I know that many of you think that Housnitch had fallen off the face of the earth - others were hoping it had. Well, after nearly 15 weeks in the hospital, Brenda is finally home. She was released Tuesday evening, 102 days after surgery for colon cancer.
My last update to the page was on November 5, although, I don't think it actually posted until the 7th. A couple of days later Brenda developed a blood-borne fungal infection that nearly took Brenda from us. She ran 105° fever for over a week, her blood pressure dropped dangerously low, her kidneys shut down, and she was having trouble oxygenating her blood. The doctors' prognosis was not good. They held little hope for her recovery. For weeks, the definition of a "good day" was one in which Brenda did not get worse.
Of course, during this time, the doctors had Brenda in a drug induced coma. As Brenda's Power of Attorney, I had a number of decisions to make. One of those decisions was to quit posting to the Housnitch site until Brenda was capable of allowing me to make announcements of her condition. That finally happened just before Christmas, but, unfortunately, my schedule has delayed the updates.
I have tried to answer letters and e-mails as much as possible, but I know that I have missed a few. I apologize to those who were missed, or were delayed. I have kept all messages, and will pass them on to Brenda in the next few days. If you have e-mailed anything to housnitch1@aol.com more than 30 days ago, you should probably resend it. That mailbox gets about 150 messages a day, much of which is junk mail. I'm not quite sure how AOL's e-mail works, but it seems like they delete anything over 30 days old. Early on, I tried to keep up with the mailbox, but it was impossible to do that and take care of Brenda's affairs, and manage my business.
Brenda is anxious to return to the keyboard and her watchdog duties, but, please be patient. Fourteen weeks in a hospital bed has taken its toll. She has a long way to go to regain her strength and endurance. But go ahead and let her hear from you, and motivate her to get on with her rehabilitation.
Finally, I want to say "Thank you" to all of the Housnitch readers, Brenda's friends and family, and my friends (many of whom didn't even know Brenda), for their continued prayers for her recovery. Despite what medical science has to offer, there are some illnesses that will only be cured by the healing hand of God. I believe that Brenda is LIVING proof of that.
Dennis
Well, it has been over three weeks since Brenda's surgery, and she is still in ICU. She is awake and alert, but she is on a venitlator to supplement her oxygen intake, so she cannot speak. I suppose that comes as welcome news to some folks out there. But, as most of you know, she WILL make up for lost time!
Thanks to all of you who have e-mailed your "Get Well" wishes. I have been delivering those to Brenda. They have brought some smiles and some tears. And for those who have sent flowers - well, she can't have flowers in ICU, so we have taken pictures of them for Brenda, then passed the flowers on to others who could enjoy them.
Now for the pitch. Since starting Housnitch a little over three years ago, Brenda has done some incredible work toward protecting Houstonians from waste, fraud and abuse in City government. For those of you who do not know, Housnitch is, for all practical purposes, a one-person operation. Someone will give Brenda information about a problem with a City contract, practice, department, or whatever. Then she will do the research, file FOI requests, collect the documents, file the complaints and fan the fires until the issue is resolved - all without research staff, secretaries or assistants - just one lady with a computer, the tenacity of a pit bulldog, and (pardon the expression) balls bigger than any man's.
The operation of Housnitch is supported by contributions from friends and angels of Housnitch who understand the importance of having someone who will take on the system without fear of reprisal or loss of advertisers. The unfortunate reality is that there are economic rewards for corrupt and illicit practices, but none for fighting to keep the system clean. Brenda's only income is from a part-time bookkeeping job (about 10 hours per week) and the donations she receives from the readers of Housnitch. As you know, Housnitch is freely available for all to read. Brenda's philosophy is that you have to shine a really bright light on government's dark secrets. The more people who read Housnitch, the brighter the light.
To prevent the possibility or appearance of favoritism, Housnitch also accepts no advertising. That is certainly not true of any of Houston's other investigative reporting outlets - print or broadcast.
To sum up this rant, I am asking for your help. When Brenda gets out of the hospital she will have a long road to recovery. She will not have the strength or endurance to do, by herself, what she has done in the past. Certainly, we who have assisted Brenda in the past will be there to help in the future. But, for Housnitch to continue its work, we will have to hire one or two assistants to handle the work while Brenda recuperates. That is where YOU come in. If you believe that Housnitch has done important work in exposing waste, fraud and abuse within City government; if you believe that the guts of government should be exposed; if you believe that the citizens of Houston have benefitted from the cages Brenda has rattled over the past three years; then I beg you, please make a commitment to regularly donate to Housnitch - even if it is only a couple of dollars each month.
Snitches, hang in there. Hopefully, Brenda will be back online in a couple of weeks. Until then, keep her in your prayers.
Thanks,
Dennis
I know many of you are wondering why the Housnitch site has not been updated for several weeks. In early October, our dear friend Brenda Flores had surgery to remove a malignant tumor. The surgery was difficult because of the location of the tumor, and was complicated by other health issues. She has been in ICU since the surgery, and is receiving excellent care. I am pleased to report that, although it is slower than we would like, she is making progress in her recovery.
I ask for your prayers for Brenda's speedy recovery so that she can return to the computer and continue hammering away at our bureaucrats.
For those of you who send contributions to help support this site, please use the following address:
If you have any snitchmail, please hold it until Brenda is back online. Of course, if it is a time-critical issue - contract up for a vote, etc. - e-mail me at the address below, and I will try to act on it.
Thank you all for your prayers and support.
dennis@housnitch.com