Thursday, July 17, 2008

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.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for posting. We'd all be so in the dark if you weren't!
I have a swat team of praying people and will continue to pray for Cy's healing and comfort and peace of mind.

Anonymous said...

Kerry - This must be very hard for you to write at times... it is certainly very hard for me to read at times. I saw Cy this morning before what I thought would be the surgery that would change the tide, and to come home to this news breaks my heart. Thank you so much for being there when the rest of us can't, and keeping us informed.
-Karen Merowchek

Anonymous said...

Cy loved The Great Coverup, right? I've heard stories. Maybe this is the perfect time to reconvene that event as a benefit for Cy.

Anonymous said...

i second the coverup idea!

Unknown said...

yes! the coverup! a 'best of' maybe, to speed the process up?

KFC said...

Now you're thinking with your smart parts! Any of you Raleighites wanna hit that? (Or perhaps Glenn?)

christa said...

i also want to thank you, kerry (and dave and hep and everyone else who is holding vigil at the hospital) -- i'm sending good vibes from the left coast for cy's full recovery, and i thank you for your strength and tenacity as well.

Ruby Sinreich said...

Whew. I'm sort of glad I didn't know all of these details when I went by today. It was nice to see such a large posse holding down the waiting area, it's comforting to know that you are there for him any time.

Cy was very responsive considering he is tied down with tubes and stuff all over the place. As Kerry said, he can't talk because of the breathing tube, but he smiled and gestured and held my hand. He even looked at the comic book I gave him for a minute (Marvel 1602).

I also brought him a Barack Obama sticker that says "Cy, yes you can!" He can play DVDs there, but has got The Wire covered, so I think other movies or TV series' would be welcome.

He was sometimes drifting out of consciousness, but even with his eyes closed his hands were moving so I knew he was still awake. We talked (or: I chattered and he gestured) for about 10 or 15 minutes. I'm really glad I went, and I encourage others to visit if you have the time.

Andrea said...

I bet John Custer would be happy to play, Reed Mullen likes doing benefits and maybe the Infantry could to an early reunion if Nathan's in the US. I;m sure the Bleeding Hearts would do it too. Lrt me know if you need help contacting any of them.

Chris Williams (yellowchris at gmail dot com) said...

have folks been coordinating food for cy's folks? i'd love to bring some food, but remember from the last time my dad was in the hospital that it can pile up all at once and there's not always a good place to store extras.

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for the information and updates, Kerry. We all really appreciate it. I hope to see you later today at the hospital.

rossi said...

Chris, if you want to bring food for Cy's parents just bring it. It hasn't been stacking up and they are very appreciative of what has been brought. --rossi

Anonymous said...

thank you so much for all the updates. we are all so thankful for this site. i do energy work, and i wanted to see if anyone else does and wanted to join forces - i want to talk to his folks about it-
i want to do everything i can to help out. if anyone wants to convene on this matter please e mail me-- elise.pohl@gmail.com
many blessings- elise

ameliorate said...

Kerry, thank you for all the detailed posts. I'll try to bring some fruit by tomorrow for the family-- I've always appreciated the (Quaker) notion of holding those in need in the light, so I'm doing my best to surround Cy with some glowing goodness. Thanks to everyone that goes to visit on behalf of those of us that have a harder time getting there--