted to talk about Lonnie's next placement - she had no idea about the time change!!</div> <bR> <div> Dr. Cohen had said yesterday that Lonnie was very depressed and was not very responsive. Evidently, he has not been cooperating with the physical therapy people and the Social Worker said that is why they have rejected him for in hospital acute rehab. He now has to go to sub-acute rehab somewhere. I had suggested in a voice mail to her a few days ago that since Lonnie is responding and can talk to ask him what he wants to do. She said he said things were hopeless and that she would have to come back tomorrow for an answer. At this point I told her to find out what his choices are and to present them to him and see if he can make a decision. She is going to do that on Monday. I think he can go back to the same place in Coler-Goldwater and at least there he knows the staff and a few inmates. He could go through the same rehab again. I think that Coler-Goldwater will be no more depressing than any of the other places. She is looking into a place called 'The Villages' also.</div> <div> <B>Thursday, October 21:</B> Lonnie has been transferred to Coler-Goldwater. He is in the same hospital wing but one floor down. This means he is not with the same doctors and nursing staff. I did get a call from the social worker (Stephanie Sanger) that said that she was going to be working with Lonnie. I asked her if she could be sure that he did some physical therapy.</div> <div> <B>Saturday, October 29</B>: <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT>This is from Lonnie's upstairs neighbor Bob.</div> <div> I went Thursday afternoon and again on Friday to take him some things he had asked for, such as socks and underwear. There is a big change in him. He seems genuinely to want to talk and his general outlook seems greatly improved. As you probably know, he is getting physical therapy every day, and likes the therapist although he says he doesn't think it's doing much good.  I do think that whatever the merits of the therapy are, part of it is that he's expecting things to improve faster than it probably will.  He's generally down on Goldwater and said on Thursday that he thought he'd made a mistake in requesting to go there.   He also asked for his glasses, which he had refused several times previously. Since I've been carrying them around in my pack every time I've gone out there, I was able to produce them pronto. He was very pleased to get them. Of course he doesn't like the food and says he's not eating because it's so bad, but he proceeded to tell me about some of it and I got the impression that he ate it anyway. Despite all the gripes though, his outlook seems greatly improved.  </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>