From the Ritz to Motel 6

It appears that my lack of words regarding Suerk have people worried. Don't be worried. Suerk is great. The absence is about me. I was happy with Jackie Powell's note and thought it should stand for a while. But then I got caught up in preparing for a vacation. Then I got caught up in having a vacation. Now I'm caught up in not having a vacation. And within the next little while I plan on getting caught up in having another vacation -- just 18 days away.

Whether or not I keep this blog updated, I do keep in daily contact with Suerk. His time at Harmarville has been wonderful. While the physical therapy there has not undone his profound paralysis, the treatment there has been an unimaginably powerful therapy in all other ways. As one of Suerk's former students from the class of '67 put it to me yesterday, "Suerk is at the Ritz, about to return to Motel 6." Harmarville has been the Ritz -- every need met and "at his pleasure," as they say. It's the return to Motel 6 that you should know about.

Suerk is, like most of us would be, swept up in the red tide that is our Medicare/health-care system. He has a certain number of days allotted to him during which he qualifies for certain types of care. His rehab days are numbered. When they run out, he falls into a different category. This new category requires that he return to a nursing home until, MAYBE, he can find a way to qualify for 24 hour home care. So he is returning to Erie. We thought the return would be on or around 15 December. Yesterday we learned that insurance requires a more immediate transfer which will happen tomorrow. I will update this page with his new address when he has one.