 Carl's funeral arrangements are as follows:
Click here for a printout of the funeral arrangements and a couple maps.
Viewing, rosary, and funeral mass will all be held at St. Charles Borromeo Church.
St Charles Borromeo 1818 Coal Place SE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
Phone: (505) 242-3462
Viewing and Rosary
Sunday December 5th at St. Charles Borromeo Church
6:00 - 7:00 pm. Viewing.
7:00 - 8:00 pm. Rosary.
Funeral Mass
Monday December 6th at St. Charles Borromeo Church. 10:00 - 11:00 am
Following the mass will be a funeral procession to Fairview Memorial Park (Yale and Cesar Chavez) for Carl's interment with military proceedings.
The family intends to host a wake after the burial for anyone who would like to come and have refreshments and just share some time remembering Carl. There will be a wake at the Parish Hall at St. Charles.
Spencer Baum
505 301 4858
Update on Dr. Carl E. Baum (Thurs., Dec. 2, 2010)
Carl E. Baum passed away peacefully at 1:30 AM today. Carl's nephew is working on funeral arrangements. Information will be posted here when available.
Update on Dr. Carl E. Baum (Tues., Nov. 30, 2010)
Carl's assistant at UNM, Chuck Reuben, visited today. Carl seemed to be a bit weaker than last week although his eyes were open at times. He was unfettered to machines, monitors and drips. His wishes were for comfort measures only and that is what is being provided.
Carl was breathing somewhat irregularly, which is normal at this point. He is declining daily and the goal is to keep him comfortable. At times his lungs are congested but he gets medicine to prevent respiratory secretions.
A couple of Carl's graduate students visited as well and updated Carl with their status. Chuck read verses from T.S. Eliot, although it was not clear whether or not Carl was aware of this: He responds to tactile and verbal stimulation but he doesn't focus.
Carl's nephews and family are around and keeping vigil.
Update on Dr. Carl E. Baum (Sun., Nov. 28, 2010)
Carl is resting comfortably in hospice. He is no longer receiving nutrition from a feeding tube. So far, no sedation has been required because he remains in a state of sleep all the time. His respiratory strength is gradually declining. Although he still opens his eyes occasionally, he is less responsive than last week.
Update on Dr. Carl E. Baum (Thurs., Nov. 25, 2010)
Hi Everyone,
At some point after the order was written yesterday to transfer to acute long term care the doctors changed course based on the results of Carl's MRI. I don't know if the MRI wasn't available at the time of the first order or if someone was just rushing along too quickly, but today when I got to the hospital, the attending physician immediately came to find me and go over the results of Carl's MRI, saying he is not a candidate for long term acute care, his prognosis is simply too poor.
I'm sorry to say that we now know in more complete detail what happened to Carl, and the stroke was totally devastating. The left side of his brain is entirely destroyed. The doctors believe that a blood clot started at his heart and went to the middle cerebral artery causing the stroke.
In addition, a cerebral hemorrhage has begun on the right side of his brain.
Carl also has pneumonia and his liver is not functioning properly. The doctors believe the pneumonia will be recurring and persistant outcome of his condition.
Today was a very emotional day for the family. We know Carl's wishes in a situation like this, both from conversations with him and from his Advanced Health Care Directive. We have decided to transfer him to hospice, where the focus of his care will no longer be on attempting treatment and therapy, but instead will be about keeping him comfortable until he dies.
Tonight Carl is being moved to the tenth floor at Lovelace downtown. The 10th floor is the inpatient hospice. He will be in Room 1030. All medications will be stopped except for sedatives and pain killers.
The visiting policy is more open in hospice. Anyone who wishes to come see him during this time is welcome to come.
I'm so sorry to deliver this news. I greatly appreciate all the help and support everyone has offered and will continue to provide updates as this process continues.
Spencer Baum
Update on Dr. Carl E. Baum (Wed., Nov. 24, 2010)
Yesterday all the physicians overseeing Carl's care conferred and the neurologist wrote an order to have Carl transferred to a long term acute care facility. This move is being done because, now that he is breathing on his own and has a feeding tube inserted, the only treatment left to do at this point is continued attempts at therapy. The long term acute care facility will continue trying therapy, but they have told us Carl must become more responsive before therapy will have any effect. If, at some point, Carl can participate in 3 hours of therapy a day, he would be moved from acute care to a rehab center.
Today I (Spencer) will be visiting the long term acute care facilities in town with anticipation that Carl will be moved on Friday.
Update on Dr. Carl E. Baum (Mon., Nov. 22, 2010)
The electrophysiologist dropped by this morning and decided to hold off on considering implanting a pacemaker. He wants to see more data on Carl's cardiac activity before deciding to move forward.
They installed a feeding tube (directly through the abdomen) and are nourishing Carl in this manner.
They attempted physical therapy, but Carl was still essentially unable to wake up. On occasion he does open his eyes when his name is mentioned. He is able to respond to simple commands by squeezing the attendants finger. The attendant noticed some minor movement of the right toe, although Carl's right side is still essentially immobile.
Update on Dr. Carl E. Baum (Sun., Nov. 21, 2010)
Carl has now been off the ventilator for three days and his condition has remained stable enough that he has been moved out of ICU. He is now in the neurology unit, Room 7107 (Lovelace Downtown). While it is exciting news that he is no longer considered a critical patient, it has also been a bit frustrating in the new unit where the level of care is not as attentive as in the ICU. Visiting hours are the same in the new unit: 8 - 1, then 3 - 8.
Physical therapists have made several attempts to work with Carl but have not been able to get him responsive enough to engage in therapy. Carl's level of responsiveness is our primary concern now that he is off the ventilator and the health care professionals tell us the only treatment that might bring about improvement here is continued attempts at therapy.
The attending cardiologist wants Carl to get a pacemaker. While he has been in the hospital, his heart rate has had quite a bit of variation, sometimes over 100 beats per minute, sometimes in the low 40's. I've signed off for this procedure to happen, but I've asked for one more consultation with cardiology before the procedure is performed, just to get more input on how urgent this need really is.
Thanks everyone for your thoughts. Please check the web site for updates, and you are of course welcome to call me anytime.
Best,
Spencer 505 301 4858
Update on Dr. Carl E. Baum (Sat., Nov. 20, 2010)
Carl has now been breathing on his own (with oxygen) for nearly 24 hours and his oxygen levels and respiratory rate are good. Physical therapists came in today and tried to work with him on movement and swallowing and adjusted his bed so that he was sitting upright but he could not wake up enough to really have a therapy session. Now that he's off the breathing tube, getting him responsive enough for therapy work is the next step.
Also, regarding the visiting -- the staff was putting restrictions on visiting last week because they thought rest was integral to getting him strong enough to come off the ventilator. Now that he's off the ventilator, they are encouraging us to interact with him.
Update on Dr. Carl E. Baum (Fri., Nov. 19, 2010)
Some progress...they were able to get Carl off the respirator 8 AM today. Oxygen levels still adequate. Family gave permission to perform a trachiotomy if O2 levels drop. He is off sedation for 48 hours, but still appears as though he is sedated. He does respond a bit when he is spoken to, but not sure what that is all about. His right side is still immobile.
They are planning on forcing him into a chair today to see how he does.
Visits are ok during normal hours (they are closed 1-3 PM), but keep it short and don't speak with him too much. | 
