Latest news on George’s health
Dad wasn’t well enough to do a blog last night so I am doing one for him instead, I have been helping him put together the blog since it has reappeared, his ghost writer if you will. The family had a conference with his consultant yesterday to see how he was doing and what the prognosis was.
He has had a bit of a set back in the last couple of days in so much as his swallowing has deteriorated. He is having trouble swallowing so they have put him back on a disphaysic (probably not the right spelling) diet. This means a thickener in his drinks to make it easier for him to swallow and a soft diet in terms of food intake. Because of his inability to swallow properly this has meant a lack of fluids and also a lack of food and it’s accompanying nutrition, which means he is not getting the fuel he needs to keep up his strength. All this can be dangerous to a diabetic. This means that he is worn out after just a few paces of walking with his zimmer frame. To combat this they have put a drip in him to get him the required fluids to rehydrate and mum will be visiting during meal times to help him eat, he has regularly been refusing meals although he has been eating the little titbits that mum brings him in. It seems that a big plate of food is putting him off and that a little often might be the right approach. Hopefully he will be re-energised in a few days and can get back to his recovery plan and some more intensive physio.
George has also been complaining constantly about acute pain in his spine, which to my eternal shame I have not taken seriously, but yesterday we found out the reason for this. When he was in New Cross hospital he had a scan on his back and this revealed that his spine had become brittle and that his 5th vertebrae had collapsed and there is nothing they can do about this apart from giving him painkillers, at the moment they are just giving him paracetomol. Today we are going to ask for a stronger painkiller. He is likely to be in hospital for another four to six weeks but we shall still be endeavouring to put a short blog out every other day. So hopefully in the next couple of days you will be able to log on to the thoughts of Chairman George.
January 12th, 2010 at 8:58 pm
The latest information is much helpful in understanding the present condition of Comrade Barnsby.
My greetings and good wishes to him for a speedy recovery. The things seem difficult and unpredictable. At the same time, he is lucky to have a loving and supportive family around him.
Best regards
Nasir
January 13th, 2010 at 12:16 am
Following Nasir Khan, above, likewise from this end.
Keep going boss. Dave.
January 15th, 2010 at 12:03 am
Thank you for the update
my (our) thoughts are with him for a speedy recovery
Tell him we want him back as editor asap
its like the Daily Worker without Bill Rust
come on comrade
January 15th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
this is the only the second time i’ve been in touch with you, george, and i’m sorry that it finds you trapped in hospital, but surrounded with devoted family and good wishes. i emailed you in november, when i was trying to get in touch with frank sharman because i wanted to tell him i had finished the book i had been writing about george price, locksmith, of wolverhampton.
in the end i found bev parker - who i had never met - and have been in touch with him ever since. he has been immensely helpful. i didn’t get back to you because i was ill for a while - age does wither us, no matter what the poets say - but am back in touch with the world now. bev has told me about your house and your collection of texts and the excellent principles you run it on.
while it’s true i’ve written a history of price’s rather special role in the lock trade, i also had a go at writing a novel based not just on what he and his father joseph (big buddies with the rev. leigh, to my chagrin) wrote, but on the political side of things. your history of the working classes in the black country was my main reference.
i bought your book on a visit to the black country museum some years ago. it’s in pieces now with over-use. just wished i’d had had a great auntie who was a she-chartist (i was so excited to read that!), i did my best to bring in feargus o’connor’s rallies, the dirgens, the coffee shops - marvellous stuff - and made up a character who was a she-chartist sympathiser who found herself compromised by her family connections with leigh. (a 19th century me, i suppose)
one version of these stories got as far as tindal street press in birmingham who considered publishing it. but they decided there was too much landscape and politics in it!! anyway, i have tindal street’s print-out of the text, and wonder if you would like to add it to your library.
i think it’s where it belongs, and might be of more interest to your buddies than my george price story, which focuses very much on mechanics and conflict between lock makers.
i have lost all connections with my family in wolverhampton so if you and your faithful family think yes, i will put it in the post. you will recognise many, many references to your work, and it will probably bring back memories of all the hours of research you put in. think of it as an homage.
with all good wishes - i’d love to visit your collection one day -
pat tempest (now living in leeds)
January 16th, 2010 at 10:56 pm
Wishing George a very speedy recovery from all the Henwood Road crowd.
thanks for keeping us informed.
Rubi
January 19th, 2010 at 10:35 pm
Hi George, hope you are doing as well as possible, I havent been able to get up to see you but will do so as soon as I can. Neena got a new laptop at home yesterday so I have been reading your blog - take care my friend,
keep your left up, Mike Shilvock.
Neena sends her best wishes