The AM Forum

Hello All,
           I just wanted to let you know that Frank KB3AHE is currently in the hospital (Franklin Square in Baltimore, Md.) and is undergoing a series of tests.

I spoke to Frank's wife, Carol; and she's been in touch with him and she told me he is resting up in between tests.

I know this isn't a lot of information, but unfortunately it's all I have at the present time. Frank likes to make the 80M "Whats for Dinner?" net whenever possible, and other AM gatherings on 80/40/160 Meters. I'll try to post updates when they become available. Unfortunately, the weather here on the East Coast has been terrible, with about 24" of snow in Baltimore County, and has been detremental to his wife in trying to visit him.

Carol tells me he sends everyone his best, and hopes to be out of the hospital and back on the air "pronto"!

Thanks in advance for any prayers and concerns, and for the people who have already called Carol to offer their help

Sincerely Yours,
                     Joe Cro N3IBX

All the best to Frank. My thoughts and prayers are with him.

73,
ldb
K5WLF

Crap, that's a shame - we were wondering where Frank was last nite on 3730 - he's generally a stalwart.

In my thoughts and my prayers - he's a hell of a great guy.

Thanks joe

Rob W1AEX and I were talking with Frank on Friday (3730) and he bowed out saying
that he was'nt feeling well.. Sure wish him the best.
K3SQP

From what Carol, Franks's wife told mel, that's exactly when it started. He had to go upstairs in order to take care of a medical issue and he went downhill from there. I plan on following up with Carol this AM to see if there's been any progress.

Regards,
Joe

I sure hope he comes out okay.  My best wishes are with him.

Rob

Frankie, "I listen to you alll the time"
Hope you are feeling better,
Chuck

What a lousy Xmas present, to be in the hospital. :(

Hope he's ok!

73s
geo

Thanks Joe for passing and keeping up posted on the latest information you have.  I am sure more details will come out as time goes on.  We will get a card down to Carol to pass along to him as soon as we get all this snow out of our drive. 
Joe, W3GMS

Hello All,
           I just spoke to carol, and she's having a friend take her to the hospital where Frank is staying. Hopefully, she'll be able to obtain more information and let us all know how things are going.

She really appreciates all who have been calling, but has been overwhelmed with trying to care for Franks' mother up the street and deal with a few of her own issues, as well with keeping up with telephone messages.

As a favor, please keep all calls to a minimun for the time being. When I hear from Carol, I'll post any info I receive (good,bad, or indiffertent) to the BBS here. In case someone is calling Carol from the hospital, there won't be any delay in getting through to her.

Let's pray that Frank will be out of the hospital and back on his 4X1 rig gracing the aether as soon as possible!

Sincerley Yours,
                    Joe Cro N3IBX

Ouch. Thats rough news.  :'(

Thanks for the reporting job, Joe.

 

We are all pulling for you buddy!

We're hoping for the best, Slab!

Get well soon, OM.

T

Dear Frank,

I want to wish you a healthy and speedy recovery, and hope to hear you back on the air as soon as possible. You and Carol are both in our thoughts and in our prayers.

I pray that this turns out to be nothing serious.

With Warmest Regards,

Bruce

Thanks for keeping us informed Joe. Hope Frank is back on his feet and able to man his station at 3733 real soon.

Rob

Get well soon Frank. Hang in there Carol.

Here's hoping Franks out and about real quick.
and a prayer too.

Wishing you a full recovery Frank.. Thoughts and prayers are with you and Carol..

Hello All,
           I spoke to Carol at the hospital where Frank is at. I asked her to speak to him directly, which she did. Carol was on Franks' cellfonium.

Frank seemed in very good spirits and had a terrrific attitude, especially considering his ordeal this weekend. It seems he has been having liver issues! For those of you that don't know Frank personally, he hasn't touched a drop of liquor in over 25 years, na-da even once! No whisky,rum,vino or even beer. Before that it may have been a different story. I take the fifth on that one - hi!
Frank was to be called down for a blood transfusion, so unfortunately, we had to keep the conversation to a minimum. I was just glad to speak to him for a couple minutes and told him of everyones concern; and that I was able to post something here.

I'll find out more as time progresses and will see if and when I can post a telephone number at the hospital to contact him directly. I don't even have that as of yet, and am not sure even if he's allowed telephone calls at this point.

