|
Butch
Baldassari's Cancer Fight
Butch has been battling an inoperable brain tumor, discovered
last Spring after he noticed a loss of dexterity in his left
hand.
The following is a January 20th letter
sent by Butch's wife, Sinclair, to family and friends. It is being
shared here and is part of an ongoing message thread at Mandolin
Café, where you can learn more about Butch's
fight.
Dear Friends and Family,
At this time of year, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes..."In
the depths of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an
invincible summer." Sounds like I suffer from "SAD" but
I really believe in the existence of good in bad, light in dark,
summer in winter and I guess the silver lining in every cloud.
Butch had another important MRI and consultation lately. When
we got to the hospital that morning, we acknowledged how much power
it all has over us, how we can be going on with our lives until "those
days" when we have to go in for another set of tests. The
anxiety of sitting and waiting to hear news that might potentially
be really unpleasant is enough to make anyone's blood pressure
soar. The MRI test itself seemed to take longer; the sounds were
louder; and the stress higher. Perhaps because his last
one gave negative results, we were more on edge. After
the test, I rolled Butch to the very farthestmost corner
(of course) of the hospital for the results. It is amazing
the MRI can be available in minutes. So, we were met
with smiles by the check-in nurses, who know us by now, and got
a warm, electric greeting from the vivacious woman who does the
labs. I was thinking that maybe the news was good and they
already knew it, trying to psyche myself out. After labs
we went in to wait for the doc. Our team of doctors are very
special. If any of you ever are diagnosed with a brain tumour,
we have the team for you. Our "Captain" of the
ship plays a mean jazz guitar and has a little photo of Kenny
Burrell on his laptop, the one where we see the results of the
MRIs!
So, that day was a day with a beautiful silver lining. The
results were good. The central core of the tumour was approx
19 x 17 cm in November and now measured approx 15 x 13 cm. We
were told that there is also a lot less swelling in the surrounding
tissues, harder to measure but less swollen. Butch's eyes
lit up like a child's. He gave it the old two thumbs up,
like Caesar letting both gladiators live or like Siskel
and Ebert giving a movie good acclaim! We walked out 10 feet
above the ground, our heads in the clouds, elated. It was
close to freezing outside but I didn't even feel it until a strong
gust reminded me. It didn't matter.
Since then, Butch has started occupational and physical therapy
with two wonderful women whom he really likes. He will be
seeing them 2-3 times per week as well as still undergoing chemo,
some energy treatments, acupuncture and other exercise at home. Butch
does a lot of smiling. He is wearing special hats that
have come our way and is uplifted every time we get a card or a
note from one of you far away. The bracelet pics are still
coming in and someday I hope to get the whole slideshow online.
One day, after another disappointing attempt at mandolin playing,
Butch said, "If I can't play mandolin, I want to learn how
to paint." That week, he took his first painting lesson
and has been inspired and will soon be cranking out the canvasses...at
least we hope it will take that easily. I keep reminding
him that it isn't as easy as it looks but he has lots of ideas
in his mind's eye. I cannot wait to see them! I
am sure that with the various therapies, he will return to making
music and until then, painting will be lots of fun. Blake
and I will be joining him in our own efforts.
As many of you know, the benefit in October was a great success. It
helped us with all of our bills from last year and then some. John
Reischmann and friends had another benefit at Dusty Strings in
Seattle and at the end of this month, on January 31st, Jesse McReynolds
will have his yearly benefit and has generously offered to make
Butch his recipient. NME has played three gigs without Butch. I
know he's really with them in their hearts and minds and in the
way they put a show together. They are so very talented and
it is quite special that they can keep it going until Butch returns. They
played a really nice gig in Modesto, California this past week
and will also be performing at Jesse's benefit in Gallatin at the
Civic Center on the 31st.
We, as always, thank God for those around us who feed us in every
way imaginable, with food, prayers, financial help and now some
much needed work on our house. Please know that each of you
has a special place in our hearts and that though winds blow cold,
the invincible warmth of your love carries us every day. Come
and visit...don't be strangers.
Once again, I found many errors in our database so it has been
reconfigured once again. Please feel free to forward this
to anyone you think might like to know what's going on with us
and send us new addresses for us to add if you'd like.
Love and blessings to you for a joyous 2008,
Sinclair, Butch and Blake
You can contact us via email at soundartrecordings@comcast.net
or by writing:
Butch Baldassari
125 43rd Ave. N.
Nashville, TN 37209
|
|