THE CLUBHOUSE

razorwyre1 wrote:thanks spike and everybody for the kind words and thoughts. i still dont have a complete picture of how bad it is, but lets just say it is extremely bad... i know things are fast, i just dont have a velocity.

i theres one thing everyone here can so for me (other than someone springing for one of these electric scooters) is for everybody to start observing the proper safety protocols.
got an exhaust vent? turn it on. got a respirator/safety goggles? wear 'em!
if i had done that i would not be in this situation now.

I'm praying for you Ray.

Ain't kidding around here... I get choked up a bit every time I see this topic notification in my inbox!

Increasing the already steady bandwidth of good vibes your way Ray!!!

Any update?

Still sending those positive vibes Ray. Hope the situation is becoming clearer and the news is better.

.

Also sending good thoughts your way.

Hi guys, so here's the latest. Ray has been in very rough shape. Obviously his diagnosis was not good from the start. He was in and out of the hospital on three separate occasions, and each time, it came back to Ray kinda freaking out, and signing himself out. It has been a nightmare. He lives alone, and except for his assistant who is there during the week, and my involvement, there is only a small group of friends who have his back. But obviously we can't ALWAYS be there.
So, for the past month Ray has been playing a very dangerous game of trying not to break the leg completely. I set him up with my brothers spare wheelchair so that he could get around his house better, but even that, and everything for that matter has been hard, and painful for him. The elephant in the room this whole time was "what happens if he falls"? Especially if no one is there.
Like many people, Ray just wanted to be home. Surrounded by his kits, his masks, his world. He was determined to sculpt, even though he just couldn't. It was sad, and inspirational all at once.
I went to his house on Saturday morning to give him something, and to check on him/spend the day with him. When I walked in the place a wreck, and he was gone. I called his assistant Emily, and she checked her voicemail, and sure enough there was a message from an officer telling us that he fell and called 911. The very thing we were all trying to avoid, but knew was going to happen. He is as of right now alive, and in the care of the hospital, but he did break the leg.
Now originally I was told that there was nothing that could be done as far as the leg was concerned. They wouldn't even begin radiation treatment or chemo, or anything really. We were all prepared for the worst. Then last night at around 9:45 the actual surgeon came in to talk to us. He said he thinks he can fix the leg. Titanium rods all the way down, and if he can get through that, the insane pain will be subdued and then the Doctor said we can start a course of cancer treatment. I know this sounds grim even now, but there is renewed hope, and I'll take it. Ray simply wants them to attempt ANYTHING other than just letting him lay there. He is not a depressed man who has given up. He refuses to give in to this. In his words "there is too much that he hasn't done yet". So that's the deal. It sucks. I'm kind of lost right now, as are all his closest friends. I do know that he considers you all like brothers and sisters bound by the love of this hobby, or anything related. Please keep your fingers crossed for him. Hopefully there will something more positive to tell you all soon. I just wanted to keep those who are curious in the loop. Thanks again for any well-wishing. I do let him know.

As I am sure you realize this is not a good thing to be reading. But what is good is that Ray is getting help with it.

Thanks for keeping us up to date.

Thanks for the update, Tom. Please tell him he's been in my thoughts...

Made the mistake of reading this in a meeting timeout and folks spotted the way my face fell. So sorry to hear of what is happening, but wonderful that he is doing his best to stay positive. I just don't have any words that will help.

Tom - thanks for the update - and I hope you and Ray's close friends all help one-another through this.

Ray - when you have the strength to pop by - just sayin' hi dude - and continuing to wish you all the best. Stay strong Bro'.

.

tseevers wrote:Thanks for the update, Tom. Please tell him he's been in my thoughts...

Hey Tim I have, and I will. Sorry for the possibly too detailed update, but he wanted me to do this when he can't. It's difficult to gauge what is too much.

My dad had a cancer that attacked his bone. Multiple Myeloma. Then he broke his upper arm. After enduring weeks of pain I got him to decide to get the operation. The put in the titantium rod and a week later he was home, mobile, and with minimal pain. They originally gave him 5 years when he was diagnosed. He went 10 with really good quality of life, and might have gone longer.

I'll be sincerely hoping that the operation helps Ray like it did my dad.

That is exactly what I want to hear. Thankyou!! I can't wait to read this to him.

TomOtattoos wrote:

tseevers wrote:Thanks for the update, Tom. Please tell him he's been in my thoughts...

Hey Tim I have, and I will. Sorry for the possibly too detailed update, but he wanted me to do this when he can't. It's difficult to gauge what is too much.

Whatever you and Ray are comfortable with passing along, is the right amount of detail.
May of us here are really pulling for Ray to come through this.
I know I will continue sending positive thoughts his way.

I include him in my prayers every night.

Thank you for that update. Pull through Ray. Thinking about you.

Nalissa2 wrote:I include him in my prayers every night.

As do I. Keep fightin' Ray-Ray!!!


And thanks so much for the update, Tom!

Also still thinking about you Ray... Hang in there, never met you in person but based on how you've carried yourself
over the years here in the Clubhouse it sure seems to me that you've got the inner strength it takes to pull through this.

Still sending all the prayers and positive vibes I can. All the best to Ray. And thanks again, Tom, for the updates.

I'll add Ray to my prayers for sure.
Just got a letter from my nephew, he says the cance may not have been completely eliminated.
They cut away more of his throat than I realized. Even if the cance has not come back it will be many months before he can talk or eat normally. He can swallow liquids and prepared food fed by tubes.

I feel terrible that one of us here at the Clubhouse is going through such an awful and painful thing.

I know how hard it can be to get through medical problems. I am currently having some new personal serious health problems which will apparently last for a few more months. Hopefully the doctors can finally get me healthy enough to fix them for me. And my wife is in another country after some major surgery. I can rarely contact her anyway, and we recently learned that she almost died from internal bleeding after her surgery last week. I am worried but there is absolutely nothing I can do for her.

But I think that none of the problems that my wife and I are experiencing are as serious as Ray's.

I wish him the best of luck in getting through this.