|
|
|
|
UPDATE ON TED FROM BANGKOK'S RECOVERY FROM A BRAIN HEMORRHAGE
Dear Earth Clinic Members,
It has taken me a few months to provide an update regarding our brilliant and kind contributor, Ted, because I wanted to wait until there was positive news to report, rather than upsetting you with troubling and worrisome details that may have made the situation worse.
The past 4 months have been wrought with high levels of stress, disbelief and frustration for everyone close to Ted. However, I am very happy to report that since Monday, October 26th, Ted is finally starting to make progress within a day of entering into a 30 day program at Dr. Torsak’s hospital in Bangkok.
Prior to his entering the clinic, Ted had been placed a private nursing home 60 km outside of Bangkok with only the most basic physical therapy. While he was able to communicate a little better each day, his paralysis was not improving these past few months. I visited Ted 4 times at this tiny nursing home in late September and was horrified to learn from Ted that he had been injured by one of the physical therapists during his first week at the nursing home. An x-ray revealed that Ted's paralyzed shoulder had been dislocated during a p/t session, causing him chronic and agonizing pain.
Below is a photo from my first visit with Ted on September 21. As you can see from the photo, they had to remove a large section of Ted's skull during his brain surgery. He will absolutely need to have reconstructive surgery at a later date.
I cannot emphasize enough how relieved and overjoyed we all were when Ted finally made it to his first appointment with Dr. Torsak last week. This appointment had originally been scheduled for July.
Below you will find details about Ted’s first week of treatment from Ted’s amazing sister, Nok, who has given me permission to share these emails with you. You will also read Earth Clinic’s medical fundraising efforts for Ted and the amount that we now need to raise in order to pay off the bill at Dr. Torsak’s Clinic.
Ted’s Treatment at Dr. Torsak’s – Email from Nok to Deirdre
October 27, 2015
Dear Deirdre,
Thanks again for your kindness and concern for Ted. Me and Mother feel very blessed that Ted has a wonderful group of friends, such as you, Charlotte, Bryan and Michael. Without you and these lovely people's intervention and assistance concerning Ted, we would not be able to get Ted to Dr. Torsak's clinic to receive the best medical care / attention possible at this moment. Me and Mother thank all of you a million times over from the bottom of our hearts.
The physiotherapist who is in charge of doing 4-5 hours of physical therapy for Ted on a daily basis told us ( personally ) that she is positive that she can get Ted walking again if he cooperates with them during the physical therapy sessions. She asked us what we expected from the physical therapy, and I told her we wanted Ted to be able to move his left arm, left hand, left leg and left foot again and also to be able to walk again. She smiled at us, and said this is possible but we have to keep telling Ted and keep encouraging him to cooperate with them during the physical therapy sessions and also during the aquatherapy sessions ( where they will get Ted to move around, walk, do arm exercises and activities in a large pool they have inside the clinic/ hospital. )They also have small dumbbells ( weights) that they will let Ted lift up and down while he's standing in the water to encourage strong muscles in his arm, and to make his arm stronger. The hospital staff told us that the water in their pool is sea salt water.
Ted's first meal at the clinic/ hospital was beef stew ( for dinner ) on the evening of October 26th which was served to his room, which is located near Dr. Torsak's clinic.
Wow, we still can't get over the happiness we feel that we finally got Ted over there at Dr. Torsak's clinic. It is truly a dream come true for me and Mother that Ted is finally getting the best medical care and attention possible. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I have been waiting and waiting and waiting and visualising on a daily basis for the moment when I could finally send you an email entitled "Ted is at Dr. Torsak's clinic now " and it has finally happened. I believe with all of my heart that this has happened because of the thousands of prayers going up to Ted on a daily basis and the intervention of Ted's wonderful group of friends.
Thank you, Deirdre, for prompting us to take action concerning this matter. Without this prompting and the thousands of prayers going up for Ted, and the intervention of Ted's lovely friends, Ted would probably end up in Tina's village home province where it would be very difficult for us and his relatives/ friends to visit him there or in a state owned nursing home by now instead of receiving the excellent medical care/ attention that he is getting right now.
