During our New Year’s Eve party, an ambulance went out the lane that passes through our property. We had just spoken to Mahati who has moved into Pusti’s trailer so we knew it wasn’t her. That left Stanley, a local who has lived alone at the end of the lane since his mother died, is well over 70, and a drinker, and Balabhadra’s crew. It easily could have been Stanley.
It was too late to call Balabhadra so I called this morning and got voice mail. He called me back this evening from the hospital and said he had a heart attack. They will be doing tests tomorrow (Friday) to see the extent of the damage but at least he can dial a phone.
FYI, if you or someone you know has a heart attack, it is recommended to take some aspirin while waiting for the ambulance. Aspirin is a blood thinner and can possibly limit the impact of the heart attack.
Balabhadra is a Prabhupada disciple who has dedicated his life to cow protection so please pray for him.
January 2, 2009 at 12:57 am
For what good it will do coming from this humble failure, my spiritual side is connecting to God on his behalf..it sounds as if he was being looked over if he is able to dial the phone. A few Bhakta’s trained in CPR & AED as ‘first responder’s’ would be nice to have on the ridge since Limestone can take some time to get there – this would of course entail the purchase of an AED unit, but it is well worth it…let’s face it, none of us are getting any younger…going back to Godhead is the goal, but I think we’d all agree we’d like to see our young one’s sprout seed and grow before we go. Our 60’s ideologies are still there for the most part, we just have to add a modicum of ‘today’ to meet the reality of the equation as well.
January 2, 2009 at 1:02 am
thanks for posting this.
January 2, 2009 at 1:31 am
I hope he recovers quickly. How was your New Years party?
January 2, 2009 at 8:04 pm
Please let Balabhadra Prabhu know we here at Gita-nagari are praying for his quick recovery. And may he “always remember, never forget” as he so often reminded us. Hare Krsna.
January 3, 2009 at 11:50 am
Party was fine, only too much prasadam, we had to invite Ranaka for lunch the next day to help with the surplus.
Anyone reading this:
We still have Dharma cake left over, stop by and help us reduce it in volume.
I was showing some pictures of old times, including the recent acquisitions from Laxmi Honest and showing the 6 DVDs I have of the 1983 RVC temple opening.
There was a spirited game of Apples to Apples going on,and we had three guitarists, playing both covers and original devotional songs.
We even had three guests make it all the way to midnight, which, given our demographic, was better than most years.
January 3, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Here is an update from his wife:
Dear Maharajas and Prabhus,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
We would like to thank all of you for your phone calls, messages and
prayers. It means a lot to Balabhadra.
I will try to explain as simply as possibly what has been happening with
Balabhadra’s health.
Balabhadra has always had back problems for over 40 years
(he is approaching his 63 birthday in April). He was always
able to get over any flare ups and continue to physically work very hard.
His whole life has been full of physical work and in his devotee years
(initiated in 1969) mostly centered on farm life and the cows. This last
year has been different. He has collapsed about four times and his recovery
has been slow, like two weeks or more for each collapse. His visits to doctors,
MRI, etc. revealed herniated disks, moderate spinal stenosis and some other
deterioration but nothing that was considered an emergency surgery candidate.
Some meds, instructions how to go about his activities, and physical therapy
was recommended. At the same time it was found that the pain he was
experiencing in his left knee was a result of very little cartilage on one
side of the knee. Because he was favoring the other knee this was also
negatively affecting his back problems.
Five weeks ago he was in physical therapy to strengthen his left knee and
felt a tinkling and burning in his right leg. He told the therapist and was
told to work through it. The following day he could not walk, the pain in
his right leg was so severe. We went to the emergency room and were told he
sprained his knee and the pain should decrease in a few days. The next five
weeks were spent trying to get the state clinic we are a member of to
understand this is not a sprain because the pain is severe and not getting
less intense. After being prescribed more meds, we were told they could do
nothing for us. The third week we then tried an acupuncturist who gave
Balabhadra some relief but was scheduled to go on vacation for the next two
weeks. The acupuncturist felt positive he could relieve the pain with more
treatments.
Last Tuesday we were able to get a treatment at the acupuncturist and for
the first time in five weeks Balabhadra could lay in bed without constant
pain. We were very happy thinking we were on the right path to recovery.
