Medical Updates
(Fr. O'Malley, Tony Canali, Chuck Guarnieri, Fr. Mac)

August, 17, 2006

Hi, all --

Bill is now continuing his recovery at Murray-Weigel Hall on the Fordham U. campus, and I'm enclosing his homilies for the past week and for this coming Sunday.

Coincidentally, tomorrow -- Aug. 18th -- is Bill's 75th birthday, one that back in March we thought he might not see. If you'd like to e-mail him a greeting, womalley@fordham.edu.

Bill's new address is:

Murray-Weigel Hall
515 East Fordham Road
Bronx NY 10458

Frank Mac is still at M-W, progressing with his back therapy and looking forward to returning to McQ soon.

For you alums of various vintages, here are some other McQ Jebs of the past who are now at the same M-W address:

Fr. Bill Cogan, teacher in the '50's and early '60s. Fr. Neil Carr, principal from '60 to '64. Fr. Jim Wheeler, a scholastic at McQ in the mid'60's Fr. Bill Scanlon, a scholastic at McQ in the mid-'60's, now the chaplain at M-W Fr. John Costello, teacher at McQ at various times in the last 20 years, now the Minister at M-W.

One sad note to pass on to you: Mike Courneen, one of the hockey stalwarts from the Class of '75, died last week in Buffalo of complications following heart surgery. Mike was on the faculty at Erie Community College and the leader of his parish Boy Scout troop. He leaves a wife and two children.

Peace!

Bob Bradley

August 4, 2006

Hello, all -

It's a beautiful day for my daughter Amy's wedding, and like most Fathers of the Bride, I'm just killing time while the ladies take care of all the important details. Here are some updates:

Tony Canali went home to his lake place on Canandaigua on Wednesday afternoon, had a steak for dinner, looked at a gorgeous sunset, and settled into a month of summer with Cora and Jordan. Needs to be very careful about any possible infections but, barring complications, will be back at McQ in Sept.

Chuck Guarnieri's surgery was postponed a week, so he'll be going into Strong on Aug. 9th for an MRI, have the surgery on the 10th, and will go from there. Update next week.

I talked to Frank Mac on Tuesday, and he's sounding very upbeat after his first week at Murray-Weigel. His therapist is giving him the Dutch uncle treatment and Frank is optimistic about his prospects for walking tall. Looking forward to getting back to McQ before too long.

Bill O'Malley has been back at Burke Rehab for over a week now, and I'm enclosing, belatedly, his homily on last Sunday's gospel. Leave it to Bill to come up with a new wrinkle on the loaves and fishes. After his time at Burke is up, Bill will go down to Murray-Weigel and --he fervently hopes --will be able to do one class at Fodham Prep this semester. I wouldn't bet against it!

Time for me to think about getting into my tux.

Peace,

July 11, 2006

Hello, all --

The day after Bill’s July 9 homily was received, we got word that he has had another bump on the road to recovery. He's back in the hospital (White Plains) for possible repair work on an abdominal obstruction. Before that development, it appeared that he would be at Burke Rehab Ctr. through July and was making steady progress there. I hope the next report will include another homily.

Peace,

Bob Bradley

July 7, 2006

Hello, all --

I wasn't sure this would happen again, but wonder of wonders, here's the latest homily from our beloved Lazarus. It's for this Sunday's gospel, and it's short, as befits summer homilies.

Bill continues his steady progress but will likely be at the rehab center for another 3 weeks. If you'd like to e-mail him after reading the homily, try omalley@sportsforbusiness.com.

Enjoy the weekend!

Peace,

Bob Bradley

June 27, 2006

Hello, again --

Here's a suggestion from Bob Betterton on a way to contact Bill by e-mail without his spending a lot of hours at the computer. Go to it!

Peace,

Bob B.

-----Forwarded by Robert Bradley/McQuaid on 06/27/2006 02:24PM -----
To: omalley@sportsforbusiness.com
From: omalley@sportsforbusiness.com
Date: 06/27/2006 10:05AM
Subject: Bill O'Malley Update

Dear All,

As I mentioned the other day, Bill was able to access his e-mail from a computer in the Burke Library. The problem is that the library is on a different floor and the only way he can get there is when someone is able to take him there and bring him back.

