Bob is my age, 53. We share the same neighborhood, most of a backyard, and we both like most of the same people. Most importantly, we share the same birthday. Different mothers and fathers, and born at different hospitals, but both of them were in Charleston. He was born at Roper and I was born at St. Francis Xavier. He was born a few hours before me.
Bob is a great guy! He's a good friend and if I need anything, I just ask him and if he has it, then I have it. That's the way he is and don't let anyone tell you different. His heart is gold and it's huge.
Five years ago Bob had a little pimple on the left nostril. It bled when he messed with it, and it would scab over and then fall off... but it came back. The cycle repeated itself ceaselessly, and each time it came back, it was a little bit bigger. After about a year, it was the size of a pencil eraser, and looked like a shiny mole - until he bumped it or something, and then it would scab up and fall off... Finally he went to the doctor because he started to get another little pimple on the left cheek. The doctor biopsied that and it was cancer, as was the place on his nose.
They operated and took the cancer out of his cheek which left a thin scar about 3 inches long. Apparently the cancer was already that deep, that early. The surgeon did a wonderful job and you can barely see the scar. They made tentative plans to get the other cancer, but business and money seemed to dissolve right when he needed both the most and the surgery was cancelled.
The cancer did not take notice of this economic crisis however and it continued to grow, and it seemed to grow even faster than ever before.
It finally ate a hole completely through the flesh of his nostril and if Bob held his nose, he could still get air through the hole that the cancer created.
Things were getting scarier and scarier as time passed. The cancer was too close to his sinus and that was only a thin line of bone away from his brain, and still the money was the obstacle to having the surgery.
Bob has four kids, Jesse, Boo (Bobby jr,), Missy and Amy. Missy decided that we could find the money to put the down payment on the surgery - $1200.00 And so it was that on July 3rd, 2010, we had a huge barbeque fund raiser in his backyard.
The pool was made ready,
the tents were put up,
tables were loaned from Easterby's, and we were ready.
William's BBQ (our neighbor and great guy Keith) brought on some 'bodacious' BBQ pork, chicken, and ribs!
Easterby's donated several pans of wonderful coleslaw and Mr. Marvin, of Marvin's Meats donated the half-pig that was on the smoker, the plates, tea, dirty rice and the utensils.
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William's BBQ has some of the best chicken you'll ever put in your mouth and the rub that he uses for his ribs and the chicken is to die for.
We expected 200 people to show up. For the first hour there were only a few, and Teresa, Bob's wife, was worried that no one was going to show up and that if they showed up late there wouldn't be any food. She need not have worried about either thing. People started showing up, in droves, and in crowds and in packs and parcels and in any kind of grouping you could imagine. 1 and 2 and 4 and 7... they came, seemingly out of the woods... and indeed some did. More than 200... More than 250.
Missy had organized raffles, getting donations from anywhere that would give a donation to help Bob. There were oil changes, tire rotations, bar tabs, golf outings, Riverdogs baseball tickets... blankets, doggie baskets, and many more items. Tickets were 1.00 -5.00 each and everyone bought some! Some people just dropped money in the large plastic water bottle and proceeded to the food line.
Bob and about 250 people who love him had the best time mingling, eating, laughing, swimming and all for a good cause which made it even better!
After the party there were fireworks and the kids had a blast! A true to life Cherokee Indian came and honored us with a tribal dance to the drums, and he was in full regalia... It was awesome.
Here's Bob.
Here's Dakota, Cherokee.
Here are The Ribs!
Here is Bob's wife, Teresa-
The $1200.00 was raised.
On July 23rd his first surgery was done to remove the cancer from his nose. He went in at 8:00 and at 8:30 they started the surgery. At 7:00 that evening, it was done.
The cancer had spread more than anyone had imagined and they eventually had to remove the entire left side of his nose.
Bob wants all of you to know that you should wear sunscreen.
The doctor told him that he probably got the skin cancer when he was 20-21 years old. Bob said that was about the time he was laughing at all of his friends for wearing the white zinc sunscreen on their noses.
Here's Bob, 2 days after his surgery.
They had to remove cartilege and everything related to having a nose on the left side. The doctor hopes to rebuild it using skin from his forehead and cartilege from the back of his ear.
They sliced a pie wedge of flesh from his forehead and folded it down, and flipped it, and then stitched it to the side of his cheek with a plug and a drain tube so that the blood could drain, and the plug in place so that the skin flap would not fall into the hole in Bob's face.
Bob is in good spirits and a lot of pain. He was saying that once they're through rebuilding his nose from his ear, when he has trouble hearing someone he'll just pinch his nostril and say " Eh?"
That's fine. But if he sneezes and snot comes out of his ear... we have a problem.
Here is another picture of him.
It looks painful and it is.
He had a second visit today and more surgery. They removed the plug in his nostril and replaced it, but they took the drain tube out. He's more swollen today and both eyes are blacked pretty good.
He says they keep him awake during the surgery. Needles, and novocaine, and he said he could hear them cutting the cartilege and that he had to keep his eyes closed because the blood kept running into them.
Wear sunscreen.
Here is Bob, today, July 26th.
He goes back on Thursday for more surgery. The prognosis is good. They got all the cancer.
It took taking off half of his nose to get it, but it's all gone...
The bad news is that it is going to take a year of reconstructive surgery to repair it.
Bob says it hurts and that he doesn't want to go back... but that he has no choice.
He says to tell you all "It's no joke, man... Wear sunscreen!"
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