Henning's Headquarters

[vandermolen]

If it helps at all, this sounds pretty close to where my mom was a week or so after her TIA—couldn't use one side of her body, slept a lot, impaired senses, etc—and obviously TIAs have much less risk of long-term damage than strokes, but she did end up making a full recovery with a few months of physical therapy. So I'd be cautiously optimistic, but long-term neurological work could be necessary alongside the PT.

Also I imagine his recovery will become more pronounced once he's out of hospital, back in a familiar setting, and in a position to start doing day-to-day tasks again.

Good to know.

'The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step' (Taoist quote I think).

[Cato]

Tonight Karl sent the following message to us:

Having trouble working with the phone. Many thanks for all your love and support!

[Cato]

Maria wants to start a "Go Fund Me" campaign to help pay for Karl's treatments:

You are right, we will need financial help. Karl's insurance will pay this acute rehabilitation hospital for about two weeks after that he'll need to go to a less intensive care place ( to continue therapy necessary for his recovery and for safety, he needs to be monitored 24 hours) for which insurance is not paying. I'll ask them again on Monday but that's what I was told so far.

If you could help me with setting the fund for Karl, send me info how and where to do this that would be helpful.

The case manager at the rehab Karl is in right now said that the length of his stay here is dictated mostly by the insurance, how many days they will pay for so, she said, Karl will be sent home (!) December 12th. After a long fight and me stating that I'll not sign the discharge papers until Karl is well enough to safely function at home, she changed her tune and said that indeed, they can send Karl to the next step facility as an inpatient but I'll have to pay for that myself.

Sorry for sharing so many details. But every step in the process of getting the right help for Karl has been a struggle and I'm very tired.

I sent her the information on Go Fund Me, and also suggested that his church could start a campaign as well, along with Karl's composer-choir Triad, which would not be taking a percentage the way Go Fund Me will.

So be prepared to donate, when the funds are established.

To quote the Reverend Leroy:  "Dig deep, and make it hurt"  0:)

https://www.youtube.com/v/cgwvSTzWF6w&t=55s

[Ghost of Baron Scarpia]

Cato,

Was this a facebook update, or an email sent directly to you?

[vandermolen]

Tonight Karl sent the following message to us:

Great to hear from the man himself!



It seems so wrong that as well as supporting Karl the family have to worry about the financial cost of it all. There are many things wrong with the UK, especially at the moment, but at least there is a National Health Service.

[Cato]

Great to hear from the man himself!



It seems so wrong that as well as supporting Karl the family have to worry about the financial cost of it all. There are many things wrong with the UK, especially at the moment, but at least there is a National Health Service.

There are social services available, e.g. disability payments for being unable to work, as well as medical payments, from both the state of Massachusetts and the federal government, but Maria will need to weave her way through the bureaucrats and the paperwork!  My sister and her husband both became disabled in the last years (he, because of a brain tumor whose effects were similar to that of a stroke, she, because of bad choices in diet and health throughout the decades) and receive assistance from both Ohio and the federal government.

Still, not everything will be 100% covered.

[Cato]

Maria is looking into a FaceBook page for raising funds to defray long-term costs, along with a Go Fund Me page for those not on Facebook.

They will be receiving disability payments from Karl's employer, but that will not be enough.

So, when the funding pages are ready, I will provide the links.

[vandermolen]

Once again, thanks for updates Leo.

[SonicMan46]

Maria is looking into a FaceBook page for raising funds to defray long-term costs, along with a Go Fund Me page for those not on Facebook.

They will be receiving disability payments from Karl's employer, but that will not be enough.

So, when the funding pages are ready, I will provide the links.

Thanks again Cato for being a thoughtful intermediary in this unexpected tragedy in Karl's life - hoping for more good news that may shorten his recovery and lessen the financial burden - sad indeed.  Dave

[André]

Maria is looking into a FaceBook page for raising funds to defray long-term costs, along with a Go Fund Me page for those not on Facebook.

They will be receiving disability payments from Karl's employer, but that will not be enough.

So, when the funding pages are ready, I will provide the links.

Thanks, Leo. Providing links to a funding page will certainly help our thoughts take a concrete turn !

[SonicMan46]

Thanks, Leo. Providing links to a funding page will certainly help our thoughts take a concrete turn !

For those interested, Maria Babylak's FB site is open - just made a donation - PayPal or credit card accepted.  Dave

[Cato]

Maria has put a comment on Facebook:

My husband suffered a severe stroke. I was out of town and got a call from hospital right before the Thanksgiving informing that Karl is in a serious life threatening condition, they don't know the outcome and about to perform a surgery... shock, fear, anger, I can't even describe what I felt. Thanks to friends and colleagues support I made my way to Boston, found Karl in ICU in a very poor condition. A week of agony, not knowing how the high risk of further damage would play out. Luckily, he pulled through that and his condition improved. Now Karl is on the road to recovery, working hard to get back to life. It will be a long way for him. Insurance will pay some medical expenses but far from all. At hospitals, rehabs and social services, sadly, I find non - caring, dismissive attitude dictated by the amount insurance will pay rather than a well-being of a patient. I never asked before (it's rather embarrassing to ask) and I have no choice now but to ask for financial help for Karl to get proper long term therapy, good specialists and care to give him a chance to return to his life fully, especially his musical life. Any amount will help. Thank you for your generosity.

As mentioned above: "Dig deep and make it hurt!" 

See:

https://www.facebook.com/donate/2112921185397622/

Karl also put these two comments on his FaceBook page:

And the Vulgarity Channel has resumed its broadcast day...

