banner.gif (3613 Byte)

Corner.gif 1x1.gif Corner.gif
1x1.gif You are at: Home - Discussion Forum 1x1.gif
Corner.gif 1x1.gif Corner.gif
      
round_corner_upleft.gif (837 Byte) 1x1.gif (807 Byte) round_corner_upright.gif (837 Byte)

Go Back   Gordon Lightfoot Forums > General Discussion

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 10-25-2002, 06:38 AM   #1
hfan
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default

There was an interesting article in the paper today that suggested some new information. Apparently, Barry Harvey, Gord's manager said Gord is periodically conscious. Here's a quote from the article: "It's alarming to all of us that (recovery) has taken this length of time, and his family is dealing with this as best they can. We're just happy it's going in the right direction, and every day he seems to become a little stronger." He also said, "There are some long-term things that have to resolve themselves." and "He is getting better every day slowly, the prognosis is good, but he is in serious condition."

This is the most information we have received in a while. Hope you find it informative. The article appears in the Hamilton Spectator of Friday October 25, 2002. The rest of the article says nothing new.
  Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2002, 06:52 AM   #2
Auburn Annie
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 3,102
Default

hfan, is this in the print edition of the paper? I haven't seen it on their online page anywhere.
Auburn Annie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2002, 07:36 AM   #3
char
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Toronto,Ontario-CANADA
Posts: 265
Default

I don't recall "aneuryism" being verified by the hospital or in any press I have seen. I have seen "abdominal surgery", "bleeding blood vessel", "abdominal condition", "gastro-intestinal ailment", "rare weakness in a blood vessel in his abdomen".
Whatever the ailment it was obviously very, very serious and this is at least some good news on a cold dreary Friday morning. I shall check the Toronto papers as well.
thanks,
Char
char is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2002, 09:31 AM   #4
70sFan
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 31
Default

Thanks very much, hfan, for posting this.
70sFan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2002, 09:35 AM   #5
ColoradoSue
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Denver
Posts: 67
Send a message via AIM to ColoradoSue
Default

Hfan:
Please post a link to that exact article. Otherwise, if I don't see it, then I don't believe it.

Thankyou.

------------------
"Will Build Satellites For Food"
ColoradoSue is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2002, 10:09 AM   #6
Auburn Annie
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 3,102
Default

Whatever the situation, getting better - however slowly - is good news. So for those who haven't already done so, how about sending along a get well/birthday greeting via Char (see that topic for her address). I've sent mine along.
Auburn Annie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2002, 12:13 PM   #7
ColoradoSue
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Denver
Posts: 67
Send a message via AIM to ColoradoSue
Default

Hfan...I apologize for my "dont-believe-it -till-I-see-it" approach but that's just my nature sometimes (It's just that I've been burned in the long distant past by not taking that stance!). The Spectator e-mailed their article to me.....thanks Hfan for sharing us the good news!
PS: Watchman was correct...they did not have their story up on their website.


[This message has been edited by ColoradoSue (edited October 25, 2002).]
ColoradoSue is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2002, 01:20 PM   #8
formerlylavender
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Delaware
Posts: 743
Default

Watchman, you certainly are a jack-of-all-trades. What don't you do or haven't you done?

Hfan, thanks for the update.
formerlylavender is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2002, 01:21 PM   #9
Gord
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Thanks for the news tip....it was probably a wise move to postpone the Massey Dates, obviously there is no way he would have made it. I think the news he is drifting in and out of consciousness is to be taken very seriously and while I am hoping for a positive outcome of this, I feel we must all brace ourselves if this health scare puts Gord in retirement. All I can say is that I am grateful I have had the opportunity to meet Gord a handful of times and his band once and been to many of his concerts. Let's all hope that this isn't it!
  Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2002, 01:36 PM   #10
Oma
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 283
Default

I'm glad that he seems to become a little stronger everyday. Gordon's family must be on an emotional rollercoaster.

