Has Anyone Heard From Richard?

[Gary]

Emails go unanswered and we haven't managed a divorce.

Has anyone heard from Richard?

will delete this after he digitally resurrects himself.

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[Beyond-I-AM]

Richard is in the hospital.

He had an aortic anuerysm while visiting his mother in Florida. Don't
ask me how I know this, I just do.

A note from his wifey received April 25th:

Dear emailpals of Richard,

I wanted you to know that my husband, Richard Karlins, has been in the
hospital since March 30 following the disection of an anewrysm in his
ascending aorta. He had 8 hours of bypass surgery during which he had
several cardiac arrests. As a consequence, most of his organs and
body parts are not functioning properly. He was in ICU for 24 days.
Three days ago, he was transfered to a long term rehab hospital. He
came out of ICU for the first time today. For the past five days, he
was being weaned of the ventilator(breathing machine); he is still
getting oxgen through a tracheotomy and therefore cannot speak and
cannot eat or drink. He started waking up two weeks after surgery and
is now fully aware. His brain scan is normal. We are very thankful
for that. He is being fed and hydrated through a tube in his
abdomen. As of tonight, he will not be on the ventilator which was
only being used at night for the past five days. If all goes well, he
will start therapy tomorrow. It's a miracle he made it this far! We
are looking forward to more miracles to get all his organs and body
parts to function properly. We count on your prayers.
This happened in Fort Lauderdale while we were visiting his mother and
where we are still.


It looks like his near death experience theories are no longer
theoretical.

I have been in contact with his wife since and she tells me that he is
still in recovery and seems to be doing fine. I'm sure he will tell us
all about it when he can type again.

[Gary]

I was hoping not to hear of such things.

Richard has a loving wife and something to live for.

My thoughts and hopes are with him.

Thanks for letting me know..

Gary

[Gary]

Thanks... you are the perfect one to lend support.

On May 13, 8:00 pm, Beyond-I-AM <beyond....@gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm going to visit him in the hospital on Sunday. I will give him your
> regards.
>
> Ram

[godszen]

thank you for the update

[Mahakali]

I'll pray he recovers soon.

Thank you for letting us know.

Kali

[Gary]

Posted per Ram's request:

Dear friends and friends of Richard,

I went to visit Richard in the hospital in Fort Lauderdale this
morning. I'll just give a short summary of observations without
interjecting much of my own thoughts.

Richard is not doing well. He has been back on the ventilator for the
past two days so he was not able to speak. He is obviously
uncomfortable in the shell called the body. His wife and mother and
brother and brother's wife were there when I visited him.

Being on the ventilator he was not able to speak, but his mind was
clearly lucid. His feet were black due to the lack of circulation
while he was on the heart pump during sugery. His wife said that he
was off the ventilator until he heard that his feet were going to have
to be amputated tomorrow or the next day. Her impression was that the
anxiety from that diagnosis was resulting in his difficulty breathing.
He is being fed some solution through a tube in his stomach which
seems to be giving him a good deal of discomfort.

He did not seem to be in much pain that I could tell. I was able to
share some nice advaitic words which he seemed to appreciate very
much. He seemed to be able to tune in to that which is beyond the body
and world. The tips of some of his fingers where also black and he did
not have much dexterity in his fingers, but he was able to move his
forearms and hands a little, and I was told that he could point to a
board with letters on it in order to communicate some ideas to his
family.

I expressed the names of a few folks on AN that give their regards,
and upon hearing that, he was able to manage a smile. He did not seem
ready to give up the body at this point, but when his wife was
speaking to him saying that he was going to have to relearn how to
walk with new feet, he just kind of rolled his eyes.

When I was getting ready to leave, I said to him to remember the
changeless and to not hold on to anything. Not to hold on to his
thoughts, or the pain, or even the body. He seemed very appreciative.
He then whispered "Thank you, thank you."

His family commented when I was leaving that my visit was not only
beneficial to him, but to them also. I told him that I would say hi to
everyone on AN for him and again he smiled very big. So, "Hi
everybody!" - From Richard

RAM

Jai Raghuveer Samartha!

[godszen]

thank you

[herenow]

Thanks so much Ram for visiting Richard and being there for him and
his familt...then passing on the news to us.
I wish I had written earlier so you could have given him my best
wishes also.
If you see him agin plaese pass them on and let him know there is
always a place in my heart and memory for him.

For all of us this is a reminder of where we are all going with our
physical bodies. No body escapes...all of us will return to that from
which we came.

love keith

brothers and sisters in old age sickness and death.