Remember, brain: this is a carinet- playing hand

Sic "carinet," showing that his one hand is not quite right yet, but the brain is working on it! 

[Cato]

Maria sent the following message concerning the response to her fund-raising campaign on FaceBook:

Thank you. I just wrote how things are, as is, and I'm touched how many people responded.  And yes, every $1 helps right now. If many people donate $1 that will be  great collective help.

Karl is leaning to operate phone with one hand for now.

I also received a response from Julian Bryson of the Triad Choir: he says they will soon discuss some sort of fund-raising effort for him, perhaps a fund-raising concert of some sort..

[Cato]

Maria sent the following message concerning the response to her fund-raising campaign on FaceBook:

I also received a response from Julian Bryson of the Triad Choir: he says they will soon discuss some sort of fund-raising effort for him, perhaps a fund-raising concert of some sort..

The fund-raising has broken $2, 300.00 on FaceBook.

If anyone wants to donate directly to Karl's family - and by-pass the fees levied by FaceBook and Go Fund Me - send me a personal message, and I can give you Karl's address.

[Cato]

I received a sobering update from Maria, which I will not quote, but summarize:

After dealing with bureaucrats, social workers, etc. from the state of Massachusetts, she is convinced they are worthless, and their counterparts from the insurance company and the hospital are not much better.  They are uninterested in aiding people, and instead see their job as saving money for the state or the hospital or the insurance company.  A state social worker, when asked about rehabilitation when Karl was still in Intensive Care, shrugged and told her "all families suffer: how is yours any different?"

His left side is fairly well paralyzed, especially his left arm, which is a dead weight.  He cannot read much of anything, or even read the clock on the wall, because of blindness in one eye.  He cannot walk without assistance, and "struggles" to eat and sit up and do other basic tasks.

She is beyond tired of constantly fighting to get the nurses and the hospital staff to perform their basic duties, e.g. bringing Karl his meals on time...or at all!  After nearly two weeks of stress, she is worn out, sleep-deprived, and depressed about the future. 

The fund-raising campaign is a last resort, as she sees no aid coming from the state or Karl's employer or the insurance company to pay for the very long-term care and rehabilitation which - it has become obvious -  Karl will need.

So, any hope that Karl will be back to even 75% of what he was now seems illusory.   Please consider donating as much as possible!  Again, if you want to send something directly to her, I can provide the address via a personal message.

[Harry]

This message Cato, is making me very very sad. Very sad indeed. I did not expect all of this.

[(poco) Sforzando]

I agree this does not sound good. But it's only two weeks out and recovery takes time. Meanwhile, let me point out that the fees from the Facebook donation page are minimal, little more than a dollar on fifty. Also, if anyone has access to classicalmusicguide.com (from where I have been effectively banned though I will try to re-register, and where Karl was active), perhaps they can post there as well. I can read the posts there and have seen nothing at all about Karl's situation.

[Cato]

I agree this does not sound good. But it's only two weeks out and recovery takes time. Meanwhile, let me point out that the fees from the Facebook donation page are minimal, little more than a dollar on fifty. Also, if anyone has access to classicalmusicguide.com (from where I have been effectively banned though I will try to re-register, and where Karl was active), perhaps they can post there as well. I can read the posts there and have seen nothing at all about Karl's situation.

Never heard of Classical Music Guide!  But I will look into spreading the word there as well!

[André]

Classical Music Guide is another forum with a very hands on approach from the moderators. Like someone said, there are very fine people on both sides  , so it's a good idea to let them know about Karl's condition and the funding drive.

[Ghost of Baron Scarpia]

I received a sobering update from Maria, which I will not quote, but summarize:

After dealing with bureaucrats, social workers, etc. from the state of Massachusetts, she is convinced they are worthless, and their counterparts from the insurance company and the hospital are not much better.  They are uninterested in aiding people, and instead see their job as saving money for the state or the hospital or the insurance company.  A state social worker, when asked about rehabilitation when Karl was still in Intensive Care, shrugged and told her "all families suffer: how is yours any different?"

His left side is fairly well paralyzed, especially his left arm, which is a dead weight.  He cannot read much of anything, or even read the clock on the wall, because of blindness in one eye.  He cannot walk without assistance, and "struggles" to eat and sit up and do other basic tasks.

She is beyond tired of constantly fighting to get the nurses and the hospital staff to perform their basic duties, e.g. bringing Karl his meals on time...or at all!  After nearly two weeks of stress, she is worn out, sleep-deprived, and depressed about the future. 

The fund-raising campaign is a last resort, as she sees no aid coming from the state or Karl's employer or the insurance company to pay for the very long-term care and rehabilitation which - it has become obvious -  Karl will need.

So, any hope that Karl will be back to even 75% of what he was now seems illusory.   Please consider donating as much as possible!  Again, if you want to send something directly to her, I can provide the address via a personal message.

It is clear that Karl's stroke has been very severe and debilitating, but it is too soon to loose hope for significant recovery. There is a huge range of possible outcomes, which may range from severe permanent impairment to close to normal function. It is too soon to judge.

I sympathize with Maria's frustration, but benefits depend on rules, not any bureaucrat's sympathy. She needs the advice of someone who can hep her navigate the system, which may be harder in her case since she is an immigrant to the US and may not be familiar with the resources available and the culture.

Karl needs to be classified as disabled, which will give him access to support similar to what a retired person receives from Social Security and Medicare or Medicaid.