Good morning all!

I just returned home form a Portland Swap Meet brunch and had the following in my email.

I got a call from Sis Barker and she informed me Bill had Surgery Saturday night due to an injury which occurred several months ago. The effect of the injury kept getting worse until she brought him to the emergency room at Evergreen Hospital last night. An MRI revealed a blood clot putting pressure on the left side of the brain. The surgery went well and He will be in ICU for a day or two. He is doing well but does not like the hair cut they gave him. Please, no visitors and we will keep you up to date.
Thanks, helgy

As you can see from Helgy, please no visitors at this time. As soon as I have more information about Bill I will post it here. If anyone has any question please direct them to me and I will try to answer them as best that I can. Bill is one of my closest friends and friend to many of the Chevrolet community please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Thank you very much for sharing this news with the Chat community........Bill can rest assured that there will be many thoughts and prayers coming his way.

Can you let Bill know that his friends from downunder are thinking of him and we wish him a speedy recovery.
Michael and Jodi.

Thinking of you and sending prayers for a steady and healthy recovery Bill.

Thanks for the information. We all wish Bill a speedy and complete recovery.

Best wishes to Bill for a speedy recovery.

Bill does more for our hobby and the VCCA and for each of us individually than just about anyone. I know we all wish him a speedy and full recovery.

Thinking of you Bill... Feel better soon!

Just a quick update on Bill, they moved him from ICU today to a private room. Again more when I get news.

As all previous posts stated GET WELL SOON Bill. A bad haircut is the least of your worries for now.
It was saddening to read of the medical issue but the improvement posting was a relief.
Tony

Good news!!!
Thanks for the update.

Stay with it Bill.

Those of us from the Northern New England Region Chapter wish Bill a speedy recovery!

I add my well-wishes to those who have already expressed them.

Bill is a super guy and deserves the very best. He is in my prayers and thoughts.

Charlie

So sorry to hear this. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Hey Guys,

Here is the latest from Helgy, hot off the presses.

Update on Bill Barker:
Bill was moved to a (regular) private room and no longer in the ICU. He still has the drainage tube in and drainage is slowing down. They will get him up and walking to day. His memory is good and is holding conversations without losing the trend of though. He still has some hurdles and needs time to heal but the prognosis looks good.
I am now reading between the lines. The word is he is getting ornery which may be because he getting tired of 4 women (wife and 3 daughters) telling him their side of the story that lead up to the surgery and what caused the injury.
Note, he now can have his laptop and I bet Bill will tell the rest of the story.
helgy

As you can see, Bill now has his laptop and I bet in a few hours he will be on here. Looking forward to talking to him soon!

God will watch over you Bill. I wish you a speedy recovery and thank you for all the work you do and will do for the VCCA and it's members.

It's not 100% official but I have heard that Bill is now back home. More as soon as I know them!

Here is the BEST NEWS yet!

Update on Bill Barker (10-31-2017)
Bill is home and happy he is out of the Hospitals. He is doing well and as stated early he just need time to heal. He does have some restrictions. His movements are limited. (Don’t even think about going out to the garage.) Of course he will be on some medication and a special diet for a while. There is one more thing. He is not to drive for a month. That is going to be his challenge.
helgy

Thank You for keeping us up to date on Bill.

Great news!!!!

Be well, Bill.

Dean

That's great news!!!
Thanks again for the update.

Get well Bill.

Bob

Has anyone heard how Bill is? We hope he is making a full recovery and will be back on chat soon.

Hi Guys,

No new news that I know of at this time. What I do know is he is slowly getting better and it will take some time for him to be back to 100%. If I hear anything else I will let you know.

Bruce

Get Well Soon Bill Barker. Now we in Oklahoma know why you have not inquired about the Oklahoma Route 66 V8-era tour.
We will have the application and tour details for the Oklahoma Route 66 V8-era tour ready by Thanksgiving.

Get well soon, Bill.

I'm glad to hear that Bill is doing better. He has certainly been a great person and great help since I've been around and gotten to know him.

VM,



We don't pay him enough. I'll support any proposal to give him a raise. (Not too much though. If too mucjh, it might go to his head.

Note to Bill: You better hurry back. The moderators are letting me get away a lot of questionable stuff lately

Charlie

Hello everyone. This is my first posting since I was added to the binnacle list a while back. (sea lingo).

I returned to Seattle after being in Philadelphia and Hershey for 10 days at the end of October. My daughters noticed that I was having sluggish speech issues and and the three of them forced me to get an MRI (and Cat Scan) on a Saturday. By 9 pm that night I'd been transported to Evergreen Hospital outside Seattle, Wa where they performed emergency brain surgery (opening my skull) to remove approximately 2 1/2 months of excess blood on the left side of my head (subdural hemorrhage). Even though the injury appears to have occurred in mid-August, I have no recollection of any significant events (ie. head bump) while working on landscaping or my vintage cars during the summer months.

This excess pressure by the blood, moved the brain 1.4 cm to the right side affecting motor skills including speech, handwriting, and attentive focus (especially while driving my '66 Corvette with our club president in August. Sorry Jim. Might have dodged a bullet on that one! Ha!!)

Returned home this week after 11 days in ICU. All is well, but I've agreed to voluntarily NOT drive any cars for the next 6 weeks. That hurts more than anything. Well, there's also a weird sensation that I should go buy a Ford. I hope that goes away soon. :-)

My sincerest thanks to all of you who have sent well-wishes in one form or another. It has shown me what a great family the VCCA is.

So glad to hear that you are making a great recovery! That was some scary stuff you went through. I hope you are driving your Chevys again soon and get over the Ford craving.
Ed

Way to go BBB! You are a tough old bird and I had no doubts that you would definitely kick butt on this one. Nothing like a little brain surgery is going to keep you down! Welcome back to Chevy Chatter and it is great having you with us once again!

Bill, It is great news that you are on the mend. Despite the old saw that "father knows best" occasionally the wife or daughters temporarily surpass the "glass ceiling" so to speak (or write). Mind your doc they get tons of more $$$$ from us that don't obey.

Glad to see you back on deck!!
Take care.

Bill it is good to see you back. By what I have heard you may not neccessarily had a head bump though that is the most probable cause. The cravings for a frord have me worried about your recovery though, hopefully that will pass soon before it actually happens.
Tony

Great news Bill! I know I can speak for all of us and say we're delighted that you're on the mend and back with us.



All the Best, Chip

Just darn near made a mess with my coffee.

Glad you are on the mend, Bill.

Good to hear that thing are getting better. Tell your wife and daughter THANK YOU for pushing you to seek help.

Bill - So very glad to hear that you are doing better. I can only imagine the list of things that you are creating when you are back at it with full force!

Rest and know that our prayers are with you!

good health bill.mike

BB,

Welcome back. Your post made sense. That's an improvement over pre-surgery. (Not really)

Anyhow, if you do buy a Ford then we will continue to support you. At sometime in their life everyone needs one to kick around whenever they are fustrated and need something to take it out on. Just use your foot instead of your noggin. Whatever.

Keep on the mend. You scared the hell out of us.

Charlie

Hi Bill,
I was shocked to hear of your health issues. And so very pleased to read of successful surgery and improving recovery. Feel bad about taking so long to add my thoughts. Just not here as much as days passed. Keep on getting better and better. We all care about you very much!!
Bill.

Glad to hear Bob is doing well, scary to hear but glad all is well.

no driving, ugh at least you have your laptop to play with and keep you up with all of us in VCCA world. guess you can catch up on the TV shows and series.

That's some scary stuff. I wish Bill a speedy recovery!