Life and Death, Again

Meri Lower Dyer, wife of Maurice Dyer (Ruthie's son) passed away June 9 in Elgin, Illinois. Besides her husband, she is survived by her daughter Michelle and son Michael (Jen) and granddaughters Hannah and Lucy Bea, born five days before on June 4. There will be visitation from 2-4 and service at 4 at Laird Funeral Home in Elgin on June 20.

My brother John has been very ill with acute respiratory failure. He left with a terrible head cold on April 21 for Albuquerque and a trip to the Southwest with Arlene, her brother and wife, and another couple. He was hospitalized in Santa Fe that night and then diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis (which he didn't know he had), pneumonia, and altitude sickness (common in Santa Fe, he was told). The rest of the trip was canceled, he came home, and seemed to be okay with oxygen. However, after a few days, he relapsed, was hospitalized in Morris and then transferred by ambulance to Abbott in Mpls. He was in ICU there, virtually on life support, for almost a week. He had seven pumps of fluids and medicine, a feeding tube, a breathing tube, two catheters, two monitors, three doctors, and an ICU nurse. He evidently had contacted Valley Fever as well in Albuquerque, where he had had to wait four days for delivery of oxygen tanks that could be taken on a plane. Last Thursday we drove him to a nursing home in Alexandria for rehab, and he will be discharged from there tomorrow. He will have further rehab outpatient in Morris.

For further information on Valley Fever, go to http://phoenix.about.com/cs/health/a/valleyfever01.htm.