Thanks, hfan, for posting the update.
Oma is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2002, 02:31 PM   #11
gwen sue snyder
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Hartville, Ohio, USA
Posts: 60
Default

hfan,

thanks this was great news for a drery Friday, thanks.

well gang he is slowly progressing. that is great!

sometimes we take for granted all of the blessings we have until they are changed and then how upset we become but, I am humble, guys we may never see him in concert again but he is alive and still kicking... ironic, he is a fighter because others would have gone to happier hunting grounds by now. We can all sigh that collective sigh that things are not worse...friends Gord is real sick and like Watchman, I agree that we need to be praying that Gods' mercies be with Gord. Also I will be praying that you all have a peace about this, because stress kills my friends and Gord would not want us to be stressed. "if old Dan could see us now, I know he'd shout out loud", live life fully! God bless your hearts because they are good and peaceful.

gwen
gwen sue snyder is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2002, 03:32 PM   #12
char
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Toronto,Ontario-CANADA
Posts: 265
Default

I know what an anuerysm is - my grandmother had a fatal one to her heart and my sis-in-law had two in her brain. I only said I had not seen "aneurysm" in any press stuff.
Char
char is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2002, 03:49 PM   #13
hfan
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Hi guys:

I've been away from the computer all day. I'm glad to see that my information has been verified. I know you don't know me from Adam right now, but for what it is worth, I believe in honest, straight up communication. The article appeared in the Hamilton Spectator, newstand edition. I was suprised to see it as I sipped my morning coffee. But I was sure grateful to get some bit of real information. As I've said before, I just want some info so that I can process it and know what to expect. By the way H fan simply stands for Hamilton fan. That's how I keep catching rumours and running into nurses who work there. Gord's staying in my town. If I hear anything worth sharing I'll let you know.

Hfan
  Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2002, 07:18 PM   #14
BILLW
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Salisbury, MD, USA
Posts: 2,558
Send a message via AIM to BILLW
Default

hfan,

Thanks! Bill
BILLW is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-26-2002, 07:50 AM   #15
Cathy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Maine, USA
Posts: 1,967
Send a message via AIM to Cathy
Default

Actually, one can have a leaking artery without having an aneurysm. An aneurysm means a section of blood vessel blows up like a balloon, then bursts. There is such a thing as a rupture, which means that a section of blood vessel weakens and starts leaking. My father had a stroke that was caused by a ruptured blood vessel, but he didn't have an aneurysm. In the end, I suppose it didn't matter. He didn't survive it.
Hfan, did the article mention that he's been in and out of consciousness? Is what you posted the complete article, or is there more?

Cathy
Cathy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-26-2002, 12:04 PM   #16
ColoradoSue
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Denver
Posts: 67
Send a message via AIM to ColoradoSue
Default

Cathy:
The Hamilton Spectator kindly e-mailed the entire article to me yesterday (being that it wasn't on their website)...here it is:

The Hamilton Spectator Entertainment, Friday, October 25, 2002, p. D03

Lightfoot remains in intensive care
by Paul Morse

Gordon Lightfoot is slowing improving and periodically conscious even as he remains in a Hamilton hospital intensive care unit. "He is getting better every day slowly, the prognosis is good, but he is in serious condition," said the folksinger's manager, Barry Harvey, yesterday. "There are some long-term things that have to resolve themselves," Harvey said. Lightfoot, 63, is one of Canada's best known musicians who wrote hits such as Early Mornin' Rain, Sundown and The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald. He was rushed to McMaster University Medical Centre on Sept. 8 with internal bleeding from a rare weakness in an abdominal blood vessel, and underwent a series of complicated surgeries. Lightfoot is periodically conscious, Harvey said, but refused to provide further details. "It's alarming to all of us that (recovery) has taken this length of time, and his family is dealing with this as best they can," Harvey said. "We're just happy it's going in the right direction, and every day he seems to become a little stronger." Hamilton Health Sciences has included a Gordon Lightfoot page on its Web site updating his condition at www.hamiltonhealthsciences.ca. Hospital spokesperson Heather Pullen said Lightfoot's family has asked that details about the singer-songwriter's condition remain private. Lightfoot was born in Orillia on Nov. 17, 1938. He came onto Toronto's folk music scene in the early 1960s and recorded five groundbreaking albums by 1969. Then, in 1970, he recorded If You Could Read My Mind, his breakthrough song that rocketed up the music charts in the United States, and has become one of the best known songs in popular music history. pmorse@thespec.com or Stoney Creek Bureau at 905-662-3811. © 2002 The Hamilton Spectator. All rights reserved.



