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kat303
Community Member

Shout out to Bill H.

Hi Bill, it's been awhile since we all heard from you. You're not forgotten here. How about giving us an updays on how you are and how things are doing.

42 REPLIES 42
emonuzzamanmd
Community Member

I miss the young man too. I really miss the face.
AveryO
Community Manager
Community Manager

Thank you for looking out for Bill, Kathy!

Bill, if you're reading this, we hope you're doing okay!


~ Avery
Upwork

Avery O wrote:

Thank you for looing out for Bill, Kathy!

Bill, if you're reading this, we hope you're doing okay!

Hope the young man is still smiling. 
Hope you are reading Bill, 'I am trying to be a Good Freelancer, not successful.'
 
I don't know why I miss the man so much. Even we have personal relation or something.

Kathy, I linked this thread to Bill's original one as he gets notification of any new comments on it.  

I do not know Bill at all but I have read the posts but don't feel comfortable commenting on that link but I will say here his profile says he last visited 10 days ago.

Thanks Wendy, If you hear anything. post it here, and let him know we're all thinking about him. 

Kathy, if I hear anything via Skype, I'll post same in the thread Bill started. As I've done before.  I'm not being contrary - that is the thread 99.9% of people are aware of.

 

@ Mark - comment away.  🙂

Wendy and all I happened to notice that Bill posted something yesterday but did not respond to the other post.

Mark et al,

 

I'm alive. Surgery to pull the infected shunt was successful; physical therapy hasn't done much for me. I've got the strength I need and know how to compensate for a lot. My balance remains a huge issue - confined to a walker or wheelchair, probably forever.

 

Two long-term clients with whom I haven't worked in five years contacted me the same day with requests for help. The woman to whom I turned over my other clients and I are trying to sort out what to do. She has to take the lead going forward, but these are personal relationships more than business. One wants to buy a company, the other completely change what he does professionally. We shall see what happens.

 

Thanks to all.

Thanks for the update, Bill. Good vibes to you.

Glad to  hear that you are doing fairly well, at least better then when you were a few weeks ago. Stay involved in your work. It's easy to get discouraged and to feel sorry for yourself. Work might keep you motivated and make you feel that you still have a purpose. Being confined to a walker/wheelchair is not the end of things. They are just additional pieces of equipment to help you. 

 

As we don't forget about you, don't you forget about us. Come back on here from time to time and let us know how you're doing, (good or bad) Because we all care.

 

Kathy,

 

Two quiescent long-term clients contacted me recently about doing some work for them. One isn't ready, the other trusts me after fifteen years and doesn't want to work with the woman I've passed other clients to - or anybody else.

 

The one who wants only me was contacted by an old friend and asked if he would buy his business. Old friend had a stroke four months ago. I agreed to act as intermediary. Old friend lives in a universe where magic is practiced. He believes some people have magic secrets and just won't use them to the benefit of others. He knows my client can conjure up enough money to give him top dollar for 85% of his business, all cash up font, the money to find, hire and train a professional sales force, fix the management problems in the company that have resulted in employees stealing clients (not to mention stealing company money), and pay friend $80K/year for "advice to senior management," and show results quickly.

 

I spent an hour putting together the plan and an hour talking to friend. Unfortunately, I don't believe in the kind of magic that is practiced in this fellow's world. I'm telling him tomorrow to hire somebody to do the fixing, my client isn't a good fit.

 

The other fellow knows my physical limitations and is amenable to bringing in the woman I recommend when he's ready.

Bill, you rank right up there with some of the 'most honorable' people I've ever had the joy of knowing.  Your clients have been and are blessed to have you on their side.

Hey Bill, 


I'm so glad to see you post in the Community again! I hope I see you more often in other threads, and boards. Robot Happy


~ Avery
Upwork

Thanks, Avery.

 

In June the neurosurgeon took out the shunt, which had become infected. Third brain surgery scheduled for September 24 to put a replacement shunt on the left side. The last surgery left me confined to wheelchair or walker, but I'm hoping it gets better after the next one.

 

I'm glad to see that UW is testing out ways to rationalize freelancer activity, with the charge for connects. This will eventually reduce the tsunami of applications for jobs. Charging clients to post jobs isn't going to help, it will just drive away the only people bringing money to the table. Allowing clients to invite eight or ten to a job is probably better than two; two, though, is better than 50. Outstanding clients don't need to use shotguns, sniper rifles do just fine.

