This is the Breezy Page. We will be posting all Breezy updates on this page with the latest ones appearing first. So if you have info about Breezy events or the status of Breezy’s condition please send it along to us for posting. If you have Breezy stories or photos you’d like to share with everyone, please send them along and we’ll post them as well. Thanks! – Chuck

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From: Kathi Ember

Hi everybody-

Just a brief update and some photos for you.

Some of our dates keep changing for our appointments at Fox Chase. Earlier this week, we thought his biopsy surgery date was changed to next Monday…now it’s back to Friday. It’s a long story. I’ll tell you sometime when I have a drink in my hand. Not a big deal…just some confusion. All I can say is thank God I am a pain in the ass. It got it straightened out.

Sooooo…next week we have two appointments at Fox Chase. Tuesday we meet with the radiologist for what is called his “radiation simulation”. They make a “mask” of the area they will be targeting the radiation to. This insures they hit the precise spots. It’s also why he needed to shave his beard. We also meet with the oncologist to discuss the chemotherapy aspects of his treatment. Then on Friday he goes back for his biopsy/exploratory surgery and feeding tube installation. It is common practice with this type of treatment to put in a feeding tube before you start the radiation treatment. After the first few weeks of radiation, your throat becomes so sore it is difficult to eat, and a feeding tube ensures proper nutrition. He’ll spend the night and go home Saturday morning. I’ll get to try out the Hope Lodge that night.

We assume his 7 weeks of radiation (Monday thru Friday) will start very soon. He gets a chemo treatment at the beginning, the middle and the end of the seven weeks. We’ll let you know when we get into the daily drives back and forth to Fox Chase. We’ll see how long we can handle that, and at some point we’ll probably be spending at least a few nights during the week at the “Hope Lodge”.

Attached are photos from “The Shaving”. Breezy shaved his beard a few weeks ago when we thought we were doing everything at Reading Hospital, and then after we switched to Fox Chase we realized he could have put it off for a while…but, oh well, it had to go sometime. A number of his friends came over to assist and we turned it into a party of sorts. I won the bet on the weight of the beard. That’s our good friend Phil (excellent Volvo mechanic and transient barber) doing the honors. Phil took Breezy through several different looks, ending with “the Hitler”. I bought Breezy a fake beard just for laughs, but actually, it looks pretty good on. I have adjusted to his new look. A few friends think he looks French…ahhh…my French fiance. I told him it was odd to be able to see all the expressions on his face so clearly and he said he’s been making faces at me all these years and I never knew it…funny guy…what a wise ass. Thanks so much to the M’s ( MIsc. committee) and other Breezy buddies. You made what could have been a sad moment into something fun.

Also here is a link to the unedited slide show of photos from “The Big Lebowski” fundraiser. It starts out with friends arriving at the Strand, follows through to “the proposal” and ends at the Tavern for the “after party”. I’ve become famous for my very animated expressions in photos (to put it kindly) and Breezy realized all the herbal tea with lots of turmeric he has been drinking has really yellowed his teeth. But here we are, in our glory, with all of our wonderful friends and I’ll always treasure these pix. Thanks, Caren!!! (You might be wondering, why the close up photo of the appetizer on the plate? If you are familiar with the movie, all I need to say is, “Remember the part about the toe.” Crazy friends…too many White Russians!)

Love to all of you,
Kathi

PIX FROM “THE SHAVING”

From Kathi Ember:

If any of you are getting the news about Breezy for the first time, I apologize. Early in January, Breezy was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor on the base of his tongue that has spread to a few lymph nodes. He is in for a rough ride with radiation and chemo, but we are feeling confident we’ll get through this.

We have insurance, but we have a steep deductible and neither of us will be able to work for a little while. We have friends who are experts in various alternative approaches and we are getting great advice on herbal remedies, diet, acupuncture, hypnosis…you name it. We also are taking the steps to look into social security disability and other programs that can help us out. We will be getting the best of care at Fox Chase and we have absolutely amazing support from our family of friends. www.thebreezyfund.com
Breezy Facebook

I’ve sent out a few email updates out already to most of our friends. With this email and with future updates I am trying to get more organized and have set up several different “groups” in my address book, since I can only send to about 25 people at a time. ( If you see a mutual friend’s name missing, it might just be that they are in a different group.)