[This message has been edited by ColoradoSue (edited October 26, 2002).]
ColoradoSue is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-26-2002, 03:09 PM   #17
Restless
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 333
Default

What would cause the prolonged unconsciousness? "Periodically conscious" sounds like he's most often unconscious, and "long-term things" also seems unsettlingly ominous.
Restless is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-26-2002, 03:33 PM   #18
BILLW
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Salisbury, MD, USA
Posts: 2,558
Send a message via AIM to BILLW
Default

ColoradoSue,

Thanks for the post. The situation does not seem to have improved as quickly as "the casual observer" might have thought it would from the initial reports. But since no one reading these posts is a "casual observer" that doesn't apply here. Not wishing to read through another "flame war" I'm going to hold off on speculation, etc. for the moment. But I reserve the right to jump back in at any time, only kidding. Thanks again for posting the article for us.
Bill
BILLW is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-26-2002, 03:45 PM   #19
ColoradoSue
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Denver
Posts: 67
Send a message via AIM to ColoradoSue
Default

Bill:
Thankyou for your kind reply & such.
I read a Toronto Sun article (this month) regarding Ronnie Hawkins recieving his star on Canada's Walk Of Fame.
He told the press that he felt that the prayers & well-wishes from everyone was what pulled him thru his health ordeal & asked all of us (around the world) to do the same for Gordy.

Love heals!

**********************************
"Where there is Love, there is God also."
Leo TOlstoy


"Love is all we have, and the only way we can help each other"
Euripides

"From the beginning of life to its end, LOVE is the only emotion which matters"
June Callwood



[This message has been edited by ColoradoSue (edited October 26, 2002).]
ColoradoSue is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-26-2002, 04:02 PM   #20
Auburn Annie
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 3,102
Default

He underwent "a series of complicated surgeries" - meaning he's had several anesthestics, pain meds, and is possibly under long-term light sedation (not uncommonly used in ICU to reduce stress on the body while healing.) Twilight zone time, the gray fuzzies interspersed with periods of clarity.

Speaking from personal experience, I had a reaction to a very common analgesic, Stadol, with my second child. Instead of an hour in recovery postpartum like the first time. I was there almost 8 hours, hanging onto consciousness by my fingernails - and I'd only had a very small dose just prior to delivery. Not at all pleasant and entirely unexpected. The poor anesthesiologist apologized every time he saw me over the next 6 months - I was the first adverse case he'd had in hundreds.
Auburn Annie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-26-2002, 05:09 PM   #21
Auburn Annie
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 3,102
Default

ColoradoSue......

Thanks for the heads up, and from a good source, too. I hope Liz and family can breathe a little easier now.
Auburn Annie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-26-2002, 06:21 PM   #22
Cathy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Maine, USA
Posts: 1,967
Send a message via AIM to Cathy
Default

quote:Originally posted by TheWatchman:
An aneuryism is a "weakened, enlarged (or ballooned) area in a blood vessel". This is what I wrote in my first explanation. Rupture, according to the Webster's Dictionary, means "to break apart or burst". Like I said, veins don't just bleed (or burst) without a stimulus. Although there is rarely a warning, that does not mean there was no stimulus. An "aneuryism" is the stimulus and the "rupture" is the result. Of course, if one is stabbed or something than that is a different stimulus. Again, an aneuryism does not just mean "ballooning", it also means "weakening" which may or may not accompany "ballooning".

Sorry to hear about your father. No matter what it is called, or how we perceive the facts, the end result is the same. My Grandfather had one in his stomach and my stepmother had one in the brain. We are all looking through the same forest but the trees keep getting in the way.

hfan said in his first post that there was nothing else new in the article. Obviously there was more, but most likely the same updates that we have been getting. Interesting for sure.

[This message has been edited by TheWatchman (edited October 26, 2002).]


An artery can tear just like any other type of tissue. Actually what happens is, as you get older, your blood vessels loose some of their elasticity. And if you're a smoker, it's even worse, because your blood vessels actually become brittle. Sections weaken and the tissue eventually "breaks". It doesn't always balloon and burst. It can rupture without doing that.

