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Friday, and word about Doug Winger (update).
13 years ago
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And doth the Drygerskunk posteth: So far so good here at Further Confusion. I won't get into the details about it just yet, but here's the word about Doug Winger from Steve Martin's mouth.
* Doug is living with Steve at this time.
* 40 years of heavy smoking have caught up with him. Doug has ZERO lung capacity, and is unable to work. He has been unemployed for two years.
* The main thing Doug needs is a doctor for pain killers, oxygen, and some sinus cavity surgery; he also needs a dentist to fix what's left of his teeth.
* The issue here is also that Doug is TOO DAMN PROUD to ask for help.
I have Steve's address, and is asking for cash. I have offered to set up a Paypal account for donations (although I may look into something else given Paypal) and a site from my redwolf.ws domain.
Steve knows that
echoen and all of us hypers want Doug back! Hopefully together we can show "We want Doug back!"
EDIT: There's one thing I wanted to add. I know folks want to send money. I have Steve's postal address, but he's asked for cash or money order. That's a bit iffy to me, as you may agree with.
Instead, if you are a California fur who is NOT at Further Confusion, I'm giving you some homework. I'm unfamiliar with how your government is set up, so this is what I'm looking for: Information on any government or non-profit program for free health care or clinics in the Santa Ana area. This includes doctors and dentists. The goal is to get Doug healthier for cheap. Post the info here.
* Doug is living with Steve at this time.
* 40 years of heavy smoking have caught up with him. Doug has ZERO lung capacity, and is unable to work. He has been unemployed for two years.
* The main thing Doug needs is a doctor for pain killers, oxygen, and some sinus cavity surgery; he also needs a dentist to fix what's left of his teeth.
* The issue here is also that Doug is TOO DAMN PROUD to ask for help.
I have Steve's address, and is asking for cash. I have offered to set up a Paypal account for donations (although I may look into something else given Paypal) and a site from my redwolf.ws domain.
Steve knows that
echoen and all of us hypers want Doug back! Hopefully together we can show "We want Doug back!"EDIT: There's one thing I wanted to add. I know folks want to send money. I have Steve's postal address, but he's asked for cash or money order. That's a bit iffy to me, as you may agree with.
Instead, if you are a California fur who is NOT at Further Confusion, I'm giving you some homework. I'm unfamiliar with how your government is set up, so this is what I'm looking for: Information on any government or non-profit program for free health care or clinics in the Santa Ana area. This includes doctors and dentists. The goal is to get Doug healthier for cheap. Post the info here.
I mean, 40 years of smoking, you know eventually something bad is going to happen, the end result is its taken his lungs and his teeth.
Doug could have gone online and e-begged for cash, but he knows that his smoking illness is his own doing, and isn't playing the "Pity card" cause it was of his own doing.
I feel sad Doug got sick, but not sad that this was "Out of the blue" because smoking just flat out kills (Oh boy I'm going to get hate mail from smokers) and this was Doug's own fault, but for him to suck it up and not play the pity card over a illness that was his own doing, that just speaks integrity.
If 99.99999999999999999999999% of people who smoke have shorter lifespans, it still means smoking kills.
Besides, if he dies at 80-85, you'll have to call into question could he have lived too 120+ if he didn't smoke all the time.
If he hasn't been diagnosed with cancer or that disease that turns your lungs into cement, he may well recover. I honestly hope he lucks out and does, especially if people are going to donate toward his health. He should probably get over his pride and seek help from a doctor and perhaps a psychologist to quit smoking.
He should especially stop smoking if he's going to accept medical donations.
Unfortunately its always terminal, the average lifespan if I remember correctly from biology if you are diagnosed with stage 4 in which you need oxygen to survive is less then two years, though some people reportedly make it to 4 or 5 years, but its exceedingly rare.
It sucks because he made a name for himself in the fandom, seems like a nice guy, and probably doesn't deserve to go out early.
But the fact remains he did this to himself. Smoking is tantamount to slow suicide, and after 40 years of it, the current state of his health should come as a surprise to nobody.
I honestly hope that whatever his affliction is, it isn't terminal. I mean, obviously it will be if he doesn't change; but I've heard stories of smokers who got pretty bad before quitting and then making complete turnarounds. Maybe he can do it too?
If he's on oxygen, its most likely he's in stage 4, at that point your body can't get enough oxygen to function correctly, and so the right ventricle pumps harder and harder, causing damage to the pulmonary artery over time.
If he doesn't die of heart failure, he'll most likely die from a stroke when his heart gets damaged enough.
The only thing that would fix this is a completely new set of lungs from a organ donor, cause even if his lungs regrew tissue, there is still 40 years of tar and wax in there