Is It Thursday?

Dear friends,

I am just back from a long day at the hospital with little to tell. The situation is not good and foggy at best. Cy's parents have not yet really explained what happened today and what will happen next. I sense they're still trying to understand it themselves. Here's what I know.

Cy went in to surgery at 3:15, and the surgery was aborted at 3:45. His parents were summoned to the OR at that point. They were down there for almost an hour. While they were down there, Cy was brought back to his room. At that point, we received the update you read earlier today from the Rawlses' pastor who was with them downstairs. That update now seems to be a little confusing. When Cy's folks came back up from the OR, they went back to talk with Cy and the docs. Once they returned, they remained pretty quiet for the rest of the evening, intermittently crying and welcoming guests.

From others, I have learned that the tumor is not a compact unit as they had earlier believed. They have discovered that it has fingers that are invading the brain. This complicates the situation considerably. Surgery would not be as much of a help as first expected. It might actually make the situation worse. A plan for treatment has not been determined, but it could consist of aggressive chemo and radiation.

We saw Cy for a bit. He was lucid, a little sleepy, but happy to see us. He laughed at some jokes and funny stories. He is no longer speaking as he has tubes down his throat. No hiccups, though, so that's good news. He did give us a pretty accurate drum roll to a Rush song that was on the iPod. (Many thanks to Mike Rohe for providing the iPod and the DVD player.) Bjorkback was able to get him some paper and a pen so that he could communicate better. Bjorkback apparently commented on Cy's rad hairdo, to which Cy replied by writing "skullet" on the page. Awesome!

He says he is in no pain whatsoever, but he knows what is going on. The meds make him nauseous, so he gets more meds for that which make him a little groggy. He is clearly a little scared and teared up at one point. He needs our prayers and well wishes now more than ever.

Cy's parents have indicated that they need us to move FULL-SPEED AHEAD on benefits and fund-raisers. Rockers: get in high-gear! We have confirmed that he has no health insurance. He was actually in the process of getting it reinstated last week. Suck. Can someone also set up some sort of fund that folks can donate to online?

There's something else I'm supposed to mention. What is it? Oh, yeah! For those who bring food, Rossi asked about their food preferences. Cy's dad said that he does not care for Mexican food, Greek food, Asian food, or eggplant. ?????? We had a good laugh about that. He prefers Southern food and good old meat-and-potatoes kinds of meals. They have not been sleeping well and are clearly mentally and physically exhausted. Please keep them in your prayers, too. They need our strength right now. They reiterated again how much they appreciate seeing all of us. It lifts their spirits to know that we are all there for them and for Cy.

Sorry this is so scatterbrained. I hope to have more information soon. As Cy's dad said, "We really need to pull together right now, y'all."

Thanks, guys.