This is the latest information I have, besides that he was discharged from St. Mary's hospital in Janesville yesterday morning.

Their is a St. Mary's in Madison and one in Janesville.  
I don't know if anybody is monitoring Roger's e-mail or not, but I will pass his business address along just in case.




This clears up lots of questions from yesterday's email. The woman who wrote this is a teacher at my old residential school. Her father, Phil, was my piano teacher. I am sure this is all very reliable!

 

From: Tyrrell, Karalee

Friday, June 07, 2013 10:18 PM
Subject: Note from Roger Behm's Family

 

My dad (Phil Tyrrell) and I went to Madison to see Roger.  He was communicating with friends and relatives, and has definitely not lost his sense of humor or wit. Roger and Teresa are very grateful for the outpouring of support they have received.  The response has been overwhelming, and Teresa told me that over a hundred people have visited Roger today. They are touched by this, and very thankful, but they were not anticipating visits from all of these people, and are kind of overwhelmed. They would be thankful for a note of support or call to the hospital.  They also want to clarify some of the medical information. The family has asked me to relay the note I’ve copied below. Thank you,

Karalee Tyrrell

 

I am writing this email to clear up an email that was sent to the Council of the Blind list serv.

On May 15th, Roger experienced pain in his abdomen and went to the Emergency Room at Mercy Hospital in Janesville. He was first diagnosed with the gastroentronitis but after not getting better for a few days they discovered there was a bowel obstruction. The obstruction was treated using an NG tube. They then sent him home on May 26th. After not improving at home on May 28th he went to St. Mary's Hospital in Janesville and was diagnosed with a perforated bowel and was in surgery immediately. They removed 18 inches of his small intestine during the surgery and put on a colostomy bag. He stayed at St. Mary's in Janesville for a few days without showing much improvement, so they did another CT scan and found that there were more perforations. He was then transported to St. Mary's Hospital in Madison for a 2nd surgery. During surgery they discovered that the entire bowel was dead due to a lack of blood being delivered to the area. At this time Roger is still alive, but is unable to ever eat or drink anything ever again. He is hoping to get some rest and improve enough to be able to go home and hopefully live for a few more days or weeks. If things do not go well in the next couple of days, he will be transported to Hospice Care. The doctors are amazed at how well Roger is doing considering the circumstances. He is surrounded by his family and we are hoping everyone can respect our privacy at this time. 

Thank you,

The Roger Behm Family