Many of you know Ed, either personally or through his works of art. He is in desperate need of your prayers.
He was recently hospitalized with internal bleeding resulting from some sort of tumor in his esophagus. I, and several others, had a chance to see him a couple of weeks ago at Mike Yancey's shop, and he was obviously suffering. I don't know what the prognosis is, but will try to find out if I can.
So, please lift him, his wife, his family, and his doctors up in prayer.
Thank you.
Cheney Looper
I talked to Ed & Carolyn today. On page 4 of this thread, Mike pretty much summed up what Ed told me. They did an exploratory surgery on Tuesday and found that the tumor had completely blocked the lower portion of his stomach. They rerouted his lower intestine to a spot above the tumor. Today, they did a test to see if the bypass was successful, but he didn't know the results of that test when I talked to him.
Like Mike said, the tumor was cancerous, and they couldn't take it out. Not sure why it couldn't be removed, but the next step, once Ed gains his strength back, is chemotherapy treatment. It is going to be a long road for him, so continue to lift him up in prayers.
UPDATE 5/19
Many of you have asked about his situation. I don't think he'd mind me sharing.
He was hospitalized recently with internal bleeding from a large tumor in his upper stomach. They are running more tests to determine the best course of action, which I imagine will happen quickly. They'll either be removing the tumor or, if that's not possible, treating it with chemotherapy.
He's been suffering from the effects of the tumor for quite some time now, but it was only discovered recently, no thanks to the VA Hospital. He hasn't been able to eat much of anything for a couple of months, maybe longer. He said he had lost over 15 pounds in the month of April alone. He had dropped down to less than 145 pounds (his normal is over 200). The internal bleeding just started a few days ago, but he's been vomiting and in a lot of pain for weeks.
At any rate, as you can imagine, his condition is very serious. The good news is that they have finally identified the problem, and he is in good care at Cibola General Hospital. Previously, he was dealing with the VA Hospital, who, in my opinion, allowed his condition to go undiagnosed for far too long. Ed is in great spirits, confident of his recovery. He does sound weak, as is expected, but they are feeding him intravenously, and he's gained back 2 pounds already.
The bad news is that there is a good possibility he might end up with some sort of feeding tube. That'll be tough on a fellow that likes to eat.
So, keep up the prayers.
5/22 UPDATE I talked to Ed & Carolyn today. They did an exploratory surgery on Tuesday and found that the tumor had completely blocked the lower portion of his stomach. They rerouted his lower intestine to a spot above the tumor. Today, they did a test to see if the bypass was successful, but he didn't know the results of that test when I talked to him.
The tumor was cancerous, and they couldn't take it out. Not sure why it couldn't be removed, but the next step, once Ed gains his strength back, is chemotherapy treatment. It is going to be a long road for him, so continue to lift him up in prayers.