Most times when he gets there the computer is in use, sometimes with people waiting in line.

Add to that the problem of essentially having to type with one finger, since the others are in braces as part of the therapy (this is a temporary situation, but frustrating) receiving e-mails is an onerous task.

Nonetheless, we know that many of you want to send him messages, so Bill Hall and I have come up with a workable system, which four of you have already either figured out or anticipated.

Send your messages to Bill to omalley@sportsforbusiness.com, which will put them on my computer. Each day I will forward them to Bill Hall, who will print them out and deliver them to Bill. We will provide this service until Bill is once again independent and able to easily access womalley@fordham.edu.

Don't worry about the volume. He needs your encouragement and we are pleased to provide the conduit.

Bob

June 27, 2006

Hello, all --

Here's a note from Bill O. that was waiting when we returned from White Plains yesterday after visiting him at the Burke Rehab Ctr.

We were fortunate to catch Bill between two therapy sessions, so he was free from 11:00 to 11:30. He's in a wheelchair and his right hand is still heavily protected after his surgery at the site of his original infection. Bill recognized AnnMarie and me immediately and asked if we could take him out on the porch for some fresh air.

Bill's haggard, unshaven face took a minute to get used to, but once his voice got warmed up, it was very close to the old Bill. "Should never have quit drinking," he said. "Took away my protection from those damn germs!" He was very frank about the thing he needs most now -- patience. "The doctors told me there's nothing wrong with me that's not reversible, but they didn't say how long it would take."

Bill's progress is slow but steady -- he's up to over 200 steps with his walker. "Little shuffles, really" -- ever the stickler for the right word. He's starting to gain back the 35 pounds he lost in the hospital, and he's very pleased with the care he's receiving.

Burke is a wonderful place for recovery -- it's like a country estate. When we left Bill at the elevator to be taken to his therapy, he blew us a kiss and gave a thumbs up. We both felt that we had just visited a very holy man who's coming back from a near-death experience. He's definitely in recovery mode, no matter how long it takes.

I'll be forwarding a second e-mail from Bob Betterton regarding e-mails to Bill. Also I discovered that I'd given you the wrong zip code with his address. Here's the whole thing:

Burke Rehabilitation Center
785 Mamaroneck Ave.
White Plains NY 10605.

I got good directions at www.mapquest.com.

Keep the cards and notes coming. Bill needs that daily dose of encouragement as he works his way back.

Peace, Bob B.

June 2, 2006

Hello, all --

Bill O. was moved on Wednesday to:

Burke Rehabilitation Center
785 Mamaroneck Ave.
White Plains, NY 10505

If you'd like to see what his digs look like, go to: http://www.burke.org

By way of celebrating, here's Bill's last year's homily on Pentecost.

More next week.

Peace,

Bob Bradley

May 19, 2006

Hello, all --

Forgive me for my slowness with another update. Actually, I've been lulled into complacency by the steadiness of Bill's recovery, but there have been a few developments to pass on to you. First, a small setback: an intestinal blockage came to light once he started on a soft diet, and additional surgery was needed to correct it. All went well, and the doctors feel he should be ready soon to move from the hospital to a rehab facility.

Bill is totally lucid, his voice is coming back, he's off all the tubes, and his spirits are high. Now he needs to get strong again. I'll let you know when the next development occurs.

With all the furor about "The DaVinci Code" these days, I thought one of Bill's homilies might be in order, so here is one from about a year ago. I'll send one on the Ascension next week.

Peace,

Bob Bradley

April 30, 2006

Good morning, all --

I've been remiss in keeping you posted on Fr. Bill O'Malley's condition, so let me correct that.

Bill's out of the ICU now, and he had a dramatic moment last Thursday when he talked for the first time in six weeks. I say "talked," but it was more like mouthing, since he still has a tracheotomy and feeding tube in. Since then, he's been doing a lot of "talking," but he's hard to understand. The first thing he asked for was Communion, then his hearing aids.

There's still concern about his lungs and the presence of some infection, but his principal doctor, who just saw Bill after a two-week absence, feels that's he's made considerable progress. It will be a long haul, but things are looking up.

His address now is: Montefiore Medical Center
Pulmonary Recovery Unit
111 East 210th St.
Bronx NY 10467

Peace,

Bob B.

