Homeless Man Speaks

I took this photo at 1pm. At least he’s alive.

Philip

Tony’s  heart is a thin beat away from not working at all. The cardiologists are doing everything they can. Thank god for socialized medicine. Tony says many, many thanks for all the good wishes and prayers.

If you visit Tony, he’ll “love you forever” if you bring him an extra-large McDonald’s chocolate shake. Of course, he’ll be happy to see you with — or without — the shake.     🙂

Philip

Hi All,
No more news. I checked for Tony this morning.  Here’s the photograph of Tony’s stuff, locked up, in front of Cosa Pizza on Roncesvalles. I took the photo from above.

Philip

Hi Everyone,
Tony is nowhere to be found. The police officer patrolling the construction area near Tony’s usual spot hasn’t seen him, and he’s not in the hospital (per my earlier post).  Is there anyone who has seen him recently?

Philip

Hi Everyone,
It’s 10am and Tony’s nowhere to be found — at least not on Roncesvallles. I have no idea where he slept and he hasn”t called me. [Sometimes he doesn’t call simply because he doesn’t have the change.] I’m not worried about him — yet.  The weather’s fine so I expect I’ll see him later.

Philip

Hi All,
Indeed, Tony has been outside the hospital for a few hours at time, with the permission of his doctor. Since his feet and legs are swollen, his shoes — and even his socks — don’t fit. Hence the bare feet. I visited with him yesterday and the swelling seems to be receding , so he hopes that he may fit into something today. (He’s normally a 13 size shoe and he figured he’d need a 16EEE to fit his feet when they were at their worst.) So, even with bare feet, he’s quite clear-headed, as far as he ever is, anyway.  🙂

Why he doesn’t, at least, wrap his feet in bandages is beyond me — I certainly suggested that he do so.

Medically, his problems seem to be circulatory. His lungs are being drained of fluid regularly, and the volumes of fluid are notably large.Thankfully, he does not appear to have tuberculosis, which had been a possible diagnosis.

His breathing is better and he tells me that he might even be at his perch on Ronces for at least a short while this afternoon. All in all, he’s tough as hell.

Philip

Hi Everyone,
Good news. Tony was transferred from the ICU into a regular medical ward. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to actually see him, as he was being moved when I dropped by the hospital.  Stay tuned.

Philip

Hi Everyone,
I saw Tony last night and he is breathing better. His main complaint (other than being stuck in the hospital in the first place) is that he’s not permitted to have any food or water until they’ve established what the problem(s) are.  He’s wired, catheterized, and being oxygenated. He’s getting very good care.

On the positive side, he’s got more colour in his face than he’s had in a while. A lady (whom he wishes to thank profusely) found him keeled over on the sidewalk on Queen Street and called an ambulance. He remembers little after that.

I think he had a heart attack, though no physician am I. He’s also got some ugly-looking hernias in his upper abdomen and god knows what else.

Philip

I just spoke to Tony by phone; he’s very short of breath and we could only speak for a minute. I will be visiting him tonight. Many, many thanks to his sisters — Sharon for suggesting that he might have been hospitalized and to Rose for tracking him down. I’ll let everyone know about his condition once I’ve seen him.

For those who’d like to see him, visitors are permitted until 9pm. Here’s the hospital’s web site: stjoe.on.ca.

Philip

Hi Everyone,
I haven’t seen Tony in nearly 5 days — if you see him, please ask him to give me a ring — he’s got my number. Thank you.

Philip