Ted is truly blessed to have you, Michael, Bryan and Charlotte in his life. Me and Mother feel very blessed as well to know you and this lovely group of people. What a blessing all of you have been.
Nok’s email to Ted’s friend Bryan
October 28, 2015
Dear Bryan,
Ted's schedule today is from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. and this includes physical therapy, occupational therapy ( I asked Dr. Torsak what occupational therapy meant and he explained to me that they teach the patient how to eat by himself, brush his teeth by himself, and do other daily activities by themselves ), acupuncture and aquatherapy. I will be visiting him today, in the afternoon. I will try to get to the clinic by 2:00 p.m. today to see how he's doing.
I talked to Ted yesterday night via his mobile phone and was amazed at how clear and loud his voice was ( I could understand everything he was saying whereas before he spoke softly into his mobile phone ) and this is only a few days into his treatments at the clinic. I asked him questions, and he was able to answer me. He told me he had one session of acupuncture therapy already, and will get his second session today. I asked him how he was, and he said he was feeling tired and sleepy, and after that he hung up. Tina called me a few minutes later, and asked me how long Ted would be at the clinic, and I told her that right now, he's on a 30 day programme ( which will be finished around November 27th ). She asked me if Ted's friends are going to extend his treatments after 30 days is over, I told her I didn't know - let's see how much Ted improves after 30 days first.
Dr. Torsak told me that they (he and his staff ) can get Ted recovered but he needs to cooperate with the staff ( the staff informed Dr. Torsak that Ted gets stubborn sometimes, and doesn't fully cooperate with them ).
Bryan, thanks for being there for Ted, and being with us during the professional assessment and consultation, and staying with us until Ted got checked into the clinic, and accompanying us until Ted got into his room all right.
-------------------------------
Round 1 Medical Donations to Ted
Every penny of the $3,998.83 raised through Earth Clinic paypal medical donations, July 30 through October 10, have been wired to Bangkok to begin reimbursement for Ted’s 30 day stay at Dr. Torsak’s Hospital Clinic.
Ted's 30 day stay at the clinic is costing $10,610.00 (378,018.00 Thai Baht). Click here to read about Dr. Torsak’s famous clinic. See Ted's invoice here.
Many thanks go to Ted’s friend Bryan, who saved the day when he paid a 50,000 TB deposit to get Ted into the Clinic. Unbeknownst to all of us, the Clinic was expecting payment in full upon accepting Ted last Monday! Bryan talked the Clinic into accepting a deposit and had them invoice us for the rest of the amount. We have reimbursed Bryan for the deposit via wire transfer and sent the remaining $2,500 to the Clinic. You can see Ted’s invoice and our wire transfer payments and fees here (http://ted.earthclinic.com/teddonations.html).
Dr. Torsak's Hospital Fees
Ted's 30 Day Invoice at Dr. Torsak's Clinic = 378,018.00 Thai Baht ($10,610.444)
Minus 50,000 Deposit - reimbursed by EC Medical Fund for Ted
Minus 87,920 payment by EC Medical Fund for Ted
= 240,098 Thai Baht Balance Due ($6,739.22)
Lottie's GoFundMe Campaign for Ted still has approximately £2,244.04 (123,582 Thai Baht or approximately $3,468), minus a wire transfer fee, that will be sent to Dr. Torsak's clinic soon to help pay off this bill.
The remaining balance on Ted's invoice is approximately $3,270 (116,516 Thai Baht).
If you would like to make a donation to Ted's medical fund, we would appreciate it so much! Please click the PayPal button at the top of Ted's site, ted.earthclinic.com to make a donation.
--------------------------------------------
Thank you so much for your ongoing prayers of healing and medical donations. As you can see, they have made a world of difference to Ted and his family.
With Warmest Regards and Gratitude,
Deirdre Layne
Founder, Earth Clinic
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
