Our goal is to raise at least $50,000.
This number may seem huge, but the costs already incurred are staggering, and there is much more to come. It also may seem unattainable, but here’s one way to think about this:
If 500 of Bob’s friends and colleagues (every member of the FoBN group plus about 100 more) contributed an average of $100—what some might spend on an evening out—we would immediately reach that goal.
Immediately.
Bob has been so generous, given us all so much over the years, whether it’s been jobs, introductions, advice, laughs, musical tips, links, or just his ready smile and his quiet, steady friendship. This is a moment for us all to give back to him.
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For the past few weeks, our friend and colleague Bob Newman has been hospitalized. He spent several days in critical condition and two weeks in a coma, but is now recovering and working hard to get back to health. We’ve started this page to do all we can to support his recovery. Here’s Christine Curry’s account of what has happened so far: “On Tuesday, March 19th, Bob was in Ft. Myers, Florida visiting his mother with our 9 year old daughter, Ivy. He was at the pool with her, and went to retrieve her goggles. He had a seizure, collapsed by the pool, and suffered severe head trauma. An ambulance was called immediately. He managed to call me from the ambulance to say he was going with Ivy to the hospital because he bumped his head, and that he would call when he got home to let us know he was okay. He was admitted to Lee Memorial hospital’s ICU unit. A bit later, I received a call from his mother from the hospital for insurance information and she told me the situation was worse—his brain was hemorrhaging, and he fell into a coma. Bob was in critical condition for several days, and had to be put on a respirator. His condition finally stabilized, and there started to be small signs of movement and response. In the meantime, much time and energy was spent trying to seek out potential facilities in or near New York City that would take a coma victim who was relying on a respirator. With the guidance and support of many parents at the Nightingale Bamford School, where Lillian and Ivy are students, and after major wrangling with insurance companies, we were able to secure a bed at Weill Cornell Presbytarian Hospital in their Neuro ICU. Bob was transported from Ft. Myers Hospital the morning of April 12th and flown to NYC in an air ambulance. He arrived around 4pm, a bit worse for the wear (the weather was awful, and the flight rough) but lucid and able to respond with his eyes and move his arms slightly. He was finally taken off the respirator, which enabled us to move him to an acute neuro-rehab facility at NYU. Bob is working hard to bring himself back to his strong self and will have to work on this for several months. His speech is improving and he is receiving a lot of physical therapy. In the meantime, in the course of our everyday lives, he is very missed by all of us. Our family appreciates the outpouring of your sentiments and encouraging words. It has been a great comfort to know that so many people love him.”
