Update on Patrick Smith

[Jane]

Tomorrow they will probably move daddy from the hospital (Cape Canaveral) to rehab. It will help alot of some people would send him some Get Well wishes since he is really down. You can send them to their home address and mom or I will take them to rehab. He still may have to have knee surgery since the shots have not really helped but they are going to give him 10 days before that decision must be made. But rehab will help teach him how to use his left arm and left leg since he has always used his right side for everything. May have to move some furniture at the house for him but no big deal.

Here is the address where you can send them:


1370 Island Drive
Merritt Island, FL 32952

Right now he is really down and thinks no one cares about him since he says he does not want to leave the hospital yet because he is still in so much pain. Yesterday they had to give him 2 pints of blood where his arm is broken because the break must have been close to a vessel and he lost alot of blood in that arm. But whether we move him tomorrow or next week, it is still going to hurt and just hard for him to understand.

Thanks for caring and Carol, I know you will send him a card.

Jane

[carolwicks]

;-)

sure will Jane. you should write a short bio about him on here. he is an amazing man.
keep your chin up GF...
luv ya
carol

[Jane]

Carol,

Here is the bio on dad from the 2002 Governor's Cup when the Governor asked him to please fill in for him that year. Since then, The Seas That Mourn was released and the short story book and of course the DVD on him

Jane

Patrick D. Smith Named Grand Marshall For 2002 Governor's Cup

As we near the date for the most exciting, most prestigious of all the Florida stock car events, thoughts go to last year's spectacular show. The Governor was on hand, and in the wake of the September 11 madness, it was a throughly memorable show.

This year Patrick D. Smith of Merritt Island, Florida will be the Grand Marshall for the 37th annual running of the Governor's Cup at New Smyrna Speedway on the evening of November 9th.

Who is Patrick Smith you ask?

The following information was compiled by Smith's daughter:

Patrick Smith is a 1999 inductee into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, which is the highest and most prestigious cultural honor that can be bestowed upon an individual by the State of Florida.

A native of Mississippi, he holds a B.A.degree and a Master's degree in English from the University of Mississippi. He moved to Florida in 1966, but his ties to Florida go back much longer that that.

In May 2002 Smith was the recipient of the Florida Historical Society's Fay Schweim Award as the "Greatest Living Floridian." The one-time-only award was established to honor the one individual who has contributed the most to Florida in recent history. Smith was cited for the impact his novels have made on Floridians, both natives and newcomers to the state, and for the worldwide acclaim he has received.

Smith is the author of six novels: The River Is Home, The Beginning, Forever Island, Angel City, Allapattah, and A Land Remembered. He is also co-author of the non-fiction book The Last Ride, and author of the non- fiction book In Search of the Russian Bear, which is set in Russia and in Uzbekistan in Middle Asia.

Smith has been nominated three times for the Pulitzer Prize, in 1973 for Forever Island, which was a 1974 selection of the Reader's Digest Condensed Book Club and has been published in 46 countries; in 1978 for Angel City, which was produced as a "Movie of the Week" for the CBS television network and has aired worldwide; and in 1984 for A Land Remembered, which was an Editors' Choice selection of the Year York Times Book Review. In the 2002 The Best of Florida statewide poll taken by Florida Monthly magazine, A Land Remembered was ranked #1 Best Florida Book. The novel also ranked #1 in the 2001 poll.

Smith's lifetime work was nominated for the 1985 Nobel Prize for Literature, and since then he has received five additional nominations.

Previous honors include: Tebeau Prize for A Land Remembered as the Most Outstanding Florida Historical Novel, Florida Historical Society, 1986; Outstanding Author Award, Council for Florida Libraries, 1986; Outstanding Florida Author Award, Space Coast Writer's Guild, 1987; Communications Achievement Award, Toastmasters International, 1987; Environmental Writer's Award, Florida Audubon Society, 1987; FLORIDA TODAY Best Writer Award 1987, 1990, 1992; Medal Of Honor, National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution (highest national award), 1988; Order of the South Award, Southern Academy of Letters, Arts and Sciences (highest literary award), 1996; Florida Ambassador of the Arts Award, Florida Department of State, 1996; the first Florida Cracker Heritage Award, presented for outstanding contributions to Florida pioneer heritage, Florida Cracker Trail Association, 1997; Lifetime Achievement Award, Lee County Reading Festival, Fort Myers 2001.

In 1990, Florida PBS-TV released a documentary, "VISIONS OF NATURE -- Patrick Smith's Florida," which portrays his work as a writer and the extensive "on-the-site" research he has done for his novels. In October 1990 he received the University of Mississippi's Distinguished Alumni Award and was inducted into the University's Alumni Hall of Fame. In 1997, the Florida Historical Society created a new annual award, the Patrick D. Smith Florida Literature Award, in his honor.

Smith made lecture tours in Russia and Middle Asia in 1983 and in 1986 he was the keynote speaker for a 57-nation International Writers Meeting held in Bofia, Bulgaria.

Also the author of numerous short stories, essays and articles, Smith resides with his wife Iris on Merritt Island.

And oh yes I forgot to mention Patrick Smith has a daughter many of you might know.

Her name is Jane Smith.

[Jane]

After 8 hours in rehab, dad is back in the hospital. He began throwing up either dried blood or bile last night and they had to rush him back. Right now I don't know anything since his nurse today did not know anything but my only brother who lives in California is flying in tomorrow evening. Tomorrow I am asking them to move him to the 7th floor where they know him or transfer him to the hospital in Rockledge since no one is helping us.

[carolwicks]

Jane

i am praying for Patrick. He is a good man and has given alot of himself thru his awesome books. I am certain he is proud to be your father. thank you for posting as im sure alot of Karnac readers didnt know anything about PATRICK SMITH...
i have not sent a card yet as i havent felt well enough to go out. maybe tomorrow.
please keep us informed.
luv
carol aka OZ

[Jane]

Thanks Carol. Right now I don't know if cards will help. Went to the hospital last night right before the end of visiting hours and dad had not had anything to eat since Tuesday. He can have clear liquids - broth, jello, juice and I asked if they could please get him some since he was kindof hungry. Today I will call the charge nurse on the 2nd floor and see if they can move him to the 7th floor where he was before. They know him and took very good care of him and he also had a private room. I am just very frustrated in the fact that this time, no one can tell us anything, not even the name of the doctors who are seeing him.

My brother Rick comes in tonight and I know he will not like this either. When Senators are calling the hospital to check on someone, you would think they would realize that this man is not just no one but someone very special. In fact, the road in front of the hospital is Patrick D. Smith Causeway.

Dad has been nominated yet for another award in January and if he gets it, Rick and I will go and accept it for him. But it sure would be nice to still have him here where he knows he won it.

Sorry you feel bad Carol, please let me know how you are doing. I keep checking on Jack to see what he has heard about his back also. I am just alittle overwhelmed right now but I do still care how you are.

Let me know and thanks for all the prayers, we definitely need them right now.

[carolwicks]

Jane

I pray for the best for your dad... all i can do... im glad he has you there to make sure he gets good care. will be great when Richard gets here. two heads are better than one. ;-) strength in unity.
i will be ok... blood sugar high and just feel quesy... working on it. went from 499 to 199... ;-)
Jack gets his MRI results tomorrow. Hope its something they can fix. talk soon.
luv ya
carol

[Jane]

Just came back from the hospital and dad can talk today. Yesterday you could not understand a word he said but today he is talking plain as day. They are turning him every few hours because he is starting to get bed sores and checking him for pneumonia but he can talk. Right now I am on Cloud 9 because he can. Prayers are helping, please keep them up.