Frank greatly appreciates everyones prayers and concern and I'll fill you all in with more information as it becomes available.

Please continue with not calling to Franks' house unless it's urgent. Carol has been helping out with medical issues with his mother, and has to keep the telephone open in case it concerns either Frank or his mother. It's important that medical professionals are able to reach her with unbridled efficency! Franks' mother is very ill and not aware of Franks situation. Carol has been running back and forth trying to care for the both of them!
Yours Truly,
               Joe Cro N3IBX

hopefully it's not Hep

Joe,

Thank you for the update and I hope things go very well for Frank.

A lot of things besides spirits are tough on the liver and chief among those are over exposure to many of the chemicals that are used for cleaning.  Carbon Tet is a prime example of that group of products.  Of course the side effects of pharmaceuticals are also up there.  The commercials became a running joke in our household for awhile when they would list side effects including headache, dizziness, runny nose, and/or sudden unexpected death.  

I hope that Frank and Carol get very good news for Christmas this year.

Rodger

Roger,
Our family also monitors the running joke of the pill pushers.

The very best to you Frank.  Hope you can read this on a laptop or something. We're all pulling for ya.
Was out of town but did hear 'JN wonder where you were last night on 3730 on a Rshack portable receiver.

Thanks Joe for the updates and stuff from Carol.

that part scares me a good bit.  :-[

Glo got the truck cleared out, as soon as we get the ok for visitors we will come on down. I hope he's home way before then though.

Hoping Frank gets better real soon.
Wishing you the best, my man.
Be praying for your recovery.

Regards
Q

Very sorry to get this news just now.

I hope they get to what the problem is and that he's home and healthy real soon.

Please keep on providing updates ?

Frank
We're looking for a miracle. The liver isn't a friendly organ to deal with, but the Engineer-in-charge can make the adjustment for you.
Get back to your operating position soon.

Fred

Hello All,
           I just wanted to give everyone a follow up or update. Unfortunately, there is no news per the conversation I had with Carol this evening. She spoke to Frank on the phone a couple of times, and mentioned that he sounds about the same.

She was, however, able to get in touch with his Hematologist, who (sounds to me, anyway) is going to be one of the point people in Franks' care. Carol told me he was dumbfounded that he wasn't appraised of Franks' condition sooner. Hopefully, some positive things will start to happen now.
Being admitted to the ER of any hospital during a weekend is the pits. You have lots of part-timers that really don't know or care what's going on.

Carol told me he was sleeping a lot today, but is otherwise in good spirits.

I just wanted to make some posting here and not leave everyone "in the lerch" without any dope on Franks' progress. Please keep the prayers coming and I'll let everyone know as soon as they're has been any change (hopefully for the better!)

Sincerely Yours,
                     Joe Cro N3IBX

tnx Joe.

Joe, is Frank up for visitors?   I can pick up Carol and we can both go.  Next time you talk to her, let her know the offer is there.

Lousy break getting sick this time of year. Wish you the best Frank!  Get well quick.

73,  Jack, W9GT

Hello John,
               Frank is up to seeing visitors depending on what condition and floor he is on. I'ask ask Carol again when she calls me, and will post something on this thread.

Joe N3IBX
         

Hello All,
           I got a bit of good news today! I went to call Carol at home, and guess who answered the telephonium?

           It was Frank, KB3AHE!!!! he sounds terrific so far. it seems they let Frank out of jail this morning and
           told him to follow up with outpatient care.

           Regardless what the problem was, as Frank is a man of "very few words", like yours truly, I'll let him fill in the blanks when you talk to him on the radio or via the telephonium.

Many thanks for all of your prayers and support for both Frank and Carol throughout this ordeal.  he's far from being out of the woods, but hopefully, we'll have Frank around with us for sometime to come.

Very Best Regards,
                         Joe Cro N3IBX

YES! 8)

Now that is GOOD NEWS!

Way to go Franky...

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Yayyyyyy !   Can't keep a good 4X1 man down for long....  :D

All right. Go get 'em Frank!

GLAD HE's HOME !

Now there's a Christmas gift to Frank, his family and his friends.

Best to you ...

Best news I've had in a month of Sundays  ;D ;D ;D

I'm so glad your up and around Frank.
Merry Christmas to you and Carol.

Here's hoping the King of Nottingham gets back into the saddle and is able to warm up his tubes very soon.

Phil - AC0OB

That's "quite a message"!

