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From the Desk of Ms. Vandal.
Many of you know me as either Bulge Girl or the Student on the Sofa. But I am also one of the closest to Joseph.
Last night, on Christmas night, Joseph had a heart attack. He was rushed to emergency and they placed a stint in his aorta. He is currently in ICU waiting to be transferred to another hospital on Monday where he will undergo another procedure to place a second stint in another artery.
I left him at 1:00 this morning. He says he was feeling better than he had in a long time.
I spoke to him again today. He is joking around and lucid, but trying to rest. I will try to visit him later tonight. He needs his rest.
George knows something is wrong. How can you explain to a dog about these things?
... must hold myself together for Joseph and George.
Addendum:
I have read most of the comments to Joseph, and told him of your generosity. He feels humbled and wants to thank each of you who sent wishes.
I saw him today at the hospital for about an hour and a half.
He undergoes another stint placement tomorrow morning. I will probably see him tomorrow and I will update with his status.
~Ms. Vandal
P.S. Take a moment to send some love towards his Star Wars post just below this one. He was probably having a heart attack while he was writing it!
Additional Addendum:
Joseph had the second stent placed. He is groggy but should be released tomorrow (Tuesday).
I just started reading the paperwork they sent me home with... and I am sorry for misspelling "stent." There are so many words in the world that you have heard, but never have actually seen.
I will talk with Joseph about a "Go fund Me" campaign. Right now, it feels weird and tacky to "ask" for money.
Will update when I know more.
~Ms. Vandal.
P.S. I wish I had Joseph's gift of diction and wit.
53 comments:
Sorry to hear of your grief, best wishes. Get well Joseph.
So sorry to hear this, and I hope Joseph has a speedy recovery. We need him to keep afflicting the comfortable on our behalf.
Well, I dunno if I am one of the 'batshit crazy' right-wingers Joseph sometimes likes to rail against - but even if I am, I come here early and often to digest what it is that Joseph is serving up at any given time. And believe you me...it is mostly pretty tasty fare, well thought - well reasoned - and leavened with common sense, wit, and just enough sarcasm to drive points home and yet still remain tasty.
In short, a man I can get behind.
So don't let this silly business with your heart hold you back for long eh Tovarisch? Your heart is stronger then you may think, if your concern and thoughts as seen in your writing is any guide.
Take a breather, relax awhile. Reconnect with the basics, smell some flowers, maybe do some yoga and meditation.
But come back swinging, and spare no righteous anger when you return!!! Be we from the Right or from the Left - we all know you are a Patriot and you care about The Republic. And thats all any of us can be asked to do eh? :)
Ms. Vandal, please take care of yourself too. Thank you for letting Joseph's readers know what happened.
Get well soon Joseph. And thank you to Ms. Vandal for taking care of him and letting his readers know what happened.
Bad News, then Good News. whew.
I'd suggest printing his hospital phone number room but he might never sleep.
Wish you a speedy recovery Joseph.
Terrible news. Please know that there are many thinking of you all during this difficult time.
Get well soon Joseph! We need you...the world needs you!
Very sincere regards, Joseph. To you and your family at this difficult time. Please place your health above everything else. Sincerest regards.
Aghast when I read this! Get well soon, Joseph - we need you! And as Fred said, please put your health first.
Ms Vandal: if there's anything we can do, please let us know. Disgusting nocturnal rituals to Wotan - oh no, wait a minute, he prefers Mahler to Wagner, right? - anything.
You're my favorite blogger, Joe. Get well soon.
-A reader since 2007
Best wishes, sounds like they made it in time. Cleared it out and feeling better, that's great news.
Been there, done that Joe. Get healed, and get back, we need your commentary. You're gonna' feel like a new man...ben
Best wishes for a fast recovery. When you feel better talk to us about the rewards of painting and let the world take care of itself for a while.
You're my favorite blogger too. Had three stints myself about two years ago. But I feel great now. Get well. We need you.
I was horrified when I read this news. And on Christmas. Not fair! Not that life generally is, mind you . . . but still. Very glad to hear you're recuperating. Get lots of rest, my friend [so says, Dr.Peggysue]. Your online presence and commentary will be sorely missed, Joseph.
Take are of yourself. My thoughts and blessings are with you, multiplied by hundreds through your cyber community and raucous fans.
Be well and come back soon.
Peggysue
Ohhh my God!
And I don't say that very often.
I felt blindsided!
Joseph is like morning coffee to me.
He makes everything make sense.
Ms Vandal, please tell Joseph that he has thousands of fans who wish him the best and miss him if he wasn't around.
Make him take care and please let us know if how he is doing and what he needs.
M
When your feeling up to it, have you ever done a story on Paul Trummel? http://www.contracabal.net/
My father had one of these about a year and a half ago, and he's looked and felt better since. Best wishes, Joseph.
Both of you take care of yourselves and each other ... this is a time in which you have to prioritize. For the time you're off line Joseph, your insights will be missed.
That's not so Merry, that sounds tragic. Good to hear he's getting better though. Maybe next Christmas he should leave Merry alone.
Ms. Vandal, thank you for letting us know what's up with Joseph--bad news, for sure. Please keep us posted, and don't let yourself get stressed out, or George, either. Best of luck to all three of you. Jerome
These things happen as we get older, as with others I know you will feel so much better after a few weeks of recovery.
