"Patient Updates" •-----

Patient Update 8-27-09
Still plugging away at the album and it's been stellar. will have it completed in time to take to Kerrville Wine and Music LAbor Day Weekend and will get it up on the web site soon after returning. Haven't had much time this past two weeks for working on my leg, but it continues to do well. I may not be a patient much longer so the updates will soon go back to regular news postings. Thanks again to everyone!!!!!


Patient Update 8-17-09
My buddy Wayne Evanson says he keeps checking my site for new updates and there just hasn't been any for well over a month...because...I've been out in the garden, off to Alamosa, down to Atlanta and up to my ears in things that need fixing and streamlining like my web site store and converting my music to mp3 downloads. I continue to bust ass on rehabbing my hip and leg and that takes time. The good news is that my leg and hip are doing great. I'm off crutches, I'm carrying 5 gallon buckets of water around the property to keep the green stuff growing and I've been getting to the gym several times a week to swim, lift weights and restore my range of motion and stamina. Thank you Shelly and Northside Fitness! I also got the green light to ride my bike again and a couple times a week I've gotten on my mountain bike as well as my road bike and its working. I have to ease back into it but it's totally working. The hospital in Denver has been kind enough to cut a deal with me. My total medical bills have gone from over $80,000 down to about $22,000...thanks to all of you, to MusiCares, the Jazz Foundation of America, the Taos County Indigent Fund, PHI Air Medical and some kind people at Denver Health Medical Center. While I was in Atlanta for a benefit that my buddies Mike McKearn and Marty Kearns put on I got the chance to meet Dr. Lyn Dasylva through Jim Chabucos (musician/composer/arranger extraordinaire). Lyn took me in to meet with Dr. John Downes who is an amazing chiropractor and heads up the Sports Science sector of Life University. He treats professional athletes and it was quite a coup to get two appointments with him. He found the missing link in my recovery and allowed me to get past a limp that wasn't going away. I'm extremely grateful to him and to Dr Lyn...those guys rock.

I have to knock off so I can get my butt into the studio this afternoon. It's been ten years since I wrote and recorded an all new original Don Con album and I want to test the waters with this project I'm about to begin today. I'm looking at it as a warm up for the next all original project. By the way, Ellis Paul's new CD is out and it's a fantastic album with the most gorgeous artwork/packaging I've ever seen. Very well done all the way around. in comparison, I plan to record mine in our rehearsal studio (Patrick Turnmire/Red Rock Acoustics), burn the discs at home on a machine I bought and create the art work in my kitchen…printing, cutting and pasting. It'll be very humble and home made. The material will be drawn from earlier stuff that barely saw the light of day plus a few other odds and ends and a new co write with Mike McKearn that steps into Bossa Nova territory. I hope to get Ellis in on it as well as some local buddies and possibly my pal Shawn Mullins who will actually be in Taos in a few weeks for Michael Hearne's Big Barn Dance, which is an annual event here in Taos that is not to be missed. Bless you all and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support past present and future. It matters. DonCon


Patient Update 7-1-09
I love you PHI Air Medical!!!
This airlift service swooped in with a fixed wing medevac crew to fly me to Denver for my emergency surgery to rebuild my leg…and it wasn't cheap. They were pretty amazing and they had an ambulance waiting on the ground to take me to the hospital when we got there. I had no choice but to apply for financial assistance since I don't have insurance and they called me a month later to say that they were letting me have the ride for free. They gave me a $29,500 airlift. Now that's charity! It's been such an amazing thee months with all the support and benefits, prayers and healing. I'm incredibly grateful to all of you and it's become impossible to keep track of so forgive me for not getting more specific…but thank you all so very much. I'm down to walking with one crutch and on a good day down to a cane…or nothing at all. It just depends on the day and the kind of activity I'm doing. When I get a good week of physical therapy in I feel incredibly strong and flexible. I'm still doing it on my own and really love it. I've progressed to the point where I can swim, stretching, do upper body work, ride the stationary bike and use the stair stepper. I almost feel like a real two legged again.
   Had an awesome performance last night at the KTAO Solar Center with the trio...aka the Lugnuts: Patrick Turnmire and Jim Bradley. We celebrated the release of Revolution Records' "Songs of Love" compilation CD which includes "The Other Side". I love KTAO and performing outdoors in that setting on that stage is pure joy. Heading to Woody Fest in a few days and bringing Patrick Turnmire along. Some of you may have seen us together at the Blue Door benefit in OK City in May. He's my musical partner in Taos and we'll be doing my various performances together at Woody Fest and then at our annual post Woody Fest concert at The Chouse in Norman on July 12th. Patrick is also coming along with me to the Kerrville Wine and Music in September.
   Hope you're having a great summer. I've got all my greenhouse stuff repotted and busting out and the tomato bed is wind and storm proofed so I'm ready to enjoy some summer days of leisure if I can ever get my hands on one or two. Been busier than a guy with one and a half legs ought to be.