Here is the current update:

As of this past Monday, we thought Breezy might not be able to get started down at Fox Chase until March 15th. After numerous phone calls yesterday, we have a new schedule.

Breezy’s next appointment at Fox Chase will be on March 2nd. That day he will meet with the oncologist to discuss his chemotherapy and with the radiologist to get everything set up for his radiation treatments. Then on March 5th, Dr. Ridge will do another biopsy and will take a look around “in there” and they will also put in his feeding tube at the same time. They want to put that in right away even though he might not need it for a while. He will spend the night in the hospital that night and we’ll come back here sometime the next day.

We assume his chemo/radiation treatment will start soon after the 5th. We hope to drive back and forth the first week or two and then we will be staying at the “Hope Lodge” during the week and coming home on weekends. Check out the lodge. It’s really pretty nice.
Hope Lodge
We will have to play it by ear and see how he feels and how the driving goes. Maybe we’ll start staying at Hope Lodge sooner than we expect to. Plenty of friends have offered to take turns getting him back and forth the first few weeks. The radiation therapy only takes about a half an hour (plus whatever wait time…which we have been warned can take a while)). The drive is about an hour and a half, but it is a simple straight line down on the turnpike.

We also have plenty of friends who have offered to help take care of the house while we are gone. We will either have several friends on a drop-by schedule or better yet, find someone who is willing to actually stay here during the week. There are a few potential people available for that option, but we haven’t confirmed anything yet. If you know of anyone,let us know. It needs to be someone very reliable, since they would be needing to learn to tend one or two coal stoves in addition to feeding 6 cats and two sheep.

Monday night was the first fundraiser. Even with the snowy weather predictions, there were about 130 people who managed to show up to watch “The Big Lebowski” at the Strand and then went to the “after party” at the Tavern. For those who missed it because of the weather (totally understandable), the one bit of news is that Breezy proposed to me in front of everyone before the movie, so he is now officially “my fiance”.

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From Karen Feridun:

Hi Everyone!

Despite the weather, the Lebowski fundraiser was a hit and we’ve got the photos to prove it! Kathi and Berni Ward set up a Flickr account where you can see lots of great photos from that night. Visit www.thebreezyfund.com and click on the photo of Kathi & Breezy in their front-row seats to go to the collection on Flickr. Got some to share? Let me know and I’ll send you the login/password so you can add your photos! Nick Bowen debuted his great new limited edition print, Abide, that evening. The prints will be available for purchase on the website very soon, so keep checking!

With our first VERY successful fundraiser behind us, we’re getting set for Breezyfest Fundraiser & Silent Auction on April 11th and a flea market on April 23rd. Check out the amazing flyer for Breezyfest on our site. Right under it you’ll see a link to a pdf file where you can download copies of the flyer to print off and post or hand out to friends. Nick Pavlesich has some pretty talented graphic designer friends, like Melanie Linder who made the amazing poster for Lebowski and Gary Wentz who did the fabulous poster for Breezyfest. Thank you to everyone who has made donations of goods, services, entertainment, or food that we can sell at one of our April events. Keep the donations coming! Just email Carol Wentz at donationsforbreezy@gmail.com to let her know what you’ve got. Include photos and an estimated value if you can. Sylvia Baylor’s our raffle coordinator and Dick Horton is coordinating the flea market. They’ll be working with Carol to determine the best way to sell each of the items donated.

John Scott has received extremely generous donations of artwork to sell online, in an auction, or at sales. If you’d like to contribute work, please contact John at UpFrontArt@aol.com. Please describe the piece(s) you’re donating, include photos if possible, and provide an estimated value.

Thanks to all your generosity and hard work, we’ve already raised the fundraising target on the website! As you know Breezy is now planning to receive all of his treatment at Fox Chase, so we want to make sure he and Kathi have the funds they need! There’s a new page on the site where you can read the updates as Kathi and Breezy send them out. You can also read the updates on the Breezy Could Use Some Help Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=298796785195&ref=ts.

As always, if you want to volunteer or have general questions, don’t hesitate to contact me by email or by phone at 610-678-7726.

By the way, be sure to check out the photo on our site of Jack Minch sporting a Breezy Button at this week’s Kutztown Area Drinking Liberally. He’s 16-days old in the photo. Thanks, Allen & Kat, for sharing it.

Thanks again for all you’ve done and continue to do!

Karen

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