That is GREAT!  Someone please tell him to be careful reading the jokes I sent him.
One could hurt you is was so funny.

Oh yes this is very good news.  Just in time for Christmas (and the heavy metal night)  :D

Is he on narcotics?

Great news! Glad you are home for Christmas Frank!!! Looking forward to hearing you manning your station on the WFD net! Thank you Joe for keeping us all posted!

:O)

Just got in from a trip to New York City and saw the good news.

That is wonderful! We're glad to hear that you are back home, Frank.

Warmest wishes to you and to Carol for a Merry Xmas, and a happy and healthy New Year!

73,

Bruce

Just now got to read this. I'm glad it turned out well. Really glad, I was afraid for the worst.

Well there goes the 'Pickled Eggplant Resevoir'.  ;) Welcome back from the dent and fender shop Slab! At least you walked out of there.

At least he didn't go bezerk.

CQ, CQ Homecoming weekend. This is dub-a ya-two -

Damn, I miss those windchimes!

Now that is some good news.

Welcome home Frank.

Frank,
Wonderful news for sure.  Its sure better to get well in ones home as compared to the hospital, plus the extra RF floating off that antennas helps the cause as well.
A very Merry Chrismas to both you...
Fire that 4 X 1 up on Top Band....
Joe, W3GMS 

Great News Frank!  Hope you are doing well and we will hear you on the air soon.

73,  Jack, W9GT

best wishes frank and to you too carol - hang in there - a lotta support out there from da gangsters!!!
Greg

Hey guys,
             thanks for all of the support and best wishes. I am back home and kickin again. Friday night, I literally came within 1 inch of dying!! I stared projectile vommiting blood till I just about bled out by the time the paramedics got there.
I remember the paramedics saying that they couldnt get any BP on me. That is all that I remember up until yesterday morning. I literally lost 5 days! ! ! ! ! !

After enduring many tests and a refill of fresh blood the general diagnosis seems to be that I have cirrhosis of the liver! !  Go figger, I have been clean, dry and sober for more than 26 years now! ! !  ???  ???

All of my love and best wishes to those that have offered their support to both myself and my wife through this ordeal.

Please send your well wishes to Joe, as well as he needs some help hisself with some health issues.

I will most likely be on the WFD net tonite as I desperately need a radio fix. I will be taking some time off from work for Dr's appointments and whatever. And would welcome any company or telefonium calls. I will see y'all on the aether this afternoon.

Thank you ALL and God Bless! !
Best 73! ! ! !

                                                        the Slab Bacon! ! !

HoKay! Francios.

People coming in today , but I'll make every effort to be on WFD, probably 3730 a/c T-rash just above or on 3733 these days.

Frank, glad to hear you're back, and wish you a speedy recovery.


Don k4kyv

Frank,

the station is in a mess again, the breaker keeps tripping, but I'm gonna have the electrical people in soon to fix it up. let me see if I can get things set up fer the WFD net.  What would be a good time for me and Glo to come on down?

Hey Frank, Glad you are showing level on the dip stick again.

Frank,

Just read this thread and am SO glad you're home buddy!! Miss chatting on da air!!

Best wishes and HEALTHY happy holidays to you and your family..

Jeff

I'm glad you are better now Frank. I thought it might have been severe indigestion from talking with Ralph all the time......

Wow, close call Pal.
Rest and get better real soon Frank. And do all the nurses tell ya to do!!
All the best from the Buddly household.

Frank said:
That's what happened to the XYL when she came out of her gastro-blockage surgery. The BP was so low, it couldn't support the veins for blood samples. Glad to know the 'Fat is still Shakin' I'm sure it will give you a whole different perspective on life. Merry Christmas my friend. I think you got the best present of all..... a reprieve.  ;)

  frank...i'm listening to you, right now...glad to see/hear you are home...hope all is gonna be ok....

...tim..

..sk..

Man, I don't know how I missed this thread until now......... ???

FRANK! Good to hear you are home again and hope you are going to be FBOM.

Merry Christmas to you and Carol.

Bill KA8WTK

Frank--  Glad to hear you're back home.  All the best with your recovery.

Rich

It was great to hear you on the air tonight Frank. You sounded quite good considering your recent journey. It made my Christmas to hear you back home and doing well.

Hey Frank, Good to hear your on the green side. Glad you made it home.

de W2PFY

Frank
Delighted that you are back home.  Please take care of yourself.  Will be listening for you.
Warmest Christmas wishes to you and Carol.

