TJ Collins out of surgery

At 8:30p Barb Collins his wife, says surgery was done around 4p. TJ is in his room and awake. He knows folks and seems to be doing well. Surgeon said that the blood on his brain was the thickness of motor oil.

Next update 8/1 AM.

TJ Collins, NIBGA Director, to have surgery

From his wife Barb:

Hi everyone;

Before I leave for Ft. Wayne to go to Lutheran Hospital I want to let you know, TJ has been there since yesterday about 11:00 a.m. You all know he hasn’t been feeling well. Well we finally know what the problem is.

We went to the family Dr. on Wednesday afternoon. He got down to business immediately. We went to the lab and then to X-ray. I believe I heard the nurses discussing yesterday that he has a upper repertory infection. That is what the cough is about.

On Thursday (yesterday) we went back to DeKalb Hosp. for a CT scan. When that was done they rolled him down the hall to our Dr.’s office (long walk). Our Dr. said there was some fluid on the left side of the brain and it is pushing his brain to the right. He told us as soon as the Neurologist called back, we would be going to Lutheran Hospital. (They discontinued the Plavix & aspirin).

So off we went with our granddaughter Brandy (20 yrs. old) diving my car. We got him admitted at Lutheran and they put him to bed in the ICU area of the Neurology section. The rest of the day was spent getting him settled and trying to make him comfortable. When the Dr. came in about 4:30 he took us to a room to show us the DVD on the computer that they had sent from DeKalb. It wasn’t showing up (they couldn’t get a contrast) so he took us for a VERY LONG walk and elevator ride down to the basement. In that room the only lighting is many computers of all sizes. On one of the computers we could see where the problem is.

Today at about 3:00 or 3:30 they will be taking TJ to surgery. They will remove a portion of his skull and go in and try to remove the massive blood that has settled along the left side of the brain. They said it looks like something caused from a hard fall. Some old bleeding and some recent bleeding. The Dr. is Rudy Kachman. Those of you in the Ft. Wayne area will recognize that name. He is famous. They say the best but a bit Exocentric. We hit it off good. He said, “Sweet heart, we are going to get along good. I see you have a good sense of humor.” Now did he read me right? LOL

So our granddaughter Brook (17 ) spent the night with me and we are getting ready to head back to the hospital. (About a 40 mile drive). The other kids were there all afternoon and evening along with some other relatives. It was so hard to leave him there but decided I better get home to rest and get some supplies. I plan to stay tonight.

All I can say for now is please say a prayer for TJ. They do millions of this kind of surgeries but there is some risk. Will let you know how it goes.

California family coming to Tri-State festival

We just got word that a family from California has purchased airline tickets so they can be at the Labor Day event in Kendallville. Have you made your plans?

Bluegrass at the White House

Alison Krauss and her Union Station band will be performing at the White House this week.

New WiFi provider for Labor Day festival

Ligtel Communications installed their wireless equipment July 13 replacing Locl.net. The main radio is on top of the Merchants Building and a secondary one is on the Log Cabin. They are looking to install one somewhere along US 6 in the camping area to broaden the coverage.

Right now everything seems to be working OK. We'll see how things go during the fair next week. They also have a booth in the Merchants Building so if we have problems they can see it first hand.

Dennis Hudecek - Treasurer NCCFC

The Toy Hearts added to Labor Day festival

An additional band has been added to the Labor Day festival lineup. The Toy Hearts from England will be playing the first set on Thursday, Sept. 3, at 6:15p and Friday, Sept. 4, at 6:00p. They will also play at 4:40-5:25p on Saturday Sept 5.

They will also be playing at an area nursing home on Friday afternoon.

The band was added after the festival flyer was mailed last month.

Storage facility for stage needed

For the last several years the NIBGA stage has been stored at a private indoor storage facility. Due to ill health, that facility is being closed. We have spread the word to several Kendallville folks who might help us find a new storage location for the stage.

The stage is a custom travel trailer about 27 feet long.

If you have any suggestions, let us know. We are currently paying about $325 per year.