I don't know you but I certainly wish you well in September. You have a great attitude.

Third brain surgery of the year to install a replacement shunt. Works well. I've started the process of reinventing myself as a writer of 60s/70s nostalgia. Will have a book come out early next year that I've been working on for several years. I hired somebody to make me smart on social media. I've hired a new cover artist to increase visual appeal; I bought a website name for the book title.

 

Everything has improved, but I'm not going back to consulting work. I have no knowledge of how long the improvement will last.

Bill,  I was thinking about you early this morning; were your ears burning?  Soooooo very glad to read the 3rd surgery went well and my favorite curmudgeony (my word and better than curmudgeonous) author is back at it!  You've  become the ultimate Retro weaver of tales.  😉

 

Writing your books is what you love - and the plus is you only have to keep track of characters and plots.  No need to chase people, other than in your imagination - and that eliminates some stress.

 

 

Getting over a mild but lingering case of pneumonia. My primary care physician has arranged for weekly checkins by a home health nurse; Think hospice lite. I'm going to talk to my neurologist in about a month to ask him to run differentials for Parkinson's. Symptoms are nearly identical to Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus, but the causes are very different. I assume I can have both simultaneously, not a pretty sight.

 

Balance is getting better, but the stamina continues sliding. I have one symptom of Parkinson's that doesn't overlap with NPH (dragging a foot) and one that overlaps infrequently (tremors focused on one side of the body), On the plus side I get to binge-watch ensemble dramas on television. When they're good (Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, Law & Order) there's little better. When they're really bad (CSI Miami, NCIS Los Angeles) they're slapstick parodies. The CSIs in Miami have violated 113 of our 27 Constitutional Amendments, and the NCIS Agents in Los Angeles have taken jurisdiction over everything except overdue library books.

 

 

Hi Bill,
I hope everything goes well and only something "like" that disease.
Follow with the same force as until now.
And tell us.
A big hug!

Marla, virtual hugs are great.

I'm mostly walking without a walker, not using wheelchair much. Still unsure of the extent of loss of cognitive functions, but I seem to think clearer than the average talking head on U.S. news programs. That's why I watch Spanish-language news programs.

Thoughts on getting old: It's inevitable, and the body adjusts. Your sleep needs change, your vision may get better or worse, you suddenly know the names of more diseases than a second year medical student. Your world shrinks, and that's probably OK. I watched it happen with both of my parents, and I think it's a matter of emotional energy. Only so much to go around.

Friends, coworkers, family members start dying in large numbers. A fraternity brother/roommate died thirty years ago from cancer, a high school friend at the same time from heart disease. Another high school friend from lung cancer, a close cousin from diabetes, another close cousin (born-again schizophrenic, much too long a story for the coffee break) from something, a bunch of military buddies from traffic accidents and suicides, my sister's husband who was my greatest friend from liver cancer, the list goes on.

Four of us were best friends in high school; John died in 1988, Mike died in 2008. Ralph and I haven't corresponded in fifty years. A group of fraternity brothers has stayed in contact for nearly half a century, and all of us have been married the entire time. One teacher, one marketer for a vintner's association, a,real estate agent, an assistive device artisan, an LCSW, a whatever I am, one pastor

Hi Bill,
Good to hear from you, and see that you are still so talkative 🙂
I'm glad your mobility is maintained, but don't risk too much.
Your cognitive functions don't seem too affected, but if you keep watching the news, this won't last long. Especially if you see news from Spain, I warn you.

Keep telling us your progress (or setbacks) from time to time.

And don't think too much about those who left. I have also left many people on the road, it is not a matter of age, it is better to think that we are lucky.

Today, a virtual kiss!

Maria, your last lines just encapsulated why I have a love affair with Spain and all things and people Spanish. 

And don't think too much about those who left. I have also left many people on the road, it is not a matter of age, it is better to think that we are lucky.

Beautifully said.  

 

True the govt is a mess at the  moment .... too much like the mess in the US ... but we'll all win this seemingly endless battle.  And hopefully learn from it.

 

Bill, you will always be our favorite curmudgeon in the best of all senses.  How are the books coming?

