Cy Updates

Hi folks,

I figured I'd start this blog to keep folks updated on Cy without having to worry about e-mail addresses and whatnot. Anyhow, below is the message I sent out last night about Cy:

---

Dave and I went to the hospital to see him today. He was asleep the
whole time we were there, so we spent a little over an hour with his
parents and the other friends who came by to visit. Cy had a pretty
bad day, but he seems to be improving. Here's what we know:

Cy was being prepped for surgery to do a biopsy on a mass growing in
his brain this morning at 3 am when he had a seizure on the table that
nearly killed him. The amazing doctors saved him. The biopsy was
completed but all the results are not in. The tumor in Cy's brain is
the size of a golf ball and is located on the right front corner of
the brain. It is an aggressive (rapidly growing) tumor that needs to
and will be removed soon. Everyone is hopeful.

Cy's folks were told early today that Cy had no brain activity, but
that has changed; Cy is not fully conscious but is able to respond to
some commands from doctors like "Move your left leg, Cy. Move your
thumb. Now, lift your left arm, Cy." This is incredibly good news.
When he is awake, Cy is showing some recognition of people, but he's
still pretty out of it. "Baby steps" are the words of the day,
according to his folks.

Cy is taking a while to come out of the coma, but this is not
surprising considering the insults to the brain caused by the
seizures. The seizures were being caused by pressure on the brain
from fluid, which has now been alleviated. Doctors cannot remove the
tumor, however, until the brain swelling has stopped and Cy's brain is
stable. He is currently intubated because he cannot breathe on his
own. Once that is over and he is breathing on his own, the doctors
will go in there and get this thing out of our boy's head.

Cy's childhood friend Mike was there with Cy's parents. Mike spent
the night there with Cy last night. He wants us to get the word out
to all of Cy's friends and to tell them all to come visit. He wanned
Cy to know how many people are thinking of him as he battles this
thing. He is at Duke Hospital in room 4215. This is in the ICU, so
only 2 people are allowed in at a time. The woman at the front desk
will give you a business card that lists the hours when people CANNOT
visit. In general, these are the time when you DON'T want to go over
there: 7-8:30 am, 2-4pm, and 7-8:30 pm.

This is all that I know...and it's certainly more than I ever wanted
to hear. If I learn more, I'll let you know, and I hope you'll do the
same.

--kerry cantwell