Update on Bo Black's Health Crisis
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Bo Black on sky glider at Summerfest '03
She remains in a coma in intensive care at a Phoenix hospital. But since her brain surgery Tuesday, there has been no significant improvement.
Bo's son, Blake Lindemann, said Thursday that the family is still holding out hope,
"You know, it's hard it trying to grieve and mourn, but there's still that faint glimmer of hope that something could happen, and that's what we're hanging on to," he said.
The former Summerfest director suffered a stroke Sunday caused by a ruptured aneurysm in her brain. It happened in her Arizona home and since then, she has undergone three brain surgeries.
Black started her Summerfest career in 1984 and became one of the most active and well-known names in Milwaukee.
"We hope that the hemorrhaging has not damaged it to the extent that it is irreparable. That's the next ten days," said her husband, Tom Trebelhorn.
Since suffering the stroke, she has undergone surgical procedures to release the pressure on her brain and to repair the aneurysm and prevent further internal bleeding. The first procedure was done at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborne Campus Sunday afternoon and the next two at Barrows Neurological Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix Monday.
Statement from Bo Black's Family
Black has been sick for quite some time. Just last week, she told TODAY'S TMJ4 anchor Carole Meekins that she was feeling ill.
In 2001, Black underwent surgery at the Cleveland Clinic for reconstruction of her ascending aortic arch. At that time, she was diagnosed with both ascending and descending aneurysms, which eventually led to her becoming disabled and unable to work. However, Summerfest’s insurance company has contested the disability, which remains the subject of ongoing litigation in federal court.
Since moving to Arizona, Black has become active in women’s health issues, particularly heart disease. Her father succumbed at an early age to a similar condition.
Black's family said they are hanging in there.
"We're very proud of what she accomplished there. She's a fighter and we hope she can fight through this," Black's son, Blake Lindemann, said in a telephone interview.
Black’s three children - Stephanie Anderson, Kellyn Lindemann and Blake Lindemann - are with their mother in Scottsdale, as is husband Tom Trebelhorn, who returned Sunday from Florida where he was at Baltimore Orioles spring training camp.
Black, 61, has lived in Scottsdale with Trebelhorn, an Orioles bench coach, since 2003, when her contract with Summerfest was not renewed.
A statement from the family said, "We appreciate the thoughts and prayers of the people of Milwaukee, a community that Bo loved and was dedicated to serving."
Black oversaw the Milwaukee summer music festival for more than a decade, building it from a small one-stage venue to the largest live outdoor concert series in the world, drawing crowds of more than one million a year to Summerfest’s lakefront grounds.
Watch Carole's report from Live at 10:00 Tuesday
Additional coverage from Newsradio 620 WTMJ-AM
Stay with TMJ4 and todaystmj4.com for continuing coverage.
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