The other day, I received a cryptic message from my friend and fellow blogger, Charles Richey of Las Vegas Real Estate that he was out of treatment and heading to rehab. I could not imagine what he was talking about. For those of you who do not know him, he is a frequent contributor on Green Talk and has always tried to help me out in anyway that I have asked. It is my turn to help out Charles and please read the following posted by Max Chirkov, IBS Team Directory Editor at ibsTeam, a real estate blog and directory and consider a donation, a post, and/or just a “get well” comment since he reads this blog:
“Our friend and fellow real estate agent, Charles Richey, has been diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome and is currently in the ICU at the University Medical Center (UMC) in
Guillain-Barre Syndrome: (GBS) (pronounced “ghee-YAN bah-RAY”) is a rare nervous system disorder that results from nerve damage caused by the body’s own immune system, usually in response to an infection or other illness. GBS causes muscle weakness, loss of reflexes, and numbness or tingling in the arms, legs, face, and other parts of the body. It can even progress to complete paralysis. GBS is the most common medical cause of paralysis that develops over days to weeks.
Fortunately, Charles has already begun treatment. On a positive note, most patients diagnosed with GBS recover with no residual side effects or complications after treatment – but this is going to take some time.
The initial treatment he is going through is a minimum of five days (if the disorder was caught early enough) and requires that he stays in the ICU for that time to keep a close eye on his vitals and ensure his recovery is on track. After Charles is out of the ICU and if his doctors have caught it in time to prevent permanent paralysis, extensive physical therapy will be required so that he can regain the use of his limbs and the dexterity in his fingers and hands. GBS is one of the leading causes of paralysis in the United States. As of right now, Charles is in his second day of treatment and things are looking up as he has already stated on the phone with Matt that he is feeling a bit better. There is a 95% full recovery rate for people diagnosed with this syndrome who receive treatment in time. Of course his positive attitude plays a tremendous part in this as well as well as the support of family and friends.
Another unfortunate piece of information is that Charles and his wife Jacqui do not have medical insurance. Therefore the need to call out to all the people that we can is high.
On a side note: Charles and Jacqui are well known by many fellow Realtors® as active animal rescuers who host up to a dozen animals at their house simply because of their love for animals and their giving nature. Charles Richey is the Webmaster for his wife Jacqui’s Las Vegas real estate web site as well as a contributor to many online real estate blogs and forums.
Just think, even a small donation from everyone we know will add up to a large sum to help Charles out. So, pitch in whatever you can to help Charles and Jacqui out in their time of need.
HTML Widget for your Blogs and Web Sites
If anyone would like to link to this post for some period of time, feel free to copy and paste the HTML code below.
Similar Posts:
- Do You Have Leaky Gut? Could your Stomach Issue and Exhaustion Be Related?
- Colon Screening: It Could Save Your Life Just Like Dr. Oz & Me.
- Non-Toxic Avenger Book. Handbook to Reduce Daily Toxic Chem Assault
- FDA Approves Latisse, Eyelash Enhancer, Yet No Ban on BPA.
- My Green Mattress and the Chicago Green Festival
Mother Earth says
Anna – how wonderful of you to reach out to the blogosphere for help for Charles.
I truly wish him a strong recovery. I encourage him to consider the alternative modalities – perhaps look into chiropractic teaching clinics or even pro-bono care. I am in recovery – 18 months from a car accident and can’t speak enough about the value of more than one approach. I have no health insurance either and am astounded at the generosity that has been given to me in care and treatments.
Many thoughts to him and his family, and anna to you and yours as well
Mother Earth’s last blog post..AllTop Welcomes Best of Mother Earth
Green Authors says
A couple of months ago Cindy from recycled bags came down with cancer and now Charles is ill. Hopefully fellow bloggers can show both of them some support.
Green Authors’s last blog post..Combined Washing Machine and Toilet
Green Talk says
I absolutely agree. When I found out about Cindy, I immediately went to her site to give her support. It is small world out there and we should look after each other. Thanks for posting about Cindy who has a wonderful blog (www.myrecyclebags.com). Anna
Green Talk says
Mother Earth, it is shocking to me how many people do not have health insurance. The cost of insurance is very expensive and many self employed people can not afford it. There has to be a better way. Anna
Charles says
Thank you Anna for your support. I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate it.
Max says
I just wanted to stop by and thank you guys for all your help spreading the word, for all the good thoughts sent Charles’ way and for the donations you helped to gather. Close friends of Charles and I who helped to put together this fundraiser are really appreciate it.
BTW, Charles is better now and is on his way to recovery. He is still quite weak and gets quickly exhausted from a small effort, but he is home now and can personally see all the support from all the people that care about him.
Thank you very much!
Max’s last blog post..Charles Richey Fundraiser
Glenn says
Hi Green Talk,
Wanted to thank you for posting about Charles’ situation. I am a friend of Charles from the ‘net and have been fortunate to meet him in person. Charles is one of those unique individuals that is always willing to help out a fellow netizen. He is out of the hospital now and have spoken with him. Rehab is the next step for him.
Health insurance for individuals is very costly, there should be a better health system available here in the USA. However, it might not happen due to the insurance lobby – after all the insurance companies are in the business of collecting premiums, not paying claims. If they paid claims – they would not make as much money. So if there were a national health insurance program – guess who would losing money?!
Glenn’s last blog post..Naples Real Estate News 07/07/08
Ken Smith says
Thanks for spreading the word and asking your readers to contribute to help out Charles. He deserves the help and everyone needs to remember that no matter how small the contribution it adds up.
Ken Smith’s last blog post..Inventory levels, what they mean
Matt in Paradise Valley says
This blog post comes as a surprise to me!!! (since I do not even know the owner of this blog)
The community, and the speed of the internet can do wonderful things when used properly.
Thanks for your post… may God Bless your soul Charles!
BTW, there is a 9 page (as of today) thread about Charles that was created before we started the fund raiser. Be sure to visit and comment here: http://www.ibsteam.net/forums/.....y-596.html
Sincerely,
Matt Pellerin – Realtor
Paradise Valley Arizona
Green Talk says
Matt, Charles has already been very nice to me so when he emailed me about his situation, I immediately knew that I should help. He is one lucky man to have so many people like yourself to care about him.
I hope you stick around and learn more about Green Talk. Charles has good taste! Anna
Green Talk says
Max, it is my pleasure to help Charles. If it was not for your post, I would not have been able to decipher Charles message to me. I thank you for alerting me! As I told Matt, Charles is very lucky to have such good friends. You really know who your friends are in time of need. Anna
Green Talk says
Ken, I can’t agree with you more. His medical bills are going to pile up, so he will really need our help. Anna