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Patient Update 6-4-09
It's hard to describe what really happened at the KTAO Solar Center on Sunday 5-31-09 but it's easy enough to say that it was amazing. It seemed like the whole town of Taos cycled though during the 8 hours and 24 performances that took place. To list everyone that made it happen would take me all night and I already have enough work to do to take me to sunrise so I apologize to those awesome souls who made it happen for not naming names right now and to those who supported it through their presence, their performances, their donations, their purchases of auction items, their donations of equipment, sound and lights, security, food, labor, love light and healing. I gave up four of my guitars for auction and was so happy that they all found beautiful homes. Thanks for that. All the performances stood extremely tall including the kids that rocked the house, but I have to send a special shout out to my Tiwa brother Benito Concha, his father Mike, the entire Concha clan and all the dancers that came that evening. What you guys brought to this and the medicine that you gave me through those dances and songs was powerful and beautiful. That's the stuff that makes my soul sing and you did it up big. DonCon loves Taos...and everyone else, too. I head back to the doctor here in Taos on June 8th for x rays and what may be my last check up. I still can't walk without a crutch, but I'm feeling stronger every week and might actually be putting some weight back on. The anesthesia from surgery is still messing with my head and I'm even more forgetful that I was before, if that's possible. But I do feel a lot stronger. Thank you ALL for your amazing support and generosity during this time in my life. It has gone above and beyond. THANK YOU. DonCon
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Patient Update 5-28-09
The benefit at the Blue Door in OK City was unbelievably fun. It turned into a roast and I got hit pretty hard all night by my friends including my best friend Ellis Paul. I did my best to give as good as I got and I know I got some good licks in, but I was vastly outnumbered by a host of awesome friends and great talents. Then less that a week later we did it all again in my one-time hometown of Alamosa, Colorado at the San Luis Brewing Company. Great turnout and incredible music. Thank you Don Richmond, Patrick Turnmire, Scott, Angie and my musical buddies for throwing one helluva good party and to all my friends there in El Valle for their support. I love the Beautiful Valley! I was feeling so good that week that I probably started to move a little too fast and my hip has let me know all about it. Guess that's part of the healing process. Have been doing water therapy thanks to the kindness of Shelley and the crew at Northside Spa and that's been pretty amazing. I've been having some fascinating conversations in the jacuzzi there with various people...I'm convinced that jacuzzi is some kind of strange energy vortex. I've been hearing about two other guys with recently broken femurs and I got to meet one the other day...in the jacuzzi/vortex, of course. His name is Thor and he was buried in an avalanche while skiing and after being dug out was airlifted and operated on. We sat in the jacuzzi together  doing our exercises and comparing notes...but there's really no comparison. I fell off my bicycle...he was buried alive in an avalanche. He wins. My big Taos benefit concert and silent auction is scheduled for this Sunday May 31st. There was so much interest from the musical community that we ended up with about 24 acts to be squeezed into 7 hours. A true musical marathon with the added bonus of having my good Pueblo buddy Benito Concha bringing some serious Native Dance to the event. I'm so thrilled and honored to have the First People represented at this event. huge thanks to Benito and to Wayne, Brad, Brandt, Markus, Cat, Jennifer, Rima, Rick, Mitch, Aiden and especially Jimmy Stadler for all the detailed planning and coordination. BTW, I just uploaded some pictures of Jimmy in my "Femur and Friends Gallery" in the Photos Section of the site. The event is at the beautiful KTAO Solar Center and there's no admission. There'll be food and beverages for sale by Solar Spirits. Donations of any size will be gratefully accepted to help me try to knock out the remaining $70,000 in medical bills. I'm donating a few prized musical possessions to the silent auction along with a lot of my photography and have some beautiful offerings of art, jewelry and other items from various folks. The dancing alone should make this event a blast. It's the largest dance floor I've ever seen. Thanks to all my incredibly talented friends for their support and generosity. And thanks to all the folks who have continued to send in donations to keep me going and help knock out these bills. I'm a blessed fellow.