Thanks Wendy, ¡Eres un encanto!
And the government? How USA? Ha!, there aren't 18 political parties Smiley LOL


And Bill ... BOOKS? in prural?
Luckily you are sick! If not, what would you write? An encyclopedia?

Cara Marla,

 

Mi esposa virtual tiene problemas con besos virtuales. No la gustan.

 

Books: I finished one on starting a businesss just before this last bout of fighting illnesses hit. I'm focused on getting a 95,000 word nostalgia novel finished about a 1969-1970 garage band. As a result the coming of age novel about four college seniors going on Spring Break is left at 60% completion, the alredy witten volumes four to nine of an epic, Life of Kyle, maybe 500 pages total describing a young man's two-decade search for love, aren't ready for editing, a mystery, Women of New England, is stuck at about 10% completion, a new procedural/comedy series about the Frankienbuzz Detective Agency is stuck at 20%, and two sequels are just pains in my neck reminding me to do something with them. A reader-requested Volume Four of a trilogy needs a complete rewrite, it took off in a direction I don't like. The sports comedy, The Head Game, is half-written because the first version was taken over by two characters who highjacked it and told a story about dealing with the aftermath of severe trauma.

 

I don't watch Spanish television, I watch Spanish-language news from Latin America, which is easier to understand than US news which has abandoned journalism for hate-filled division of the US along tribal lines. I watch a tad of BBC, which will cover events in Spain. My dream is to fly to Gran Canaria, put up a tent as living quarters, buy a pub, and enjoy whatever happens.

About ten years ago I discovered one night that I had always known it was up to me to rescue my goddaughter from an abusive relationship. So, I did. Last night I realized I had always known that my time is limited, sooner rather than later. Low single-digit years. I'm comfortable with this. I had the talk with my wife and youngest daughter last night. They need time to process this.

 

My older daughter and her husband are on a surprise vacation for his birthday. i'll speak with them after Christmas about this. I expect that she will be the one to keep everything together; like me, she's a problem-solver. My son-in-law lost his brother recently; we have a good relationship but I don't expect him to be particularly alert, just like my wife and younger daughter. The practicalities must be addressed.

One of the few things I fear came to pass this evening. I have trigeminal neuralgia, which triggers cluster headaches. Migraine is to cluster headache as bruise is to amputation; trigeminal neuralgia is worse, probably the worst pain a human can experience. Mine is on the left side, although 20 years ago I had an episode on the right side.

 

The condition is relatively rare, is much more prevalent in women than in men, and bilateral trigeminal neuralgia is exceedingly rare. My neurologist answered my question by saying not to worry about both sides acting up simultaneously, because that's rare. Right.

 

I got a relatively mild onset on the right side tonight. It's mostly subsided and I'll see a neurologist tomorrow and tell him I need prescriptions for the anticonvulsant cocktail that I titrate up and down to keep it at bay, plus the ergot derivative I use to treat acute attacks. This had been quiet for close to 20 years.

 

I have cluster headaches twice in my life and I almost prayed to die.  You are correct - they are like migraines on mega-steroids.  All I could do was lie flat on my back - no pillow - with ice on my head and wait it out for a couple of days. 

God bless.  You are getting more than your share of misery.

Band book wound up about 105K words, editor said it needs more info about a couple of topics, but is too long. I love her. Really, I do.

 

Visiting nurse today told me I am in end stage COPD. She is preparing me for a transition to hospice. I respect her, love her to death, she's knowledgeable, smart, good judgment, but I think on that front she's rushing things. Yes, I'm in the early stage of the final chapter and headed toward death. Such is life. Aisha still hasn't figured out she can be blunt with me. I have no effective filters, and respond well to people who just tell me stuff. I told her I don't care what she tells me as long as it's the truth.

 

I might live to see the first openly gay President. He won't be the first one, just the first open one. Buchanan, 15th President. We've had a disabled President and a mixed-race President. I don't care whom he (bleeps) so long as it isn't the voters.

 

Some days my wife has to button my shirts. I've begun seeing hallucinations, which I recognize as such. If I ever get to the point of not realiizing they are imaginary, I'll fly to Europe and find a country that will allow assisted suicide. I am my brain.

