I just spoke to Edwarda's sister Claudia. She is still in Georgia, and desperate to get to New York. Edwarda was admitted as an emergency on Sunday. The doctors want Claudia in New York now-- she has a medical background and there are many decisions to be made. She should be there.
I'm going to talk about my conversation with Claudia now.
Claudia is a physiotherapist and lives in Georgia. She is a single mother with a daughter of 15 and a son of 17. One reason she is still in Georgia and not in New York is that she has been ill. (She won't be permitted to go near Edwarda until she has a clean bill of health, as you suggest, JLA.)
The other reason is that she is trying to raise the money to get here with her daughter, Edwarda's niece. She emphasized that the doctors want her there now. There are decisions they want her help with.
Claudia gave me permission to say that any contribution that would help her to pay for the trip, which also involves a loss of income for her, would be accepted with deep gratitude. She is heartbroken not to have been able to come to New York yet, and was weeping as she said this. She was crying during most of our conversation.
I'm going to send Claudia a check, and anyone else who would like to do this, to help her and her daughter get to Edwarda, should PM me, and I will send her name and address.
I made notes on my conversation. Here are some of the things Claudia said, verbatim:
They have come up with nothing they can identify-- no organic cause. Maybe they will today, when further test results are in. Edwarda has severely compromised function in a number of organs. She is on life support.
If Edwarda recovers, Claudia will take her back to Georgia with her and care for her until Edwarda is well enough to live on her own again.
She also said that I could post her email address, but asked me to say she has just gotten connected to the net, and never gotten or sent an email, so there may be glitches to be worked out. dhabib@hotmail.com
She said that anyone who considers themselves a close friend of Edwarda may call her at home. (I spoke to her at work.) Her son, David, 17, will always know Edwarda's condition.
So, If you want Claudia's home phone number for updates on Edwarda's condition, PM me. If you want her address, to send a check to help her get to New York, PM me. |
