DamienF in hospital

Bugger. Money donated, but, not to go all political on the thread, fuck that healthcare system.

I had to explain that to a friend of mine today who's response was "isn't he a lawyer and therefore rich?".
I'll be throwing some money at this next thursday, fuck my budget.

I've chipped in as well. I really hope that Damien pulls through this unscathed and that the bills do not bankrupt him.

Universal healthcare really is the only way to go. Take it from someone who is a cancer survivor.

Done and done.

Ditto.

Ah damn, man. This is completely fucked up. Throwing in on, and +10 haste for full recovery.

Dear Lord, this is horrible. I will pray that the road to recovery isn't too bumpy for him and his family.

Seriously what the fuck is wrong with people? Put what I could in and hope they find the people responsible.

This pretty much sums it up for me. If our busted healthcare system is going to add its own trauma at least Damien will know people out there care about what happens to him.

I donated my last $15 yesterday.

Thankfully, a reimbursement check came in, so I can send out my SS packages!

quatoria and I chipped in what we could.

My aunt lives in the Dallas area, and she's keeping me up to date on the news that's being reported there.

Damien's story is now in the news (Dallas Observer).

From the DMN.

From WFAA.

From the local Fox affiliate.

And as always, but especially given that this is all referencing someone we know, don't read the comments.

Threw sent some love Damien's way...the cash money kind.

I've never had the pleasure of talking to Damien, but this really saddens me. Sending lots of prayers/good vibes his way.

I threw some money at him and wrote him a get well letter, since I figured it was the least I could do.

EDIT: Wow, just look at how much everyone donated! That's really impressive.

They've been hiding the bad comments that come in. If you have something like noscript on, you could see them as of last night. There were lots and lots of them :P

Really? I thought that sort of behavior was reserved for like... politics, or social issues. People just pile onto people who've been injured in article comments? What the fuck?

Mostly speculation on how it must've been black guys that did it and some other stuff that's just as racist, but manages to be even worse. Just ... the internet being the internet. I'm glad to see that they're deleting the comments.

Donated. Saw the amount donated thus far.

Room's kinda dusty now.

Another news roundup. Sorry if this gets annoying.

From ABA journal. Apparently Damien had an interview earlier in the day. :(

From the local CBS affiliate. It appears the news media is piecing together a sequence of events.

From the local NBC affiliate. The address he was found at isn't exactly at Ross and Greenville, but it does put him directly across from a 24hr Taco Cabana that is insanely busy at that time of night. It's also slightly more upscale than if he had been further South and is more heavily trafficked by people on foot. The fact that there are no witnesses to this crime coming forward willingly is sad, but stereotypically Dallas.

If anyone gets annoyed, they can deal. Please keep us updated with everything you hear.

Damien would do the same for any one of us. He's good people.

Thanks for the updates Bryce and others.I kicked in some money as well even though I've never met Damian or had much interaction with him, but he's still part of my community.

It's just weird that he wasn't robbed. Sounds almost like someone just wanted to hurt him. Fuck.

Ridiculous. Kicked in because I interact with you mugs on the daily and people need to learn not to fuck with the Hive Mind. Here's to a quick recovery for Damien.

I really don't have too many words. Not because I don't have anything to say, but because I can't find the proper words to express what I'm feeling.
Why do people hurt other people? According to the articles, he still had all of his money, so it wasn't a robbery. I highly doubt he got into a grand argument with someone that got out of hand.

I genuinely do not understand why people hurt others. Further, I do not understand why people hurt others for no reason.

Tossed in $10 a while ago, but didn't want to say anything on the off-chance it would make me look like I was bragging or something.

Another update on Damien's status from his sister:

I'm guessing whoever did it panicked when their clever plan for free easy monies didn't work out.

I really hope this will mean Damien will be able to communicate in some way. As you might remember, the previous times they've woken him up they've had to put him under again when he's tried to remove the ventilator tube. Ideally he'll be able to write and have his condition explained to him after this (and the extent of his brain injuries will become clear).

This is horrendous. Thoughts are with Damien for a complete and speedy recovery.

This kickstarter sucks, there's not even different levels for donations.

Whatever, I better get AT LEAST a finger when they've finished developing him.

Sad to hear this news, I hope he will be able to make a full recovery.

I... Really wish I had money right now...

Gave what I could. Like Charles, we didn't interact much, but he always seemed a reasonable and decent guy. Fuck our healthcare system and fuck what it's going to do him in the future if he needs therapy.

I seem to remember a little bit from our Declaration of Independence that sums up why modern healthcare pisses me off so goddamn much: "Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness." In no way am I going to try to quantify what that means on a philosophical level, but Life, that's pretty important. Liberty got fucked a while ago. Pursuit of happiness could mean all sorts of shit. But, back to Life: you can't have any of the other two things if you don't have this. What kind of life is Damien going to end up with? One of debt? One of debilitation? No sir. fuck that: life shouldn't be any harder for this guy before the assault after his recovery. If therapy is necessary, make it happen. But fuck every insurance company in the world if they try and screw him on this. Fuck them all.

This.

In 2010, my husband developed a peritonitis, bad enough in and of itself, but then there were additional complications and, long story short, he had to spend nine weeks in hospital, was in intensive care three times during that time and almost died on me. That was one nightmarish summer and about the last thing I would've needed in that situation would've been worries about any hospital costs and how we were ever going to pay them.

His folks are having a bad time as is, worrying about him and how well he'll recover, they don't deserve to be hit with that additional burden. Nobody does.

Presumably.. Damien has insurance to cover things, no? Sure he will hit his out of pocket max, but that's nothing compared to the overall bill.