My Air-Junky Friends -
One of the baddest hang glider pilots ever, our SHGA brother, and Five-S member (Sylmar Senile Senior Soaring Society, founded by Rome and Fred) is seriously ill in the hospital.
I visited Fred Waugh at Cedars Sinai this afternoon. He had a double bypass operation almost two weeks ago, and is bleeding into his chest cavity. In the last few days, he has accumulated fluid in his lungs, so he has several drains in his chest.
Worse yet, he is fighting a staph infection that seems to be resistant to most antibiotics, and is in danger. I met his wife, Sophie, who said that the doctors were going to make a decision this afternoon about another surgery.
Background. Two weeks ago, he was scheduled for a kidney replacement operation, because he has cancer in his kidney(s?) But a day or so before the operation he complained of shortness of breath, and went to see his doctor, who put him immediately into the hospital for a double bypass operation, which has now produced these complications.
He can’t receive visitors (I was able to talk to him from outside his room door) because he’s so weak and susceptible to infection, they’ve taken the phone out of his room because he can’t be disturbed, and he’s not answering his cellphone 8148-826-1179, but you can leave a message on it and they might pick it up.
I think hearing from his friends would cheer him up. You can send cards to:
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Fred Waugh, Room 6007 North Tower
8700 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Please do it right now. Our friend needs to hear from you.
Larry
Freddy is an amazing guy. He was the original Spiderman in TV and film productions. See
http://homepage.mac.com/markrathwell/Sp ... Cast2.html.
Look at his film credits.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0915285/
I camped with him at Big Sur three years ago, because I wanted to get to know him better. How many movie stunt men have you known in your life? So I asked, “Fred, hey Fred, turn up your hearing aid. Good. I want to hear the story of how you became a stunt man.�
“Well,� he said, “I was working as a flyer in a circus trapeze act……�
“You WHAT??�
So Fred proceeded to tell me that when he was a teen, the circus came to town, and Fred and his brother, who were always into daredevil stunts of all kinds, wanted to see the acrobats and aerialists. They were knocked out by the trapeze act, and went to see the performers after the show. “How do you learn to do that,� they asked, and the aerialists hooked them up in harnesses and let them try. Fred did well. He left town with the circus.
Once he told me the story of the first movie director who tried to include hang gliders in his film. Fred and the other stunt men bought Rogallos, and asked Bobby and Chris Wills to teach them to fly them. They were able to avoid killing themselves, but they could never stay in the air long enough for the director to get a decent flying shot. Nearby Bobby and Chris Wills were staying up longer, so the director used the Wills (Wing) brothers for the shots.
Fred started the first hang glider manufacturing company in the United States, DynaSoar Kites, or something like that, before WillsWing, UP, Bill Bennett or anyone else built them commercially.
Greblo probably knows a lot more about Freddy. He’s done those falling horse stunts, he climbed up the outside of the Empire State Building as Spidey, he did car crashes, boat crashes, motorcycles, falls off cliffs, buildings, smashing through walls. Those turkeys in “Jackass� are pretty tame in comparison.
Freddy bad, compadres.
Larry
Fred Waugh Is Seriously Ill
Moderator: Chip
Fred Waugh Is Seriously Ill
Soar With Prudent Passion
Larry Chamblee
Larry Chamblee
Fred Waugh Is Seriously Ill
I just got back from visiting Freddy at 3:00 p. m. today. Things have improved markedly. I was able to go into his room, which means that they have beat the staph infection.
I was able to sit in his room with him, which means that the danger of infection is much reduced. He said that they plan to remove the chest cavity drain tubes today and that they might let him go home tomorrow, for a few days' home rest. Then, back to Cedars for more post-op procedures on the heart surgery.
The surgery to replace his kidney will be postponed.
I presented him with the Harry Martin artwork certificate for his life membership in SHGA. He seemed very pleased and happy for the recognition.
A couple of weeks ago, a five-minute phone call exhausted him. Today, I visited for about 15 minutes, but then he became visibly tired.
Fred's cell is 818 262 1179/ He won't answer it, but you can leave him a message.
I was able to sit in his room with him, which means that the danger of infection is much reduced. He said that they plan to remove the chest cavity drain tubes today and that they might let him go home tomorrow, for a few days' home rest. Then, back to Cedars for more post-op procedures on the heart surgery.
The surgery to replace his kidney will be postponed.
I presented him with the Harry Martin artwork certificate for his life membership in SHGA. He seemed very pleased and happy for the recognition.