Patient Update 5-9-09
Patrick Turnmire and me (aka The Sagemonkeys are loading the car tomorrow and heading to my benefit in Oklahoma City at the Blue Door...which is gonna be pretty awesome based on the lineup alone. My doctor here in Taos...her name is Ariana…true story… told me the other day that everything looks great. Healing normally and although I'm feeling a lot friskier I still have to baby my hip for another 7 weeks and come back for a check up and x rays then. The biggest problem I'm having is that I'm healing so fast that I may be able to walk by the time I get to some of these benefits...and Ellis Paul and some of the other benefit putter-on-er folks are threatening to beat me up before these shows so that people can feel sufficiently sympathetic to make donations toward my medical bills. Help! Save me from the people who are trying to save me!
  The donations have been pouring in and I can't tell you how amazing it is. I'm sooooooo grateful. I've got all the New Mexico bills paid and I'm down to about $75,000 in Colorado and California where the airlift service is based out of. That explains why it cost $29,500 to fly over and take me to Denver for the emergency surgery. If I can accumulate a large enough single lump of cash I'll be able to negotiate that massive amount down considerably. That's the push. I'm trying to keep a running list of everyone who's helped and to post a thank you list soon. I've been swamped by my healing and administrative duties, but the dust should settle in mid June. The Prayers, Reiki, Love, Gifts, Books and other Juju are the reasons I'm doing so well (and consequently being threatened with beatings before each benefit concert) and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for that...but not for the beatings. Just for starters special thanks to Tom Lee and MK Long (from the Chouse in Norman OK) for the box of goodies, Tracy Preston in NOLA for strong arming all your Omni Hotel associates from coast to coast into donating free weekend stays for my silent auction May 31st, Geoff Bartley in Boston for the cool book that enlightens guitar players and spits money, Kevin Deame out east for the "blow up companion" (you are one sick f*** and I love you for that), Laura Balvanz in Austin for the cowboy boot sideburns and the orange warning cone key chain to hang from my bicycle. How could I not get better? And a shout out to Bernadette Z Lightfoot on your "special" birthday there Down Under. Birthday hugs from Taos. Thanks everyone for absolutely blowing me away. I thought that when I'd moved to Taos it was my time to sort of fade into the sunset, but not so according to all of you. Very Large Thanks to my sweet friends Ellis Paul, Patrick Turnmire, Stephanie Gutz and Jimmy Stadler (aka Jiggy Stamler...and the Jiggy Stamler Singers) for holding up my broken half while it learns to hold me up on it's own again. Peace y'all. DonCon

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Patient Update 4-24-09
The healing continues and I'm working hard on teaching my left leg how to walk again…trying to restore that range of motion. The hip is the weak point and it still can't handle the weight of my body without crutches, but for just one month out I'm pretty pleased. I'm getting more flexible and able to drive now….I was lucky to shatter my left femur and not the right. I had to get something from under my bed this morning and while I was down there I cranked out some push ups…pain free…so depending on where the weight gets distributed I can do a few things to get strong again without too much "pain payback". The pain persists but isn't as constant. I have a major check-up in about ten days and am curious to see what they'll have to say.

On the music front there's been a benefit concert added in Alamosa, Co on Thursday May 21st…leading up to Memorial Day weekend. My dear pal Don Richmond is heading that up and details are posted as I get them in the Shows section of the site. I'm playing in Denver May 2nd, opening for Steve Forbert at Swallow Hill, and may be doing a TV news show in Denver to discuss the amazing recovery allowed by the kind of surgery Dr David Hak did on me. I was sitting in a chair three days after my surgery playing a show in Taos. It is pretty amazing.
  My best friend Ellis Paul has been out on tour talking up my situation at his shows. People have been making donations because of that and to Ellis and those folks all I can say is "I Love You, Man!!!" In case there are concerns about the donations getting to the right place I have to say that the folks at Centinel Bank in Taos have done a great job of managing donations so far. If folks have included personal letters the bank has mailed those to me, but the downside is that I don't get any other details about the deposits so the amounts donated are anonymous and I can't personally write to those folks and send a thank you because the bank doesn't log the contact info. Sorry! My good friend Wayne Evanson is the administrator and he checks in almost daily. Doing it this way keeps things transparent and clean should the IRS or my debtors have questions down the line. Regardless of how the donations come in I do keep track of the funds including how much I spend on living expenses and medical bills. In the short term living expenses are the biggest challenge and donations have saved my butt on that front in addition to paying off the smaller bills. Long term I'm trying to gather enough money to cut a deal with the largest bill holders so I don't end up making payments for the rest of my life, which is a real possibility given the amount still owed which is up around $100,000. None of this falls under non-profit status so its not tax deductible for those donating and I will likely have to pay taxes on some or all of the donations, just so you know. I think it goes without saying that my focus is also on managing pain and rehabbing my leg.

