![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Bob Laurent needs your help
Oct. 15th, 2019 06:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madfilkentistI learned of this just this morning from Lee Gold. The news is bad.
Bob, if you've come into filk to have known him when he was most active, was once a major feature of the filk community. His Filk Hall of Fame citation mentions his accomplishments, including running Wail Songs (which published my one album), founding Interfilk, and founding and running Consonance.
Lee quotes from him:
A GoFundMe page has been set up for Bob. More details about his situation, which already wasn't good financially, are available there. We're a community. We help our people. Let's show once again that this is true.
GoFundMe has always given me trouble in the past, but it has gotten more usable, based on my experience today. If you've previously tried and failed to donate, give it another try.
Bob, if you've come into filk to have known him when he was most active, was once a major feature of the filk community. His Filk Hall of Fame citation mentions his accomplishments, including running Wail Songs (which published my one album), founding Interfilk, and founding and running Consonance.
Lee quotes from him:
Just summarizing the current status for those who haven't seen the prior posts or what to know what the current plan is, and so that I have something to refer back to.
It has been determined that I have brain cancer. I have been referred to a neurosurgeon. My insurance approved the referral about 10 minutes before his office closed on Friday, so I don't yet have an appointment. None of the doctors I've seen have given any real encouragement that I might survive this. The symptoms seem worse every day. My first unusual fall was September 21. I've fallen at least once a day since then (not yet today). I started using my old cane shortly after that (bought in 1983 when I had back problems). A few days later, I bought a new cane with 3 tips (much more stable than the one tip cane I had). On the 30th, the first doctor to confirm it was cancerous was the radiologist who reviewed the CT scan. He didn't tell me directly; it was in the written report he had me hand carry to the ER. So the ER doctor was the first to officially tell me I had cancer. When I saw my primary care doctor on Thursday, he prescribed a walker. He also told me I cannot work any more, even for my online classes. My left side has gotten noticeably weaker, and my typing has slowed down a lot since I need to correct many errors my left hand is making.
Overall, I feel trapped, frustrated and helpless.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for Bob. More details about his situation, which already wasn't good financially, are available there. We're a community. We help our people. Let's show once again that this is true.
GoFundMe has always given me trouble in the past, but it has gotten more usable, based on my experience today. If you've previously tried and failed to donate, give it another try.