You are an inspiration to so many of us out here, now get better, you have a dog and a girl to take care of!
JT @ covert book report
My prayers are wth you...
I'm so sorry to hear this. Please let Joseph know we're all pulling for him - and please don't forget to take care of yourself, as well, Ms. Vandal. Those of us who have had to care for someone recovering from a serious illness know how emotionally and physically draining it can be.
You didn't mention this, so I will: no matter what kind of insurance you have, deductibles and co-pays for this kind of incident can be pretty substantial. If you can afford to, hit the "Donate" button - Joe is going to need it.
Please give him our best wishes.
Best wishes to Joseph for a speedy recovery.
Please provide a mail address or put up a fund-me account for those like me who'd like to contribute to defray expenses, once things settle down a bit.
Thank you for helping him.
XI
May Haruhi-kami-sama grant Joseph a swift recovery.
Long time reader of Joe's wit and wisdom. Always a refreshing and insightful view of the world events and US politics! Agree with the sentiments above, take it easy, come back when you can...will miss you in the meantime, All the best! Thank you Ms Vandal for letting us know during a difficult time, do take care. - Rick K
Get well soon. Prayers are with you, whatever kind.
Best of luck to Joseph, from Ian Welsh.
Joseph, get well soon. We all know you've been a little under the weather lately, hopefully the stents will increase cardio capacity, you'll get more oxygen to the brain, and you will start to feel better. Happened to my dad, hope so for you. All hail modern medicine! You've got to take care of the new dog if nothing else!
Ms Vandal thanks so much for keeping up with this, everyone needs a steady freind in times like this.
Get well soon, Joe.
Joseph, you wonderful, dear man. Rest. Come back even stronger in the New Year. Sending you and George and Ms. Vandal lots of love.
Love and warm get well soon wishes, Joseph. Thank you for the updates Ms Vandal. (What a shock to read this today !- Must have missed my regular stop here yesterday.)
Congratulations, Joe. You're alive--- and now you will live longer and prosper. Or at least that's what they told me after getting my bypasses. Just follow directions on the rehab and walk as much as possible and so this will all be a distant memory. Rest well.
Congratulations! You're still alive. As my doc said after my bypasses, you will now live longer and prosper. Just follow rehab directions, walk as much as possible, and get back on the horse asap. Best of luck during recovery.
Man, we need you on the barricades. Get well soon!
Get well soon from Scotland!
After Joseph mentioned that Assad was more popular in his country than Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton was in our country, Donald Trump states that Putin has 80% popularity in his own country. Its funny how two of the leaders of the U.S. feel combative towards Putin and Assad, who have higher poll numbers in their countries than our own president does in the U.S.
"At the same time, whip up some mashed potatoes. If you're serving three people, five potatoes of varying sizes should suffice. (You can mix real potatoes with the boxed stuff, but don't tell anyone.) Do not use real butter; nobody will taste the difference. Poor people buy large tubs of the cheapest spread available, and they make it last."
http://cannonfire.blogspot.ca/2015/04/the-snap-challenge-heres-real-way.html
When I read "large tubs of the cheapest spread available" I was like, WTF Joe? This is 2015. I left a comment suggesting splurging on olive oil or butter would save you money on health-care for your soon-to-be heart condition. For whatever reason, my comment wasn't posted. Anyway, it comes as no surprise to me that anyone consuming loads of hydrogenated vegetable oils (trans fats) is having heart problems.
Get well soon.
It sounds like Joseph is making excellent progress - I hope he makes a swift and complete recovery ("speedily and in our days," as my desert-dwelling ancestors would have said). As for this:
Right now, it feels weird and tacky to "ask" for money.
You didn't. We offered (I've already hit the "Donate" button and I'm sure others have as well). No need to feel weird.
Time for a vegan spread and daily yoga posts, hahaha.
Anon424
Driving to work today, I heard on the radio (NPR not some unknown local station) that research has found that people who drink 3 to 5 cups of coffee a
day live longer than others.
Furthermore; the results did not account for adding Sugar or cream or whether the coffee was decaf or regular.
WTF, I said.
Since eggs for breakfast are not supposed to kill you any longer, and coffee is supposed to save your life, l
Am eating breakfast food for lunch and dinner.
Kidding, of course!
But you get the point.
M
Best wishes from a regular reader in Denmark for a speedy and complete recovery!
Already donated and very little but to me it is will worth me giving up a cheap bottle of port;)
Best wishes and get well soon.
M
Eggs, coffee beans, and cream are foods found in nature and have been consumed by humans for thousands of years.
The industrial trans fats used in fake butter are not found in nature. They are chemically different from natural trans fats and hardly anyone consumed them prior to World War II.
Anon424
Looking forward to a positive addendum of the prior addendum, when you have time of course and aren't feeling stressed.
I've hit the donate button too, even if only I can only afford to give a small amount. No need to wait to be asked, and as Propertius observes, we haven't been asked. Just do it.
Health provision in the world's richest country isn't wonderful for those of its residents who are in the bottom third financially and even for many who aren't. Letting the ill suffer a hit in living standards just because they're ill, and not related to the illness itself, is uncivilised. If we can help, let's help.
Get well and we want to hear from you. From deep in the heart of Texas--yes you have fans even in this state.
omg! Heal well, Joseph! My best wishes for you all!
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