A couple of weeks ago, a five-minute phone call exhausted him. Today, I visited for about 15 minutes, but then he became visibly tired.
Fred's cell is 818 262 1179/ He won't answer it, but you can leave him a message.
Soar With Prudent Passion
Larry Chamblee
Larry Chamblee
Fred Waugh Is Seriously Ill
I just got back from visiting Freddy at 3:00 p. m. today. Things have improved markedly. I was able to go into his room, which means that they have beat the staph infection.
I was able to sit in his room with him, which means that the danger of infection is much reduced. He said that they plan to remove the chest cavity drain tubes today and that they might let him go home tomorrow, for a few days' home rest. Then, back to Cedars for more post-op procedures on the heart surgery.
The surgery to replace his kidney will be postponed.
I presented him with the Harry Martin artwork certificate for his life membership in SHGA. He seemed very pleased and happy for the recognition.
A couple of weeks ago, a five-minute phone call exhausted him. Today, I visited for about 15 minutes, but then he became visibly tired.
Fred's cell is 818 262 1179/ He won't answer it, but you can leave him a message.
I was able to sit in his room with him, which means that the danger of infection is much reduced. He said that they plan to remove the chest cavity drain tubes today and that they might let him go home tomorrow, for a few days' home rest. Then, back to Cedars for more post-op procedures on the heart surgery.
The surgery to replace his kidney will be postponed.
I presented him with the Harry Martin artwork certificate for his life membership in SHGA. He seemed very pleased and happy for the recognition.
A couple of weeks ago, a five-minute phone call exhausted him. Today, I visited for about 15 minutes, but then he became visibly tired.
Fred's cell is 818 262 1179/ He won't answer it, but you can leave him a message.
Soar With Prudent Passion
Larry Chamblee
Larry Chamblee
Fred Waugh Is Seriously Ill
Fred went home Tuesday night, Dec 26.
He will stay there for several weeks of home recovery. He is really happy to be home again. The hospital was really depressing after a month.
I spoke to his wife, Sophia, who said that Fred very much appreciated the cards and other expressions of get-well wishes. He was particularly heartened by a surprise visit from AndyBeem and Emily Brown over the weekend. Talk about a meaningful Christmas present! Good on ya, guys!
Fred still has drain tubes into his chest cavity, is on massive antibiotics, and will need some time to get his strength back. He was in unbelievable pain with fluid in his pleural lining for the past number of weeks. I have had pleurisy a couple of times, a mild version of fluid in the pleural lining, and it felt like Barry Bonds had hit me in the back with a baseball bat yesterday. So Fred has been enduring exhausting, excruciating pain for weeks, but is better now.
When he has regained his strength, he will go into the hospital again for a kidney transplant, so he is not flying a Doodlebug any time soon.
It's really important for him to know that we are all pulling for him.
Write him at:
33231Canyon Quail Trail Road
Agua Dulce, CA 91390
Larry
He will stay there for several weeks of home recovery. He is really happy to be home again. The hospital was really depressing after a month.
I spoke to his wife, Sophia, who said that Fred very much appreciated the cards and other expressions of get-well wishes. He was particularly heartened by a surprise visit from AndyBeem and Emily Brown over the weekend. Talk about a meaningful Christmas present! Good on ya, guys!
Fred still has drain tubes into his chest cavity, is on massive antibiotics, and will need some time to get his strength back. He was in unbelievable pain with fluid in his pleural lining for the past number of weeks. I have had pleurisy a couple of times, a mild version of fluid in the pleural lining, and it felt like Barry Bonds had hit me in the back with a baseball bat yesterday. So Fred has been enduring exhausting, excruciating pain for weeks, but is better now.
When he has regained his strength, he will go into the hospital again for a kidney transplant, so he is not flying a Doodlebug any time soon.
It's really important for him to know that we are all pulling for him.
Write him at:
33231Canyon Quail Trail Road
Agua Dulce, CA 91390
Larry
Soar With Prudent Passion
Larry Chamblee
Larry Chamblee
Freddy Waugh
Fred's wife Sophia told me today on the phone that Fred is steadily mending. He may be able to stop the antibiotics within about a week, then he will be recovering and regaining his strength for a month or so.
He lost a lot of weight with his surgery and illness and needs to bulk up again.
He lost a lot of weight with his surgery and illness and needs to bulk up again.
Soar With Prudent Passion
Larry Chamblee
Larry Chamblee
