Aphasia 8

Medical Update #1

This is a confidential update regarding Brother Jabril Muhammad’s medical condition. Anything having to do with one’s medical condition is considered to be confidential. Brother Jabril wants to share this with the readers. Before this report was sent publically, I gave Brother Jabril a copy of it, for his review. For those of you who know Brother Jabril, you know that he is a “context” and “detail” person. As you read this report, the words that are in bold are the part that I omitted that he wanted included in this update. (He told me to please read The Final Call for his reasons. Smile.) He gave me these words today Monday June 8, 2009, the same day I wrote this report. He told me that his reason would appear, Allah Willing, in next week’s issue of The Final Call.

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On Wednesday May 27, 2009, Brother Jabril Muhammad was admitted to the hospital. His diagnosis was unresponsive and seizure disorder. He went into respiratory failure while in the emergency room and was intubated. He was not breathing on his own. The emergency room doctors worked to stabilize his condition before transferring him to Neuro ICU. One of the emergency room doctors wrote in his dictated medical report, “He (Jabril) was admitted and was witnessed to have convulsions in the ER, now in respiratory failure and on a ventilator, without showing signs of recovery.” Throughout his medical records, other words to that effect were stated. He was in extreme critical condition, with his arterial blood gases “all over the place.”

I witnessed everything that took place in the emergency room helping the doctors help Brother Jabril. I informed them what medicines works best for him while he’s in this condition etc. I also witnessed that he was unresponsive, even to pain!

After I informed the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, from the emergency room, of Brother Jabril’s condition, he was very sorry to hear of what happen. Minister Farrakhan was already scheduled to come to Phoenix on another matter. So the next morning, Brother Minister and his two sons arrived at the hospital, straight from the airport. They arrived, in the room, approximately one minute or less after five or six Neurologists arrived in his room. I was in the process of giving all the doctors a complete medical history of Brother Jabril’s condition. I informed them of what medications and dosage of medications he’s taking; how often he has these episodes; how to prevent these episodes from getting to the point where he’s intubated etc, etc. They asked a few questions, which I answered and at one point, I politely advised them to decrease one of his IV medications and gave my reasons, which they agreed to do and they did. They also told me of their plans, of which I was 100 percent in agreement.

Minister Farrakhan witnessed Brother Jabril on the ventilator, hand strapped to the bed, to prevent him from pulling out his tubes. After the doctors left, Minister Farrakhan remarked, “I’m so sorry this happened to you, but Allah is the Best Knower. Brother Minister then leaned over to Brother Jabril and said in a loud voice, “Jib, get up out of this bed, we have work to do.”  Brother Jabril opened his eyes and immediately recognized Minister Farrakhan. Brother Jabril tried to speak, but choked and starting coughing because of the tube he had down his throat to help him breathe. Brother Minister then quieted Brother Jabril and told him in a soft voice that he will be back once the tube is removed from his throat.

Absolutely, Allah is the Best Knower. A few hours after the visit from Minister Farrakhan, Brother Jabril was extubated, meaning that he was taken off life support. Brother Jabril’s first words after being extubated was, “How long have I been here?” Because of the heavy sedation, Brother Jabril was given over the last 24 hours; he slept the rest of that day. He awoke the next morning around 5:00 AM and told me that he saw Minister Farrakhan, face to face and that it was real. He said that he saw him in “this same building.”  He then asked me, “What’s up?” [Keep in mind, Brother Jabril is just waking up from heavy sedation; from being on a ventilator—life support and he dose not realize that he is in a hospital.] But, one thing for sure, he told me that he knew that he saw Minister Farrakhan.

After orientating Brother Jabril to place and time, I informed him that he, did indeed, see Minister Farrakhan. I also informed Brother Jabril that he had a tube down his throat to help him breathe and could not talk to Minister Farrakhan although he tried and that Minister Farrakhan will be coming back this morning to see him.

Minister Farrakhan and his son Joshua came that morning to see Brother Jabril. I can say that I witnessed a very powerful and significant meeting between the two of them. Sister Monette, who works for me and is one month away from getting her RN degree, witnessed what she did. Allah willing, we’ll hear from her in Aphasia 9 (medical update #2). In the one-hour plus meeting, I could see that they were being affected by one another’s spirit. At the end, of their meeting, Minister Farrakhan actually mentioned that this meeting helped his spirit. I know, from a medical standpoint, that Brother Jabril was helped in many ways. I believe this accounted for his speedy recovery.

In 2006, I was blessed to be present during some of the questions raised by Brother Jabril to Minister Farrakhan for the Closing The Gap book. This meeting between the two of them reminded me of that time period. They were ready right then and there to go to work. As Minister Farrakhan told Brother Jabril on the first day of his visit to Brother Jabril, despite Brother Jabril’s condition, that “we have work to do.” That caused Brother Jabril to open his eyes.

I must make this very clear. I’ve heard rumors (even as of yesterday) that Brother Jabril is in and out of a coma. That Brother Jabril is “mentally off” due to the stroke he suffered in February 2007. Both of those statements are completely false and baseless. For those who continue to spread these kinds of rumors, over the last 2 ½ years, since his stroke, of February 2007, where is your proof? Remember what the Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us, that Minister Farrakhan continues to teach and remind us of, that, if you repeat slander three times you become a part of it.

 For those of you who have known Brother Jabril for however many years, he is still the same Brother. Well, let me put it this way. He is not the same Brother. Nobody goes through a ‘near-death experience’ and comes out of it the same. Brother Jabril had more than one ‘near death experience.’ Our Brother is stronger mentally. The part of his brain that was affected by the stroke was the part that controls speech. Brother Jabril can speak. Brother Jabril can write.  Brother Jabril can read. He has problems retrieving words, but if one is patient with him, he can get the word out that he is searching for. Please study conduction aphasia and go back over Aphasia 1-7 that he produced.

This Aphasia condition has absolutely nothing to do with intelligence. His intelligence is above average. He can make informed decisions for himself. I must state, for the records that a seizure that he just suffered, does not cause brain damage. I pray Allah that this short writing will clear up some of the major misunderstandings about our Brother’s condition.

I was talking to a few Neurologists at the hospital. All of us agreed that Brother Jabril has an above average intelligences and thought process. That part of his brain that processes thoughts and intelligences carries over to the language part. He uses many, what you called, “Coping strategies” to communicate due to his condition. Coping strategies are verbal or nonverbal methods of communicating used by people who have aphasia. He can make himself very clear when he speaks.

It’s been one week since Brother Jabril was discharged from the hospital. If you were to see him now, you would hardly believe that he, just a few days earlier, was seconds away from death and on life support. Many have told me that he looks even younger or healthier now, than he looked before this most recent hospitalization, even though he’s not out of it yet. In Aphasia #9 or medical update #2, I intend to go into this.

I agreed with Minister Farrakhan’s words, 1000 percent when he said that Allah is the best knower. I can say this; he is speaking better than he was before this most recent episode. All praises are due to Allah.

Thank you for reading this short update. Please continue to visit as more updates are forthcoming, Allah’s Willing.

Patina Muhammad ND, CNC

June 8, 2009

(Please send all correspondence directly to Jabril Muhammad at his P.O. Box.

P.O. Box 66991; Phoenix, Arizona 85082-6991.