Dear friends and family,
After several days of having an elevated pulse, which antibiotics failed to bring down, today (Saturday, May 17, though I'm writing this at 5 am on the 18th), I was reading to Danny in the backyard when I noticed he was cold and clammy. I took his blood pressure and found it was way way down (after it had been fine for the past several days) and his breathing became labored. We took him to Torrance Memorial Hospital's emergency room where blood tests showed the presence of an enzyme in his blood that signals a heart attack or some sort of heart damage has occurred. The doctor we spoke with told me he had a life-threatening condition.
The doctor did a chest CT scan to rule out a pulmonary embolism. They had difficulty finding a vein to get fluids into him and had to insert a tube in the jugular at his neck, but once the fluids and two strong antibiotics began to flow into him, Danny seemed to do much better and we breathed a sigh of relief- The doctor posited that Danny likely had a severe infection that had caused some damage to his heart.
At that point Lynn and I had been joined by Andy and Tricia, Misti and Katie and her boyfriend DJ, as well as Danny's friend Sherif whose mother Sylvia is a physician and kindly came to offer love and medical expertise, along with her husband Merritt.
Just as we began to relax however, Danny's breathing became very troubled and he was visibly agitated from the effort of getting air into his lungs. He was brought upstairs to the Intensive Care Unit where he was given chest x-rays and it was found that he had fluid in his lungs, so a doctor came in and intubated him, placing a tube down his throat so that a ventilator could breathe for him and help him through the night.
I have come home to catch a few hours rest (we arrived at the hospital at 7 pm and it's now 5 am). When I left, Danny was sedated and breathing as comfortably as possible and was being attended by Misti, Lynn and Katie. I wanted to get this email out to you all, to ask you to please send Danny prayers and/or positive thoughts and love.
You have all been so amazingly wonderful about supporting us- Danny has had over 200 birthday emails from all over the world, many from people we've never met, all expressing love and admiration for him (and his birthday is not till Monday!). I read most of the emails to him Saturday morning and he really paid attention and undoubtedly appreciated them. But now I'm asking you to send him light and love and prayers as he battles again for his life. I told the doctor how he'd beaten the odds several times before, and the doctor said they will do all they can to help him do it again.
Danny recently told me again how he feels God's love constantly. I asked how often he saw Meher Baba and his hand passed over "Not Much" and "Once A Day" to land squarely on "All The Time". I pray that he's feeling the presence of the divine now as he fights on.
I'll keep you up to date.
With so much love and gratitude to you all, Jeff
After several days of having an elevated pulse, which antibiotics failed to bring down, today (Saturday, May 17, though I'm writing this at 5 am on the 18th), I was reading to Danny in the backyard when I noticed he was cold and clammy. I took his blood pressure and found it was way way down (after it had been fine for the past several days) and his breathing became labored. We took him to Torrance Memorial Hospital's emergency room where blood tests showed the presence of an enzyme in his blood that signals a heart attack or some sort of heart damage has occurred. The doctor we spoke with told me he had a life-threatening condition.
The doctor did a chest CT scan to rule out a pulmonary embolism. They had difficulty finding a vein to get fluids into him and had to insert a tube in the jugular at his neck, but once the fluids and two strong antibiotics began to flow into him, Danny seemed to do much better and we breathed a sigh of relief- The doctor posited that Danny likely had a severe infection that had caused some damage to his heart.
At that point Lynn and I had been joined by Andy and Tricia, Misti and Katie and her boyfriend DJ, as well as Danny's friend Sherif whose mother Sylvia is a physician and kindly came to offer love and medical expertise, along with her husband Merritt.
Just as we began to relax however, Danny's breathing became very troubled and he was visibly agitated from the effort of getting air into his lungs. He was brought upstairs to the Intensive Care Unit where he was given chest x-rays and it was found that he had fluid in his lungs, so a doctor came in and intubated him, placing a tube down his throat so that a ventilator could breathe for him and help him through the night.
I have come home to catch a few hours rest (we arrived at the hospital at 7 pm and it's now 5 am). When I left, Danny was sedated and breathing as comfortably as possible and was being attended by Misti, Lynn and Katie. I wanted to get this email out to you all, to ask you to please send Danny prayers and/or positive thoughts and love.
You have all been so amazingly wonderful about supporting us- Danny has had over 200 birthday emails from all over the world, many from people we've never met, all expressing love and admiration for him (and his birthday is not till Monday!). I read most of the emails to him Saturday morning and he really paid attention and undoubtedly appreciated them. But now I'm asking you to send him light and love and prayers as he battles again for his life. I told the doctor how he'd beaten the odds several times before, and the doctor said they will do all they can to help him do it again.
Danny recently told me again how he feels God's love constantly. I asked how often he saw Meher Baba and his hand passed over "Not Much" and "Once A Day" to land squarely on "All The Time". I pray that he's feeling the presence of the divine now as he fights on.
I'll keep you up to date.
With so much love and gratitude to you all, Jeff
