Dear Neighbors and friends, Edwin Robertson has so many connections in the neighborhood and at area institutions (PENN, especially the Writer's House, Annenberg Center and Rare Books), SFDS, the Calvary Cultural Center, etc. this seems to be a logical way to share the news. Please pardon duplicates. News is not great. Ed is at HUP in the Neuro ICU, Rhodes Building, Room 2004. He has ‘improved’ to “Critical-Stable” and he is getting incredible care. The cause was a major stroke, very similar to one his mother suffered. He lay immobile and undiscovered for too long. In addition to the yet undetermined damage from the Stroke, he is in Renal failure; he developed Pneumonia, some skin sores and sepsis.He was placed in an induced Coma, to assist with healing, and Thursday was his first day with no fever. On Thursday, HUP inserted a Feeding Tube and performed a Tracheotomy to make long term care easier. Ed has also been given Dialysis. I think he will be kept in a Coma until the three acute conditions are resolved, and thereafter his brain will be evaluated. If you want updates, you can find info on a web-site that is being administered by his sister:http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/edrobertson Because Ed’s family could not arrive until Thursday, our Mia spent Wednesday night at HUP in a reclining chair, beside his bed. I have long thought Mia is a natural for nursing, and I hope she sees her choices and compassion as evidence promoting that path for her.His best friend, Kevin from Virginia, and his sister, Margaret Mary, and brother, Bill, from different towns in Texas came to visit, but had to return to their families and jobs. They will return when he regains consciousness. His younger brother, John is more local and has visited. Visitors are welcome. Anyone who knows Ed knows he was always out and about, attending book signings, poetry readings, lectures and concerts and singing with a beautiful deep voice with the St. Francis de Sales choir. I arranged, through his nurses to have music playing when there are no visitors, but I believe visitors might help in Ed’s recovery. Years ago, Ed gave me his key and made me promise that I'd enter and look for him, if I ever suspected he might be sick or dead. Ed was a frequent breakfast visitor, including his last breakfast, on Friday, March 18. I usually don’t see him on Saturday, and I was away Sunday, but I began to worry on Monday. On Tuesday, another neighbor, my niece Grace, called concerned that she had not seen him for a while. I reassured her that I’d fed him Friday, and that his newspapers were not on the porch. We both left him messages to call. By Wednesday, March 23, I became very worried, and went onto his porch. I saw that someone had been hiding his uncollected newspapers. They were neatly stacked beside a box on his porch.I saw, through the mail slot, mail piling up and went home for his key. When I opened the door, the chain was on and the alarm was not. I could not find a hacksaw, but convinced a carpenter, working across the street, to cut through the chain. Ed had fallen out of bed, on the far side, so I missed him on the first pass. I almost left, but considered Ed was such a creature of habit, he would not have left by the back door, so I determined to look harder, and found him, barely alive and unresponsive. He had fallen between his bed and the wall. I called 911, and after he was taken to HUP, his best friends, family and priest. I guess Ed had been lying on the floor for 5 days, since Saturday morning. It was a difficult day, from premonition through break-in, through seeing Ed so close to death, (which I was told was imminent), through locating phone numbers to reach his family. I still feel very confused. There is a part of my mind which feels proud that I'd commit burglary, by hacksaw, to honor a promise to a friend. I admire people who defy irrational laws and are willing to be arrested for protesting or otherwise attempting to make our world better.But, another part questions why I didn't enter sooner and a third thinks death is cleaner than the current state. I hope and pray that Ed will have a complete recovery. One thing that helped me, were comments by his sister, from Texas. She said, "even if he dies, I am grateful for the chance to say goodbye”, and “I am grateful that he received last rites”, and “I’m glad he was found, as we might not have missed him until the next birthday or holiday". I have continued to be helpful, by securing Ed’s home, resetting the Alarm and visiting.I hope close neighbors help me keep an eye on conditions and keep wind blown litter away from his steps and sidewalk.I am writing this note, so that Ed’s friends will feel empowered to visit and pray him and for all those affected by his illness.I’ve been telling the story a lot, and this note may reach a larger audience, more quickly, completely and uniformly. This incident makes me feel deeply grateful for my good luck in having my husband Larry to watch my back. I am grateful for my many good neighbors who make our lives safer and happier. The vital Ed, who enjoyed many meals and parties at our home, and who took me to Readings by Irish writers, will be missed. And I long for his speedy return. Liz Elizabeth Campion PRUDENTIAL, FOX & ROACH REALTORS, LLC 210 W. Rittenhouse Square, Suite 406 Phila, PA 19103215-790-5653 Desk & Voicemail 215-880-2930 Cell & Emergency 215-546-9781 Shared office Fax
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