It is never an easy task to report on the declining health of a colleague or a close friend. The word needs to go out, though, about an exceptional individual from the European Division who has experienced one of those reversals in health. In the early autumn Bill Kerr stumbled and fell, whacked his head, and ultimately suffered a case of subdural hematoma. The resulting damage includes a shrinking of brain tissue, the destruction of nerve cells, and consequently a loss of brain power. The medical report holds that Bill was already suffering from the onset of dementia, a condition that I myself had not detected. Bill’s doctors say the hematoma has made the early dementia much worse.

After a stint at a local hospital, and then an additional month at a rehabilitation center, Bill has been transferred to the CURATA Seniorenstift Dr. Drexler, Wiesbaden GmbH
 

Parkstraße 8–10, 65189 Wiesbaden

Einrichtungsleitung: Nicole Mazza

Telefon: +49 611 9033 0

Telefax: +49 611 9033 100

E-Mail: wiesbaden@curata.de

Routenplaner: Google-Maps

https://www.curata.de/pflegeeinrichtung/seniorenstift-dr-drexler/

As our colleague Linda Schmitt reports, “Bill might get better in about three months but will never be able to live alone again. He remembers things from his childhood but not from recent times.“

Bill’s German doctor, Dr. Artemis, says that he can initially speak normally with Bill (in English) but that Bill then loses the thread and imagines himself in another place and talking to a different individual.

Despite the setback Bill has endured, he still enjoys chatting with visitors. His favorite armchair from his apartment has been shuttled into his new CURATA lodging, and from that seat Bill likes to converse with one or two visitors. His good friends Anni Cecil, Linda and Stefan Schmitt, Jane Treandley, and Dallmann Ross have been to see him, and you can visit him too by contacting CURATA for visiting times and regulations.

During my many Marylanding years I frequently visited or phoned Bill in order to soak up fresh doses of his dry wit along with his observations on politics, current affairs, and even his take on Im Bosseldorn office gossip. A former colleague, Deborah Griggs, once noted that Bill always had a bit of the devil in him when he presented his perspective on the world. I think his many friends reading this piece will know exactly what Deborah was talking about. I always found speaking with Bill left me with a sense of delight and a desire for more of his conversation. I know Bill has had a similar impact on many other members of our Overseas Marylanders organization.

I hope those who can reach Bill’s care home in Wiesbaden will drop in for a chat with Bill.

Bruce Hull