I have written several stories about my partner, who was undocumented and the health problems he faced. Charles passed away yesterday due to a heart attack. I am devastated and don’t know what to write but I will start with the below.
Charles and I met using an online program called mIRC back in the 1998 — irc channels were all the rage back then, and we met in #BearCave — me in Texas, him in Tynemouth, England (He was UKfox online). He came over to visit in 1999 on the visa waiver program and never went back.
Charles developed tonsil cancer in 2010 and was not insured. We ended up going to the county hospital here in Tarrant County, Texas — John Peter Smith. He received excellent care and and had a neck dissection and some more surgeries on his lymph nodes.
He received chemo and radiation but the radiation damaged his larynx, called radiation-induced dysphagia, the result of which was 8 different hospitalizations from aspiration-induced pneumonia.
Last year he had a stroke — they called it a “brain bleed” and were able to get the clot through surgery — he seemed unaffected by it as there was no seeming damage to motor skills or speech.
In September I called 911 after finding him on the couch gasping for breath. While in the hospital he had another stroke and two more cardiac events in addition to pneumonia.
He spent several months in ICU but eventually got well enough to be moved into a regular room. The case manager began to get edgy and was determined to get him discharged even though little things kept popping up — low hemoglobin, the need for extra blood units, infections, etc. He had a tracheotomy and was constantly being suctioned for secretions.
She and the hospital arranged for him to be sent home on Monday evening, 12/10. A home health agency was to visit for 2 weeks for 8 hours while I was at work. Equipment was delivered earlier that day — an oxygen concentrator and a suction machine.
At 4:00 AM yesterday I found him unresponsive and called 911. He was taken to JPS and had a heart attack. They were unable to bring him back through chest compressions.
I am still working on arrangements but since he was uninsured we are faced with many bills. If you are able to contribute please do so. My cousin has set up a GoFundMe here:
Please do not feel obligated, I only ask to help if you are able, I do not know what to do at this time. We were together 19-½ years.
He was not a Kossak although he did have the same views as most of us here. He feared ICE and Trump until his last days. He was pagan of the Alexandrian tradition (not many of those in the US, mostly in the UK). We have many pagan friends in the DFW area and they are helping as well and we are very grateful.
Thank you so much for reading and caring.
Hugs,
Joe
BlueinaRedState (BIARS)
[EDIT: THANK YOU for the RecList. I really do appreciate it. I also edited out his last name, because I had second thoughts. However, his last name is still visible if you click the GoFundMe link. — BIARS]