Patient Update 4-8-09
The orthopaedic docs here in Taos were all huddled around my x rays today after removing my staples and explaining to me what a rock star my surgeon in Denver is…Dr David Hak…and what a rock star job he and his team did. I had been thinking that they screwed long plates onto the outside of my femur in two places to tie it all back together, but in actuality (as I understand it) he and his team reamed out the bone marrow in my left femur and put a 17mm titanium tube down the center of the bone to the knee. Then they inserted a titanium nail most of the length of the tube. At the bottom of that they put a titanium screw through the bone, tube and nail and out the other side of the bone to anchor the bottom portion of the assembly above the knee. At the top of the femur they pushed a hollow, curved hook in between my muscles and around my femur and fished a metal wire through the hollow hook. They said it was baling wire. I thought that was funny and I'm sure they were kidding…right? They pulled the hook out, leaving the wire which they tied off. Then they inserted an expansion screw through the top of the titanium tube which angled up into the head of the femur where it goes into the hip to keep the large break as well as the shattered areas stable. Now that I know why I'm feeling so much pain it seems like I'm not feeling so much pain anymore. Weird.

Original Posting 3-29-09
  Had a little medical emergency, but am on the mend. Ellis Paul caught wind of what was happening and tracked me down in a Denver hospital room and started putting the word out. I've been getting so many sweet messages and donations from folks around the country and across the pond. THANK YOU!!! I shattered my left femur on Tuesday evening 3-24-09 during a boringly routine and very slow road bicycle ride. I was turning around to head home and the rear wheel slid out from under me in some gravel left behind by the snow plows. I didn't see it. It's embarrassing how slow I was going…didn't even slide when I fell. Just stuck to the asphalt in a pile of pain. My neighbor Roger said he could hear me howling from six miles away back at the house... it's probably true. A very kind guy named Peter pulled over and stayed with me until we called an ambulance. I ended up being airlifted from Taos to Denver (you DO NOT want to know how much that cost) where my femur got reconstructed with titanium parts. See "Patient Update 4-8-09" at the end of this for details. I left Taos without clothes, shoes, wallet, glasses or cell phone so it was tough to get in touch with or respond to anyone. It's surreal to find yourself hundreds of miles from home with nothing but a wool cap and a hospital gown on. Stephanie was allowed to tag along on the flight. At least she had clothes on…and a cell phone, but no charger. The surgery went great and the leg will heal completely in 6 to 9 months thanks the care of some real orthopedic wizards at the Denver Health Medical Center. There were no restrictions so I can put as much load on the leg as my pain tolerance allows. After 36 hours in the hospital they released me with my wool cap and a pair of crutches. They kept the hospital gown. The toughest part was getting home to Taos under white out blizzard conditions during the worst storm of the year with major road closings and no hotel rooms or rental cars available. We had to make a run for it. My friend and drummer Patrick Turnmire drove up to get us and it ended up being a brutal slog home. Patrick and I play in a duo called "The Sagemonkeys". I had some clothes and shoes to wear thanks to his foresight. I'm on crutches for a while and moving slowly but I've been able to perform my scheduled dates...sitting down. My pal Jimmy Stadler covered one gig for me that I couldn't get back in time for due to the snow storm.

Thanks for your support, prayers, emails, calls, concern, and offers to help with expenses. As you can imagine I am one of those millions of uninsured folks out there. The bills are about $75,000 so far and counting, but I'm a grateful and blessed fellow. People have been asking how they can offer financial assistance. My buddy Wayne Evanson set up an account at Centinel Bank here in Taos. Anyone wishing to send financial support can...

Make Checks Payable to: Don Conoscenti
And Send Them To:
Centinel Bank of Taos
Pob 818
Taos NM 87571

For PayPal folks just use this email: don@donconoscenti.com
(PayPal people will know what that means)

Please don't feel pressured. These are tough times for everyone. At the same time I don't want to stubbornly stand in the way of help when I clearly need it. The bills are massive. I'm going to be on board for President Obama's efforts to reform health care. Give me the version with the Public Plan Option and woe is the congress person who votes against that option.
  There'll be an all day benefit concert and silent auction here in Taos at the KTAO Solar Center on May 31st. There's also a benefit concert at The Blue Door in Oklahoma City May 11th, another in Alamosa May 21st and Eddie's Attic is cooking something up... potentially in July. Should be fun bashes and I plan to attend them all if conditions allow. Look for details and updates in the "Shows" section of the site.

By the way...I found the x rays oddly compelling and have posted them in the "Femur and Friends Gallery" in the "Photos" section of the site...in case you're as weird as I am. I've been adding x rays from friends who submit them to me in JPEG form...a gallery of busted up skeletal parts and hardware. I think Chuck Brodsky is gonna be the big draw for the gallery. You've got to see his ankle x rays.
   Peace on all of you and thanks for the blessing of your friendship and life/music camaraderie. DonCon