[godszen]

yes, a good dose of reality

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptpHIGKr2cQ&feature=related

maybe someone can tell Richard that our hearts and prayers are with
him, I would come and visit if I could

[Mahakali]

Any news about Richard?

Regards

Kali

[Mark Carpenter]

Wow, (haven't checked this site in awhile), this really puts some
trivial stuff in perspective. Big thanks to Ram for visiting him in
the hospital, very cool move.

[Gary]

If anyone has news, please post. Otherwise, I'll Email Ram in a week
or so and see if he has heard anything. He no longer checks this
site.

Richard has battled serious illness before, but this one is the
greatest challenge.

Perhaps there are other former members that have information, but no
longer visit here. Let us know if news of Richard's condition comes
your way.

Gary

[Mahakali]

Has anyone heard from Richard, please?

Regards

Kali



On May 13, 9:17 pm, Gary <contaxg...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Gary]

Ram has sent me the following update:

"Thanks for the reminder. I was thinking about you guys last night as
I was falling asleep. It's been pretty hectic for me lately, but I
have been meaning to update you. It's a little foreign to me talking
about someone's medical condition.

Richard's wife contacted me Thursday or Friday of last week. The
doctors tell her that his legs seem to be healing well after the
amputation surgery and there is no sign of infection. His lungs are
still weak. He was off the ventilator for a couple of days and began
having trouble breathing again so he was back on the ventilator. She
seems very optimistic about Richard's recovery, but I have seen that
his condition is more serious than she lets on, or probably is willing
to admit. It mainly sounds like they are waiting for him to heal after
the heart surgery and subsequent surgery. Richard's mind is lucid and
he still seems to want to hang on to the body, so he might just pull
through this. Nicole has hopes that soon he can breathe on his own and
begin physical therapy. She's a strong woman who has gone through a
great deal in the past few months, but she seems to also be doing OK,
especially now since Richard's mother has gone up north for the
summer.

She sent this message to me:

"Some relatives have rented a place for me right near the hospital and
Richie's Mom is in Massachusetts with her other son Mark. I have much
less stress now. Richie is clear of infection at this point. His
lungs are still weak. As soon as he can breathe on his own, he will
begin some serious physical therapy."

So that's the latest. I will tell her again that folks from AN are
thinking of him and send their best wishes."

[Mahakali]

Thank you for letting me know.

Warm regards

Kali

[godszen]

yes, thanks ram/gary

[Gary]

I just wanted to bump this topic to the top. I don't want to bother
Richard's wife at this time, but I will Email her in the next couple
of weeks should we not get an update.

Can any of you provide an update as to Richard's condition?

Thanks,
Gary

[Ram]

Hi Folks,

I just got of the phone with Richard's wife Nicole a few minutes ago.
I also just realized that I still have this old original Rammed-Ass
(silly Ozzies!) account active for AN, so I can still post directly
without renewing.

The timing was good in calling Nicole, as Richard is being transported
back up to Virginny Beach this evening by medical transport. She said
it is basically like an RV equipped with a hospital bed and medical
equipment and a nurse, and they will also tow her car behind. She is
very relieved to finally be leaving FLorida as now she can get out of
the rental apartment she's been living in and get back into her own
home again.

When asked if Richard is getting stronger, she said "a little bit,
only a little bit." She said that he is completely off of the
ventilator now, but still has the tracheotomy, so he can't really
speak or eat solid food. The nurse's have been trying to get him to
work on developing his ability to swallow by giving him a little bit
of liquid, but he doesn't want much, so it is going slowly.

When he gets back to Virginia he will go directly into a nursing
facility. She sounds optimistic that once there, he will start a
program of physical therapy. I know from seeing him that it's going to
be a long steep road ahead from being on full life support to having
some semblance of a 'normal' life again. When asked if he was in good
spirits and what his mental state was like she said that he is having
some bouts of depression but not as bad as it was when he found out
about the amputation surgery and immediately after. She is a strong
woman and in general has a positive and optimistic attitude.

I mentioned to her that all the folks on AN wish him, and her, their
best regards, and to let Richard know that folks are thinking about
him. She said that she will tell him.

I will contact her again in a few weeks and get an address of where
Richard is staying so folks can send him cards or letters. I'm sure he
would greatly appreciate that.

Not much more to tell.

Ram

[godszen]

thank you, an address to send get-well cards would be great

[Kuber Technologies]

Thank you Ram for this update.

[Gary]

Thank you for your update. It would be nice to send him a card from
time to time.

Best,
Gary

[Rodger]

Thanks,Ram.

[Mahakali]

Thank you Ram..

Kali