73
Steve WA2DTW

Welcome home Frank- Hope you mend quickly and have a great holiday.
Last Christmas I had two family members in the hospital and it was an awful event.
Best to you and Carrol.

Carl
/KPD

Wow! ! ! ! ! ! ! !  With 70 replys and 1859 reads, not to mention countless phone calls and emails, all of  your support was overwelming. I am stuck for words.

All I can say is many thanks to all of you. I love you all! ! ! ! !

With that I will say to all to have a merry Christmas and God Bless ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Take the time to enjoy the ones you love, because you just never know! ! ! !


                                                                The Slab Bacon

                       

Hi Frank,

And may God bless you and Carol this Christmas, and thank goodness that you are on the mend at this point!

Warmest 73 to you both from me and my Radiochick, Janet!

Bruce

Frank,
        I agree. This is truly a Merry Christmas! May 2010 bring you lots of good fortune, even more good health, and a few BA's interspersed in there for good measure!

^^ And you too, Joe.  Thanks a million for getting the word to the street.

Hope there's plenty of black wrinkle under the tree for ya this year!

I guess the only thing left to wonder is: when is the annual holiday music broadcast on 75 gonna start?

Merry Xmas to all.  :D  Specially to Mr. Novice and teh Frankorz. We be having non traditional red box Stouffer's Party Size Lasagna over here, cum awn.

Merry Christmas , y'all and especially Frank.

(I gotta get a life ...  house full of people, Christmas Eve and here I am on the board.) ;D
..sippin eggnog.

the wifey has retired for the evening. I, however am still full of pizz and acetic acid. So after I down this dinna, I'm going out to see if anyone is on the radio.   8)

Merry Christmas everyone!

A VERY Merry Christmas to everyone, and may Santa bring you at least one item in black crackle that squeals when you tune it. WWII Military badge identification is a plus!

A happy and healthy new year to all.

Mod-U-Later,
                 Joe Cro N3IBX

Merry Christmas to ALL!

Frank, Joe and everyone else...Take care of yourselves and enjoy the Holiday.

Bill

WOW!
Sorry to hear about the health problems....When you are up to it I would like to call.

Brent

Frank,  There's a roadside grill in Eastern TN just east of Newport on US70 at ste hwy 130 called THE SLAB.  Wish I had had a camera with me I would have taken a few pix of the place.   Maybe next time I'm going through there.

73

Rob
K5UJ

Rob,

Stop in next time you are there, it is good (at least it used to be!).  I am down in that area several times each year.  To me there is no prettier place in the U.S. than the East TN mountains.  We used nearby Townsend as a convenient central point for a family reunion last Christmas and that was a very nice family experience.

I have never had the pleasure of actual living in this area but it is at the top of my list for a second home after retirement in a few years.

Rodger WQ9E

Hi Rodger, FB on W. NC and E. TN mountains.  I'm a confirmed flatlander but that area is nice to visit.  Personally, every time I go there and see where people live (usually in valleys) I think to myself how lousy ham radio operation would be if your antennas only got a 90 degree wide exposure to the sky  :D  Of course it is very different on a high elevation but then, you have to be able to get in and out of there (4 WD a must) and have a lot of backup power and heat.  The winds and wx in general can get pretty hostile on top of those ridge lines.  I think I'd settle for a nice flat high ground conductivity spread in Iowa  ;)
BTW I never saw any ham antennas on any of those mountain homes and for good reason I bet.

One thing I enjoyed while there was SWLing with my Grundig YB400 which did a great job on 75m.  Had good copy on KJ9T, W0VMC and a few others I can't remember on 3885 and the dxing on the AM bc band was fantastic being well away from all the Chicago 1-A stations that make it impossible to get anything on adjacent channels.   

73

Rob

Rob,
       Ya know, some really good BBQ might just be the ticket to gettin me up and about again! ! !  ;)  ;D

Frank,
        How about some ultra smelly, stinky toejammed feet sharp provolone? Not only will it get you up and about, it'll make "stugotz forte" Say the word and it will be delivered to you!

If it smells like provolone, I don't leave it alone - hi hi!

Joe N3IBX

ya frank, it's good stuff  ;D  ummmmmmmmm   but say, where you are, you oughta be eating sea food!  Near the ocean and all that.