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Steve

Hi All,

My name is Steve and I'm a friend of Marilee's from her local library book discussion group in Manassas, VA. I live nearby and I've offered her assistance with furniture assembly and just recently said she could call me anytime she needed help. I hope I didn't jinx her with that offer!

So here's what I know about Marilee-
Monday morning around 2:30 I got a call from Marilee asking for a ride home from Prince William Hospital. She had been there for about 6 hours after experiencing what she called cluster headaches. PWH had checked her out and pumped her full of something to treat the headaches and then released her at 2:30 in the morning during the snowstorm.

My wife, Carol, and I got her home by 3:30 AM and she said she was feeling better, just tired and thirsty. I reminded her to update her Live Journal blog so we would know she was recovering okay.
http://mjlayman.livejournal.com/

Her Live Journal entry for Tuesday, March 3, 2009
06:24 am: Home and Alive...
...will catch up in more detail tomorrow. Or later today. Spent most of the
last two days in hospitals -- Monday afternoon to this morning in two
different hospitals, transferred by helicopter -- but I don't have a
sub-arachnoid bleed in my head. So now we get to figure out what the
head-will-explode headache was.
>>>>>

Wednesday night around 7 PM I got a call from Marilee while I was still at work. It was hard to understand what she was asking for. It sounded like she wanted Carol & I to come over and read the instructions from her prescription as she couldn't read it or understand it. She was clear, not slurring, but very slow and deliberate in her speech. But she couldn't talk in more than simple sentences. I told her I could be there in 45 minutes as Carol works nights and was still asleep, not answering the phone. She asked me why I sounded so worried on the phone and I told her I was concerned by the way she was speaking. Marilee then had the realization that she was in trouble and she told me she was going to "call the place where the doctors are". I asked the hospital? And she said yes, she was going to call 9-1-1. I told her I was getting off the phone so she could call 911 but would check back on her.

I got to PWH Emergency at 8 PM and after a short line asked if Marilee had
been received there. She wasn't in the system yet and they told me no.
(long story short: I called her phone, checked her house, tried checking with the Manassas City Fire Dept when she suddenly called me back) She was in PWH Emergency still being processed in at 8:23 PM. Still talking slow but able to briefly say thanks and the doctor was coming to look at her. I told her to call if she needed a ride home again.

This morning (Thursday 3/5) I found a message from Fairfax Hospital on my cell as I was leaving for work and checking messages. They had called at 6:50 AM (I must have been taking the dogs out and missed it). I called back and talked with Marilee's nurse and told her the little bit that I knew (or think I know):

I believe she has Kaiser Permanente for health care. If so that should give them emergency contact info.

I know she is on several medications but don't know any details.

I related my conversations and recent events.

I wasn't aware of her having any family members nearby.

Obviously the nurse couldn't tell me anything in detail except Marilee wasn't able to communicate with them effectively. I told her that Marilee was a very intelligent, articulate woman and her current condition was not something I'd heard of her experiencing before. (I didn't know that she had).

I drove out to Marilee's house and made contact with her upstairs neighbor who was able to direct me to another neighbor across the street who he thought had a house key to feed the kitties.

Nobody answered the door so I left a note and then had to drive off to work. Luckily the neighbor, Laura, found the note and called 30 minutes later. Laura didn't have a key, she had just given it back. But if we could get a key she was ready to take care of the cats.

So, to wrap this entry:
The hospital did get in touch with Marilee's brother, Rick, who lives 4 hours away but has been on the phone with the hospital.
The nurse found Marilee's house key and got permission from Marilee & Rick to pass the key to me to give to Laura.
I got in to see Marilee, get the key, gave it to Laura and the kitties got food (and thanks to Laura: a clean litter box).

I'll post about the hospital visit in the next message

Kathryn · Guest

This may be redundant, but there is medical info in her LJ posts.
If they've been in contact with Kaiser then they'll have all of what KP has.

David Harmon · Guest

Both for helping Marilee in her crisis, and for telling us about it. Here's hoping the best for her....

brownicky · Guest

Please pass on my best wishes and those of all her friends from usenet.

Malla910 · Guest

Steve, thanks for putting out this information and being a true friend. Marilee couldn't have asked for anything better. Malla

Geri Sullivan · Guest

Thank you for everything you're doing, Steve.

I hope they figure out what's going on and how to treat it soon. Please give her my love and an extra measure of courage and resiliency when you see her next.

Tom B. from Making Light · Guest

Steve, my hat's off to you, while I send best wishes to Marilee and all her friends.

You've done amazing things for a person whose words I've often valued.

Velma · Joined: 07 Mar 2009 Posts: 2

Steve, thank you so much for doing this for Marilee. She's an amazing woman, and has been helping Soren and me through his stroke and recovery.

This ... hurts.

Velma

Fledgist · Joined: 07 Mar 2009 Posts: 2

Steve: Thank you for doing this for Marilee.
_________________
I had no nation now but the imagination

Guest · Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 10:54 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the updates, Steve!

Please pass along the best wishes of Trinker & family when you see her.