Cathy

Cathy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-28-2002, 07:09 PM   #23
Bridgewater
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default

I have heard from people in the medical profession, that when an older person is in the state that Gord is in ( in and out of consciousness ), their immunity is low and they are much more at risk for developing secondary illnesses, such as pnemonia.
  Reply With Quote
Old 10-28-2002, 09:34 PM   #24
Rebecca
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: CA, USA
Posts: 103
Default

Dear Watchman,
I really don't wish to belabor this technicality, but, in the interest of dispelling misinformation, I'll share a few sites and the information contained therein.
Both of these definitions of the term "aneurysm," as well as several others I didn't have time to copy and paste, indicate that an aneurysm is a ballooning of the aorta rather than just a weakening.
Rebecca

http://my.webmd.com/encyclopedia/article/1675.57076
Aortic Aneurysm
Aneurysm
An aneurysm is a bulging section in the wall of a blood vessel that has become stretched out and thin. Where the wall of the blood vessel bulges out, it becomes weaker and may burst or rupture, causing bleeding. If an aneurysm in the brain bursts, it may cause a stroke. An aneurysm in a vessel that carries a lot of blood, such as the aorta, can be very dangerous if it bursts.

http://www.academicpress.com/inscigh...9/aneurys1.htm
aneurysm
Medicine
• a sac formed by the dilation of the wall of a vein or artery; sometimes congenital, but usually caused by disease and, occasionally, by trauma. Also, aneurism.
quote:Originally posted by TheWatchman:
Cathy, I don't want to keep this going but please re-read my prior posts. You are agreeing with what I am saying. A weakened artery (or vein), by medical textbook definition is NOT only "ballooning" but also "weakening". Again, you can have a weakened vein WITHOUT any ballooning whatsoever. It is true about aging, smokers and veins losing their elasticity. That is why smokers are at an increased danger for having an aneurysm. When a smokers veins lose elasticity they become weakened, which by definition they technically have an aneurysm. Being that they have no symptoms, when it does rupture the term aneurysm is often used because the aneurysm had to be present before the rupture. Again, there can be other stimuli that can cause a rupture. Smoking can be a stimulus for veins losing their elasticity which naturally weakens them, hence the aneurysm. You can live with an aneurysm for a long time but once it leaks or bursts, it is a rupture. Whenever a vein weakens, for whatever reason, it is called an aneurysm. If a vein ruptures, it is caused by weakening or ballooning which is an aneurysm. To make it clearer, if a vein is ballooned, it must be weak (100% without a doubt). On the otherhand, if a vein is weakened, it does NOT mean that it is ballooned.

A lot of times people (and Dr.'s too I suppose) interchange the terms aneurysm and rupture. They go hand in hand. Someone walking around with an aneurysm is a ticking time bomb because at any moment that vein can rupture (burst, leak etc.)

Okay, let's move on. The bottom line is that GL is supposedly making progress and getting better each day. Let's just hope he keeps up the good fight.

[This message has been edited by TheWatchman (edited October 26, 2002).]




[This message has been edited by Rebecca (edited October 28, 2002).]
Rebecca is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-29-2002, 12:38 AM   #25
Rebecca
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: CA, USA
Posts: 103
Default

Dear Watchman,
Yep, I did think you were probably spouting off without having done much quality research. I'm still not entirely certain that you read it sufficiently carefully, but since you're not interested
in going back and forth, I'll let it go.
Rebecca
P.S. Sure, we can move on, unless you're determined to have the last word.


P.P.S. Sorry, Char!

quote:Originally posted by TheWatchman:
Okie-dokie Rebecca. The medical text (Medical Terminology, Second Edition by Alice Prendergast) which I looked in says exactly what I wrote. Did you think I was just spouting off without a little research on my own?

I really don't care to keep going back and forth about this. In the whole scope of things it really doesn't matter does it? Like I said, the end result is the same. Again, can we move on?




[This message has been edited by Rebecca (edited October 28, 2002).]
Rebecca is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Information/ Favor Son of a Fan General Discussion 14 10-25-2007 10:32 PM
Aurora set list and Gord's condition 09/23 GoofyGurl General Discussion 12 09-28-2006 07:34 PM
Gord condition? fowlesjohn General Discussion 8 01-23-2003 04:20 PM
information Brkrmorant General Discussion 1 11-22-2002 06:24 PM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:51 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
downleft 1x1.gif (807 Byte) downright