Former AFN Commander Col. Robert Cranston suffers cardiac arrest.

 B U L L E T I N COL. CRANSTON SUFFERS CARDIAC ARREST: RETURNED
Posted by: "Andrew N Guthrie" TurtleLover64@aol.com guthrie_andrew

Date: Wed Jan 23, 2013 6:12 pm ((PST))

　

　

As of 21:12 EST

Dear AFNers All:



I am sorry to report that Colonel Cranston suffered cardiac arrest this - - Wednesday - - afternoon about 4 PM EST at the Rehabilitation Center at the U of VA Medical Center Campus. The doctors and staff had to use the defibrillator paddles you have all seen on TV to shock his heart back into "normal sinus rhythm. He was rushed back to the Main Hospital Building but this time into a separate section of the Intensive Care Ward... the Medical I C U . When he was removed from I C U on the 15th of the month, he had been in the Post Surgical Intensive Care Unit. Sandy e-mailed me the news just before she began the drive back up to Charlottesville from their home in Huddleston.



Since he was resuscitated, colonel Cranston has been in a dialogue with his Doctors and nurses. Sandy tells me that during the nine days he was in the rehabilitation facility, he had grown significantly stronger and, in fact, yesterday, - - Tuesday - - he had breathed totally on his own for seven hours. Then today, the technicians began another session of kidney dialysis and that is when his heart stopped. Sandy feels that just p[perhaps, yesterday's activity tired him out and that it might not have been a good idea to do the dialysis on him today. However I told her that it will make us all crazy trying to second guess the doctors there.



The good news is that hours after he was back in the I CU unit he signaled to the Doctors that, when they asked him what he wanted them to do if his heart stopped again, he emphatically signaled that he wanted to be resuscitated. As I write this, Sandy is being driven back to the Hospital in Charlottesville and we agreed we will talk again Thursday morning after which I will forward any new information.



Sandy did tell me that during her first call from his doctors after he was back in the I C U she was asked if she wanted to "put him through all that again..." meaning starting over with his care in the I C U for an indefinite time. She will talk to Bob tonight about his wishes, but she already knows what he signaled to the doctors from their later phone call, that he wants to LIVE!



If any of you wish to send him cards of encouragement, his new address is Colonel Robert Cranston, Room 89, Third Floor, Medical Intensive Care Unit, University of Virginia Medical Center, 1215 Lee Street, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908-0816.

I am very sorry to have to report this latest difficult development in Colonel Cranston's fight for life. I am heartened by Sandy's enthusiastically telling me about his dramatic improvement at the rehab facility for the nine days, until this setback. She feels strongly that he is in better physical condition now to withstand what happened today, than he was a week ago, and, with God's help, he will be able to get back out of the Main Hospital and back into the Rehab building where he was making such progress. I intend to send an update tomorrow as I get more information.

God Bless,

Andrew

Army Pfc. ( by Colonel's order) Andrew Guthrie (Ret.) AFN Headquarters Newsroom, Hoechst

1960-1961

Andrew N Guthrie

turtlelover64@aol.com

"The best thing about a man ..... is his dog..." ancient French probverb