Yes, dear Bill, your visiting nurse is rushing things. You will tell the world when the time is right. You're too honest and outspoken to have it any other way.

 

Sending love  and an extra dash of tenacity and stubbornness -

Horrid several days.

 

Friday night our younger daughter's cat, age 18, walked past me. Were he a human I'd have called an ambulance. Daughter and wife took him to emergency vet, got him stabilized. All three of us expected him to die that night (still alive).

 

Saturday night, I had a bad fall. Right half of face is bruised, right eye blurry vision, concussion, pain level tolerable. Essentially bedridden.

 

Monday night, EF3 tornado, 24 dead in Tennessee. Got within a few hundred yards of our neighborhood, lifted, came back down a few hundred yards the opposite side of our neighborhood. No power; lack of electricity is the best thing that has happened since last week.

We have insulation and parts of homes strung up in trees around our home --  about 60 feet up.  Apparently the tornado which hit about 8 miles away from this location (and very close to you) literally pushed materials up so high, the floated down in our neighborhood.  Several streets over, the power has been out from Monday through today -- I was actually not sure what was going to happen if we got this part of Nashville crushed and I was trying to do work from some remote-remote location.

 

It was unclear what to do when the tornado sirens went off.  So, I chose to make a toddie, get into the oak-lined closet, gather in the dog, the PC, the printer, the cell phone -- all my connectivity tools to the world -- and figure if it was going to happen, it was going to happen.  Fortunately, it did not happen.  Interesting night.

I hope you are doing well!

Much better than most. I'm an off-the-scale introvert, and the lockdown is heaven. We were spared by the tornado, then spared again with the hurricane-force winds. Our fixed income is secure and I get a few bucks a month in royalties and fees.

 

My dentist saw me Wednesday. Smart and ethical; says there is no medical necessity for the many thousands of dollars in crowns, and that an implant on the upper right jaw to attach a bridge would entail a bone graft, root canal, and eighteen months of misery. His informed opinion is that this is the majority of the time I have left, why go through the pain?

 

Lung infection now, I and NP both conclude it's bacterial, and I'm on the right medications. COPD getting worse, tremors have made holding a drink in left hand an exercise in cleanup, and daily headaches give me something something to look forward to.

Fortunately, not everything gets worse all at the same time. Right now it's the headache, evidently related to migraine or cluster headache. Prescribed butalbytal, a barbiturate. Thank God I did four years of med school and practiced for a while, I know what questions to ask and understand the answers. When taking a medication that can interfere with cognition I alert my wife, who worked in LPN positions as a clinical medical assistant for several years. The backup is our younger daughter, who's a vet tech. I'm a mammal, after all.

Cancer is quiet as is heart disease. Lungs are a slow but steady decline process. The neurological issues are the problem now. Fortunately, I've been in quarantine since February. That's not the same thing as lock-down. I do not leave the house and no one visits without wearing full PPE. Only the first half of that happens in a lock-down. Quarantine is working. 

Be peace upon you. Everything is okey, Young Man?

And upon you, peace.

 

Yes, things are going well, thank you.

I've got about a year left. I'm now confined to a wheelchair and my small motor muscle control is for crap. Using a touch screen is an adventure in random outcomes.

 

My "year left" is a calculation using speciic empirical data. I'm near end stage in COPD and the hydrocephalus has destroyed all balance. I've got daily expressive aphasia (watch Joe Biden speak and try to think of a word - "The Thing, you know, TheThing.") That's about where I am. I'm sleeping close to 20 hours a day. My urologist has stopped insisting I have invasive procedures. The cancer doesn't make the top five.

 

I've got a new online column, One Foot in the Gravy, on Substack, plus my author blog, and I'm finally trying to finish a new book.

 

Please be happy for me. My daughters are both grown and wonderful people. My wife remains the love of my life. I'm content and at peace with what is ahead. I'm mentoring a Canadian mathematician who doesn't want to teach or do programming; I'm trying to get him ready to do management consulting. A mutual friend is a world-renowned mathematician who has agreed to take over getting him ready to pursue consulting.

 

If you're lucky, you will one day be me.

I'm happy for you, Bill.

I hope to have a similar mindset to your own when my time comes. I hope you're as comfortable and happy as possible for the rest of your time here. 

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