Jerry Donahue suffers stroke

[sam]

Just saw this on Guitar Player online, article reports Jerry had a stroke Saturday.

Here's all good vibes to Jerry and get well soon.

http://www.guitarplayer.com/artists/101 ... roke/59113

[Craig]

Just saw this on Guitar Player online, article reports Jerry had a stroke Saturday.

Here's all good vibes to Jerry and get well soon.

http://www.guitarplayer.com/artists/101 ... roke/59113

I am very sad to hear about this. I, too, wish Jerry all the best and that he will get well soon.

--Craig

[NickHorne]

His family and friends have been posting updates every few days at the "Fairporters" group on Facebook. These posts are from Kristina Daly (his daughter) and from Jane Merrick.
Latest was that his he was going to be taken out of the Intensive Care Unit, and to have a further CT scan around now (Friday). He can't speak at present, but recognises people, smiles, squeezes hands and hums melodies quite a bit. But by no means out of danger, apparently.

Aha! Latest, from Kristina today:
Hi all,

Dad spent 2 hours in physical therapy today. They sat him up and got him on his feet. He then sat up on his own for 30 minutes!

He's paralyzed on his right side and is still without speech, but his occupational therapists have said they've seen worse cases fully recover, so that's what we're focusing on!

Dad has got some fight in him and he's very strong. He sometimes resists or retaliates when being asked to move, but he laughs when I say, "Behave!".

We have a long, hard road ahead of us, but we're celebrating the tiny wins. Thank you all so much for the prayers and well wishes! I truly believe they're working. Love to you all.

Kristina x

[sam]

Thanks for the update Nick

[NickHorne]

BUT NOW THIS
Urgently bad:

Dear Jerry Donahue friends,
We jumped the gun on Jerry's prognosis.
They have found another bleed and we are back to serious situations.
Kristina Donahue Daly and I would like to get him moved to a higher quality care center UCLA, USC, Cedars..you've all said if there anything I can do... well this is it.....if anyone has any direct connections to doctors in those places can you please refer us to them..ASAP
Thank you!

[NickHorne]

And now, at Kristina's page:

Hi everyone,
Looks like we have a plan in motion! I'll let you know once it's all in place.
To those who reached out with suggestions, recommendations, and referrals... THANK YOU!!
We're so touched by and grateful for the outpouring of care, love, and concern we've received for my dad.
Thank you.
Love,
Kristina x

Also from Kristina, some days earlier:
Please feel free to share these updates regarding my dad with people/pages/groups you think may like them. I've made my posts public. Thank you!

[Craig]

And now, at Kristina's page:

Hi everyone,
Looks like we have a plan in motion! I'll let you know once it's all in place.
To those who reached out with suggestions, recommendations, and referrals... THANK YOU!!
We're so touched by and grateful for the outpouring of care, love, and concern we've received for my dad.
Thank you.
Love,
Kristina x

Also from Kristina, some days earlier:
Please feel free to share these updates regarding my dad with people/pages/groups you think may like them. I've made my posts public. Thank you!

Thank you Nick for posting these updates. Please continue to do so.

--Craig

[NickHorne]

1: Recently at Kristina's FB page:
Hi guys! I'm a bit overwhelmed right now and am unable to respond to private messages at this time. Please watch for Facebook updates. Thank you for understanding.
Kristina x

2: And now today at Kristina's page (from Susan Rey):
Friends of Jerry Donahue,
Jerry is stable and getting ready for acute rehab. We are moving him to a good facility. He really is responding to the get well cards sent to him...he gets very excited to see them.... even though his has trouble communicating for right now...he shows much emotion getting the lovely cards...if you would like to send him some love...
Please send them to
Jerry Donahue
Care of: Susan Rey
29405 Luzon Drive
Santa Clarita, Ca 91390
He can't read emails and facebook as of yet...but he loves picking up and looking at the cards...thank you all for your love and giving strength for Jerry!
He is improving everyday!

[NickHorne]

Haven't seen anything more since the last update; hopefully, no news is good news.

[NickHorne]

This now from Kristina:
Hi, all. Sorry for the long gap since the last update. I've been putting this off because it's hard, but many have been asking about dad and it's time to let you all know the reality of his situation.
Dad suffered an ischemic stroke with hemorrhagic conversion. Every doctor who's looked at his chart is amazed that he survived. So, for that, we're truly grateful.
However, he has global aphasia, which makes it incredibly difficult to communicate and is, as you can imagine, very frustrating. His occupational therapist said she'd never before worked with someone with his level of aphasia.
He also has right side paralysis and his doctor said he will probably never play the guitar again. This being said, my dad has made progress regaining muscle control on the right side and we are not giving up on him!!
Dad is very strong and stubborn; he can do this! Please continue sending thoughts, prayers, and all the healing vibes his way. To those who have sent cards, thank you!! I know it means so much to him. If you'd like to, you're more than welcome to send videos saying hello, too. He'd love it.
You should also know that he's had a bit of agitation (naturally), but - all things considered - he's in pretty good spirits. He's working hard with speech, occupational, and physical therapy and, though it will be a long road, he's doing fine. Thank you and love to you all.
Kristina xx
P.S. Special thanks to Ron Crowe , Susan Rey , Peter Bellas , and my family for being unbelievably generous with their time and devotion to my dad.

[sam]

Kristina,

Thank you for taking time for the update. Please know your dad is regularly in thoughts and prayers.

Peace,
Sam

[sam]

Nick,

Thank you also for the update, you're our messenger.

Sam

[helle-man]

Yeah, I got Kristina's latest post too and share the sadness from the guitar community. Please keep Jerry in your thoughts & prayers. This is a tough place to be for anyone, let alone an artist of Jerry's caliber.

Will

[Corporal Clegg]

Bummer. Hope he recovers all his wares.

[NickHorne]

A couple of days ago at Kristina's FB page:

Hi all. Sorry it's been so long since the last update. It's been a bit hectic.
Dad's update - He's made a lot of improvement physically; has been regaining muscle control on right side and has been able to walk some pretty great distances with a walker. I couldn't believe it when I saw it; I didn't know if this would ever be possible. Your prayers, well wishes, and good vibes are working!! Thank you!
He's going to need a lot more work mentally, I'm afraid. The hemorrhaging has left a lot of damage and his aphasia is still a big problem. He's also had increased agitation some days, which makes sense really. I can't imagine being in his position.
Anyway, we appreciate your continued thoughts & prayers. Please feel free too to reach out with video messages! He loves those.
Love,
Kristina x
P.S. This is a public post. Please pass this along to those you think may like to know.


(NH): It does seem that at least Jerry's actual life could be fairly secure; now a very tough hard road to get back home.