April 26, 2006

Good morning, all --

Bill's temperature spikes have been a source of concern in recent days, but the current antibiotic seems to have corrected that. His lungs are continuing to clear up, which is encouraging. Bill is slowly coming out of his heavily sedated condition and is making efforts to communicate, though he hasn't spoken yet. More at week's end. Frank Mac is back at McQuaid and getting into his office a bit each day. Still working at walking tall. Sad news in this morning's paper: Greg Teall, '73, has died at age 50, leaving a wife and daughter. R.I.P.! Also deceased in recent days: Danny Wegman's ('65) father, Bob, and Joe Marchese's ('68) father, Leo. R.I.P.!

Peace,

Bob B.

April 19, 2006

Good morning, all --

I'm heading down to Pa. for a few days and wanted to get this off before I left. The news on Bill continues to be good. The doctors are considering moving him from ICU to a pulmonary recovery unit, and his lungs are gradually clearing up. They're cutting back on the sedation to the point where he was able to communicate with a doctor by nodding his head. As a point of additional interest, a close friend who has visited Bill reports that the wall of his room has an enormous GET WELL board loaded with messages and that his Fordham Prep students have been coming in pairs for the last few weeks to read the daily newspapers and other material to Bill. Soon, let us hope, that will become a dialogue. More when I get back on Saturday.

Peace,

Bob B.

April 15, 2006

Happy Easter, all!

As of late Good Friday afternoon, the news on Bill was very encouraging. He's gotten past the latest infection flare-up, his blood pressure and kidney function are normal, and his lungs are looking a bit clearer. The doctors were hoping to reduce his sedation level today. No report as of late afternoon.

I'm sending along one of Bill's Easter homilies -- I think it may be one you haven't gotten before. Enjoy!

Frank Mac is making steady progress with his rehab at Mercy. He's been able to get out a few times, most recently for Tenebrae service at St. James last night.

I hope your Easter is a blessed one.

Peace!

Bob B.

April 11, 2006

Hello, all --

No major changes. Still in ICU. The pulmonary doctor is concerned about Bill's lungs not functioning as well as he would like, so it's still slow going. More later this week.

Frank Mac continuing to progress in his P.T. at Mercy. Trying not to push it, so he didn't come over to BASH, but expects to be back in action soon.

Peace,

Bob B.

P.S. - You're invited to McQuaid on Good Friday morning at 9:00 for a Prayer service in the chapel, followed by a procession down Clinton Ave, about a quarter mile to the abortion site at 2020 So. Clinton. The Rochester area Right-to-Life groups combine forces for this, and there's usually a turnout of 150-200, including a number of priests and deacons. Should be finished between 10:30 and 11:00.

April 5, 2006

Hello, all --

Yesterday's report from the hospital is the most encouraging yet on Bill.

After doing a tracheotomy, the doctors are planning to have Bill off the ventilator, with a feeding tube inserted. His sedation level will be further

reduced, and Bill will be able to sit up a bit, which will facilitate his breathing. His recovery is slow and steady, so keep the prayers coming.

I saw Frank Mac two days ago at the Mercy Infirmary, where he's doing his walking rehab after back surgery. He's looking great and as always is in great spirits. May even get over to BASH for a bit this weekend.

Peace,

Bob Bradley

March 31, 2006

Hello, all --

Both of our Jesuit friends are on the mend, one very slowly and the other very straightly (if there is such a word).

Bill O'Malley's doctors continue to be cautiously optimistic. They're trying to wean Bill off the ventilator, and are monitoring his blood pressure closely, since that's been a concern. Another good sign: the plastic surgeon found that Bill's hand, where the original infection occurred, is in better shape than was expected. It's been two weeks now, and the trend continues slightly upward.

Since he'll likely be in the hospital for some time to come, cards and other expressions of good wishes, these can go to:

Montefiore Medical Center
Moses Campus - Silver Zone
Second Floor ICU
111 East 210th St.
Bronx NY 10467

Frank Mac is at the Mercy Infirmary, getting the royal treatment and using a walker to help him get his muscles used to walking upright again. He wants to be back at McQ for BASH. Anything you send to Frank at McQ will reach him promptly.

Peace,

Bob Bradley