Update on Greg - December 2, 2013

Greg fell severely ill two months ago with serious bleeding in his lungs that may have been precipitated by an auto-immune disease he has been fighting for some time. Since then, he has been at Duke Hospital, where a team of doctors have been treating his lungs and underlying conditions.  During this time, he also suffered a stroke.  

In the last couple of weeks, Greg's lungs have shown marked improvement, and he has also begun showing incremental signs of neurological and physical recovery. But his injuries and the extended stay in the hospital have taken significant tolls on him, and the prognosis for his ability to return to full function remains highly uncertain. 

We are very cautiously hopeful that he will continue improving and are focusing our thoughts, time, and energy on helping him do so.  While Greg's family is not nearby, they are in touch remotely, and very close friends and colleagues in Durham, NC are spending time with him and advocating for him every day.  And together with his family and the medical team at Duke, we are actively researching rehabilitation facilities, options, and resources.  Greg's case is a complex one and we are seeking input from a range of health care experts.  If you have personal experience with stroke and physical rehab facilities (especially those nearby) or specific strategies for post-stroke recovery and/or managing the complications associated with auto-immune disorders, please do share. 

Additionally, while the rest of his body hopefully continues to get stronger, one of the best things any of us can do for him is to remind him how much he is loved and to help support his neurological recovery by stimulating his memory and engaging his attention. While Greg is not able to take phone calls, he does enjoy hearing from and about others.  So please send your thoughts, pictures, audio or video recordings, or whatever creative thing you can think of via this website, more privately to [email protected], or by emailing [email protected] to receive instructions and a Dropbox link for uploading a video message.  We will make sure he sees and hears everything that comes our way.  And we will post updates on his status here as well, so please do not call the hospital with inquiries.

Greg Dees has touched so many lives in so many places in so many ways.  Let's all come together for him at this critical time.