Lark Parker-Needs prayers!

[Chicken Hawk]

Dale has been in the hospital over a week with kidney failure and stomach problems. The doctors think he has Wegener's Disease which can affect many parts of the body but the kidneys and stomach are two of the main ones.

He is in intensive care and has a feeding tube and a breathing tube. Because of the breathing tube he cannot talk and can only use hand signals and write notes to communicate. This is very frustrating for him.

He was on dialysis every other day and I believe every day for awhile but he was having reactions to it and they now are giving it to him over a longer period of time and I think less amount if that is the proper way to describe it.

Today he told Barb he likes to have visitors which is a plus as he wasn't feeling well enough to have much company. Of course they don't want but two people at a time and only for short times. Everyone going in the room must wear a hospital gown and gloves. I know most of you are too far away to visit but I'm sure he would appreciate cards and letters.

His mailing address is:

Dale McPhearson-Inpatient
St. Vincent Hospital
Room 2629
2001 W. 86th Sreet
Indianapolis, IN 46260-1902

Those of you that know Dale realize he is not one to talk about himself or his illness. This is why we haven't posted anything before now and today we asked Barb if it would be ok to let the newsgroup know and she gave the ok. All we knew before he went to the hospital was that he said he has been having back problems for quite awhile and brushed it off as nothing serious.

I think that is pretty much it but Bob Palma may add something if I've forgotten to mention anything.

I know he will appreciate your prayers, thoughts, cards and letters. He definitely needs them. Will let you know of any changes.

Ted

[Bob Andrews]

So sorry to hear this. Dale is a good friend, and I will get a card right out. In the meantime he will be the subject of heartfelt prayer.

Get well soon LP!

[mbstude]

Thanks for posting Ted, I'm sure the extra prayers will help. For what it's worth he first went to the hospital on June 30th, so he's been there for a bit more than a week.

Hang in there, Dale!



He best get well soon. I still have to get him back for making me haul all of this "stuff" 850 miles home from South Bend...

[41 Frank]

We wish Dale a speedy and complete recovery and will keep him in our prayers. We will get a card off to him post haste.

Frank and Elizabeth van Doorn

[okc63avanti]

Just wrote a Get Well letter and it will go in the mail. Dale will be in my prayers, thanks for sharing Ted.

[wolfie]

We will add him to our prayers also. Get well soon Dale. Steve and Tracy

[HookedonStudies]

Thanks for the update Ted. We'll pray that Dale finds strength and peace.

[silverhawk]

I'll keep him in my prayers for sure!

[BobPalma]

This is the disease with which Dale has been diagnosed:

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Wegener's+disease

As you can see, it is a difficult disease to diagnose, and even harder to treat. Unfortunately, the symptoms are so similar to more common maladies that the disorder had a firm grip on Dale before it was properly diagnosed, making treatment that much more difficult.

I first saw Dale at St. Vincent's on Sunday, July 4, and have been back four times since. On the 4th of July, he was still in a "regular" room, but was transferred to intensive care a couple days later due to the breathing and kidney problems. He has been there ever since. On the 4th of July, we were able to converse, but he was difficult to understand. During the next four visits, he was strapped to the breathing apparatus, so talking was out of the question.

As Ted stated, Dale is a private person and we waited until we had a green light from his wife Barbara to "go public." In fact, Dale is so private that we didn't know anything was wrong until Saturday, July 3, when he had already been in the hospital four days after an emergency ambulance ride the 35-odd miles southeast from the Frankfort IN Hospital ER to St. Vincent's! On that day (July 3), Dale's niece, who just happens to live directly across the street from us here in Brownsburg(!), came across the street and asked Cari and I, "Do you know my Uncle Dale is in the hospital with renal failure?" Yipes! Nope!

I called Ted because I think he is Dale's "best friend" in Studebakering AFAIK, and Ted had heard nothing of it, either! But we got the impression early on that Barb and Dale wanted the situation to have limited exposure until more was known, so we honored that, of course.

Suffice to say Dale has a long way to go, but we hope he's turned the corner. He is now in his fourth week at St. Vincent's and still in Intensive Care, so you know he's got to be getting "antsy." Cards and notes would really be appreciated, so please use the address Ted posted in his original remarks. (I don't think you have to use the room number. In fact, it would probably be better if you didn't, because when he is moved to a "normal" room, they might get confused if he's not located in 2629.)

Clever writer that he is, Dale will probably be composing a knock-off of an old Beach Boys '60s song when he gets out...possibly along the lines of,

"Well, I saved my nickles and saved my dimes,
'cause I knew there would come a time,
when I could make bail to exit,
Room twenty-six twenty nine!"

Or something like that...

Thanks for everyone's good thoughts and prayers. They are both needed and appreciated. BP

[Lenny R2]

Get well soon Dale.

[ddub]

I only know Dale in his Lark Parker guise but he will surely be in my prayers.

[Milaca]

Perhaps somebody can give him a laptop computer with internet access to the forum? Maybe that's not possible, but I hope he gets well soon and can once again visit and write on this forum as his input here is much appreciated as are his articles in Turning Wheels.

[Chris_Dresbach]

I hope he gets well soon.

[Cravin]

I have never had the priveledge of meeting Dale but enjoy his postings here. Prayers sent.

[jclary]

I too will be praying for Dale's recovery. After reading up on the malady, I understand why the hospital gown and gloves are required. His immune system is compromised by not only the disease, but the treatment. Therefore it is extremely important that his environment be kept as sterile and clean as possible. I hope that any cards or anything else sent in his room are subjected to a sanitizing process.