The past five weeks he had been bedridden, his only activity trips to the bathroom which is about 15 feet away from the bed. The pain became most intense when standing upright. Then Wednesday night he went to the bathroom and I heard a loud noise, as if something was knocked over. I opened the bathroom door and found him lying on the floor, his forehead bloody. He fell and hit his head on the ceramic floor. He was conscious and I tried to help him move back to the bedroom. Halfway there he began to slowly fall from me onto the floor. On the floor his neck began to arch and his eyes began to roll to the back of his head. He was moaning and he seemed to be leaving me and this
world.
From caring for dying cows and other animals, this is what I have seen
before the soul leaves the body. I started lightly slapping him and calling
to him, he came back to consciousness and I called 911, turned up the volume
of the Prabhupada bhajan tape we had playing and gave him rescue remedy. At
one point he began to lose consciousness again but by talking to him he
stayed conscious.
The ambulance came and brought us to the hospital where he was hooked up to
a lot of wires and drips and monitors. It was decided he should stay
overnight since some of the readings were questionable. The next morning we
were told the blood tests indicated he had a heart attack and it was
ongoing. That was why they were checking on him constantly and readjusting
all the drips. It was a mild heart attack and his heart was not damaged.
Eventually the heart would stabilize or something bad would happen. We were
told that people who have this type of heart attack usually have one again
within 6 months, and then it might be more severe. It was decided that he
needed a procedure (angioplast ?) in which the doctor goes in through a vein
in the groin and takes pictures of the heart to see if and where any
blockage might be. In the meantime the blood tests found that there is
something not quite right with his liver.
His heart stabilized by the following morning (yesterday) and he had the
procedure. Problems were found which needed some consultation with the
expert cardiologist in the area. We are now waiting to hear what the doctors
recommend as to the next step for his heart, more test results on what is up
with his liver, and a report from the neurologist as to what is causing the
pain in his left leg and hip.
The good news is that since the one treatment by the acupuncturist he has
been off most of the meds for his leg pain and is experiencing far less
pain in his leg and hip. His heart remains stable and he is off the drips.
The other good news is that he is hearing from devotees their concern and
that they will pray for him. He is still in the hospital and has been
receiving calls at (304) 843 3301. You can also write him a note at
iscowp@earthlink.net and I will print it out and give it to him. It really
does mean a lot to him when he hears from the devotees. We are now just
waiting for information. It may be a few days as it is the weekend and a
holiday here.
Balabhadra is realizing he is at a crossroads in his life. He no longer has the facility to be the workaholic “earthworm” and has to now become a “bookworm.” With your prayers and blessings and Krishna’s desire he will recover and in the years to come will engage himself more in speaking about cow protection with the purpose to encourage others and fulfill his eternal debt to Srila Prabhupada who has saved us all.
Your servant,
Chayadevi (Balabhadra’s wife)
January 5, 2009 at 9:47 am
Dear Maharajas and Prabhus,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
The many letters, prayers, and phone calls have been a great source of comfort for Balabhadra. Thank you again and again. Our hearts are touched with your kindness.
Balabhadra is now at home. It was concluded that heart surgery was not necessary. He has been given many medicines to take for his heart and high blood pressure. In one month he is to meet with the cardiologist again to see how he is doing. He is not feeling so good from the medicines but we are told that his body will adjust within a few days. His heart was not at all damaged by the heart attack.
The test results on his liver came back normal.
The whole situation with his leg has not been resolved as the neurologist did not come into the hospital on the weekend. Our general doctor there gave us the name of the expert neurologist in the area and wants us to call him and get an appointment as soon as possible. The fact that he has been immobile and in pain for so long is not good for his present and future health.
Right now he is sleeping soundly which he wasn’t able to do in the hospital. The pain in his leg comes and goes in severity. He is scheduled for the acupuncturist in a few days and hopefully he will be feeling well enough to have the treatment as it gave him much relief.
Balabhadra is receiivng phone calls at our home phone: 304-843-1658. I am hoping he wil feel well enough to access on his laptop his own email at balabhadra.iscowp@earthlink.net . You can still also write to iscowp@earthlink.net and I will make sure he will receive it.
If you could continue to pray for his improved general health and that his leg situation is resolved soon so that he may be able again to walk amongst the cows.
Your servant,
Chayadevi