this blog appears out of the mist, like Brigadoon
Kyrie Yeshua
There is a bounty in this
lexicon of worship
Every halleluia is imbued with
every halleluia that came before
Bless this language of remembrance
Bless this act of reconstruction
Bless this lexicon of worship
That old words might be fitting tools for new acts of praise
I’ve updated the post about Rod Cathey with new information. Click here to read the updates
From April 9th 4:00pm
from Jeannette, Rod’s daughter:
“My dad is doing better and better everyday. Physical therapists have come in the last 3 days to help strengthen his left side, which is getting stronger all the time. 2 days sitting in a chair for an hour each and today he stood up for a few minutes. He has been the best today, in and out of sleep but totally having long conversations with whoever is in the room. He can still only whisper because of his laryngitis, and he’ll most likely start eating solid food today (that’s a big hallelujah).
The surgery is tentatively scheduled for this Thursday and will be performed by Dr. David Lundin. The family jokes about how we think he looks like Jack from Lost, who also happens to be a neurosurgeon☺. Although Dr. Lundin has some pretty incredible credentials, my dad’s surgery is also in the hands of God, and we need to pray that it goes without a hitch.
The doctor is waiting for his swelling to go down enough to where he can perform the surgery. Because my dad is alert and awake more these days, it’s obvious he is thinking a lot about the fact he’s going to have brain surgery soon, and the more waiting he has to do, the harder it is to not have it on his mind. It’s a pretty freaky thing to think about.
So I was thinking, perhaps to get his mind off it (and because the family is running out of things to talk about with him) it might be nice if people wanted to, they could submit some words of love and encouragement or a funny story or memory that involved my dad, it could even be a funny joke they know! He’s already so amazed at how many have joined the facebook group and that so many people are praying for him.
So, if you’d like to send Rod some love, a joke, memory, or story, please send it to my email address: jeannettecathey@yahoo.com
Thanks,
Jeannette”
We FINALLY got an offer on our condo and we close April 27. Yikes! Tomorrow (Friday) is Find A New Place To Live Day (with beer and fireworks at 8!), so if y’all could be praying for us, that’d be spectacular. We’re hippies and all, but I don’t think we’re quite ready for full-on street livin’.
Yesterday evening (Tuesday, April 3rd), Rod Cathey had a massive seizure, lasting over 20 minutes. He was rushed to the emergency room by ambulance, where he continued to seize. They conducted an MRI at the hospital, and found a tumor in his brain, about 3cm across. It was large enough that it pushed the brain to one side in the cranial cavity, which caused the seizures
I spoke to Rod’s son Ryan at midnight; at that time Rod was still under sedation, and they were waiting for a consultation from a neurosurgeon. In the meantime, he is under observation in the critical care unit. His condition is very serious.
Please keep Rod and his family in your prayers today. As I know more about the situation, I’ll keep you all updated.
For those joining us recently, Rod is an important person to many of us here. He is a reader here on the blog. He was a professor in the School of Music at Azusa Pacific University when many of us attended, and some of us were in ensembles that he conducted. He also led the small group program that many of us toured with. He is currently the Department Chair of the school of music at APU, which makes him one of my bosses. We are friends with his kids, his grandson is in playgroup with my daughter.
More than all of that though, we count him as a friend. Rod, we’re praying for your full and complete recovery, and for the peace of God to sustain your family in the interim.
There’s been some encouraging news. Rod woke up briefly, and was able to recognize his wife Sharon. A nurse asked him to lift one finger, then two fingers, and he was able to do it correctly on his right side, but not his left. He has been in and out of consciousness since, but the fact that he woke up and responded is a very positive indicator.
An MRI is scheduled for later today, and they will decided how to proceed based on the results of that test.
From Karin Cathey, Rod’s daughter-in-law:
“Rod is off the respirator, and is breathing on his own”
From Ryan Cathey, Rod’s son:
They had a consult with the neurosurgeon. The tumor is located in the right frontal lobe of Rod’s brain. They are adjusting his seizure medication to try to keep him stable. Surgery to remove the tumor will happen in the next day or two. They are waiting for Rod to stabilize to a state where they can perform the operation.
He is still under heavy sedation, but he is in and out of consciousness and responding to people. These are positive signs.
No new news on Rod’s condition, but I wanted to let everyone know that there will be a public gathering to pray for Rod and his family, today at APU, in the courtyard outside of the School of Music. If you are anywhere nearby, please come. If you are not in the area, please join in wherever you are with a prayer for Rod’s swift and full recovery. The prayer meeting will be from 4pm to 5pm.
From Karin Cathey, Rod’s daughter-in-law:
Well, Rod had the MRI, and they are sure that he did NOT have a stroke. The neurologist came in and was very explanatory to Sharon and had wonderful bedside manner. While he was explaining things, Rod woke up and (Mike said that he had fire in his eyes) meaning: he knew where he was, and who was looking at him. The doctor asked Rod if he know where he was, and Rod said “hospital”. He asked him to do some other things and then Rod was really sleepy so he drifted off again.
The Family feels like he is making progress. Someone is in the room with him round the clock. Every time we would hold his hand last night, Rod would squeeze back knowing someone was there. Things are looking better. But now it’s hurry up and wait!!!!
The neuro-surgeon wants to wait (until the swelling in his brian is down) to operate. Then, when they go in they will decide if they can take it out/some of it out/biopsy it. They may end up taking most of it, and then following up with CHEMO. (That doesn’t mean that it is cancer!!!! CHEMO is a way of attacking the foreign matter.) At that point they will send it to pathology, and then tell us what Rod is dealing with.
I think as most of you know, we were having a big birthday dinner for the brothers when Rod started seizing…well, today is Mikes (ed: Rod’s Son) birthday, and all he wants from people that love him is to pray at 4:00pm if possible.
There will be a prayer time at APU in the School of Music at 4:00pm. Even if you are unable to be there physically please set some time aside to pray for this incredible Godly man… That is Mike’s Birthday Wish!
Thank you so much for everything,
In His time,
Kar Cathey
a text message from Joel Cathey, Rod’s son:
“They’re gonna do surgery at the beginning of next week. There’s more evidence that the tumor is benign. More info should be coming very soon.”
For further updates, please refer to Scott’s site prayforrodcathey.blogspot.com. I’ll post when there is major news, but in the mean time, Scott is keeping a running log of updates. Thank you all for your prayers.
Rod had his surgery last week to remove the tumor. They were able to remove most, but not all, of the tumor, as some of it was intertwined with sections of the brain that control motor skills.
A biopsy on the tumor confirmed that it was cancerous, and in Stage III. I’m uncertain on the specifics, but most cancers are graded from I to IV, with with IV being the most dangerous. Rod will be undergoing aggressive treatment to control the spread of the cancer.
This morning, Rod suffered a significant setback in his recovery from surgery. He relapsed into seizures, and they discovered bleeding in his brain.
Please continue to pray for Rod and his family. We are all experiencing the emotional highs and lows of alternating good and bad news as updates are released, and I can only imagine how much more intense, and exhausting, those emotional swings must be for Rod and the family.
As You Were Saying
RSSDaniel Semsen, portcullischain, aly hawkins
jalmarjalla, june
Doug
Josiah Mory, Dave, Sharolyn, Alex, michael lee, Alex, michael lee, Alex, michael lee, Alex [...]
michael lee, Zack, Bobby, the ben, michael lee, the ben, Nick, corey, michael lee, the ben [...]
patrick, Erica, Daniel Semsen, Chad, june, aly hawkins
michael lee, Bobby, the ben
Chad, Linda
michael lee
portcullischain, Sharolyn, Bobby, michael lee
Eric