I normally don't ask for help, but.....


One of the members of my audio group just sent me the most distressing email I've ever received.
Gary is an Audiogon member. He and I met through correspondence over one of my postings nearly two years ago. I have come to know him quite well since then. He visited many times at my home for our Tuesday night music sessions. I had not seen him lately and found that his absence was due to his wife miscarrying their baby. I thought things could not be worse for Gary, until I received this second letter today.

My Name is Gary Hogman,

My wife Cindy is 32 years old and has just been diagnosed 3 days ago with
stage 4 cervical cancer and her chances for survival are very slim. She was
pregnant with our second child and had miscarried at 5 months and now we
know why.

This is a request for you to forward this email to everyone you know asking
for prayer. If you are religious or not. The more people that pray for her
to be healed the better. Company email distributions, friends, family,
people you don't even know. Please do it, your prayer will save her life.

Please pray and ask everyone you know to pray to their Lord, no matter what
religion for the HEALING of Cindy, removal of all cancer in her body so she
may enjoy all that life has to offer, and to continue to be the wonderful
mother to our 5 year old son Michael. The power of Prayer is unsurpassed.
I want the whole world to have her in their prayers the next
few weeks. God will hear our cry.

Please do not be offended by my plea. This is only a request for your help.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading this and helping with our
quest for healing, no words can express how much power we have when we do a
little extra to come together.

Regards, Cindy's in love husband.
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xalbertporter
If all Audiogon members who read this post were to take 10 minutes (or more) away from the computer and prayed for this family I sincerely believe that we would as a group accomplish more good than we cumulatively do for each other as "audiofools". I'm sure that many of those (us) who frequent this site lose sight of important things in our quest for audio nirvana. Take the time to try to hear angels singing...
I have sent up mine. I have a daughter not quite this age and I can't imagine the heartache. Words are only words but my thoughts and prayers go out to Gary and Cindy.
I'll give all of the positive regard to the Cosmos that I can muster, but if I may I'd like to comment (if I may Albert) on the nefarious nature of this particular disease. Of course I cannot comment on this particular case but in the vast majority of cases of cervical CA, it is entirely PREVENTABLE, via annual exams and the established (yet imperfect) Pap smear.

If you are a woman, GO for your exams. If there is someone that you know and care about, be it your wife, girlfriend or otherwise ENCOURAGE THEM to go. DRAG them KICKING AND SCREAMING if you must, but PLEASE DO try to facilitate this. GREATER AWARENESS is the key - unnecessary suffering is the price in too many cases (and ONE is TOO MANY) Pardon my vehemence, but having been involved in one case as a resident was more than enough for me to sound like a broken record to all of my female patients on this issue.

I don't wish to detract from the original intent of this thread - my most abject of apologies if this is perceived. Albert, you have shown yourself once again to be a consumate gentleman and an enviable soul. Health and happiness to all.
May God Bless you, Cindy and Gary, and Give you both the strength to carry on. You are not alone.
Positive thoughts are very powerful. I am sending my good wishes to Cindy, Gary and Michael right now.
My wife and I are with all of you too. And Albert, the help you are asking for here IS NORMAL an IS THE BEST KIND. Thank you for asking . Our hopes and prayers are with you Gary and Cindy. Bob
I'm so glad to see that in a hobby as esoteric as audio, that there are those that have faith and beleive in a creator. To GOD be the glory! My prayers will be with Gary and his wife Cindy. Todd and Brenda
I have lost my mother to cancer so I can feel the terrible situation this young family is in. But I have to voice my astonishment at the superstitious beliefs of the previous postings. Do you have any idea how many thousands prayed for Cardinal Benardin who succumbed to pancreatic cancer? If the situarion is truly hopeless, I would call the NIH, Sloan-Kettering or Dana Farber to see if any experimental protocols are available. My thoughts are with them.
My sincere thanks to all of you on behalf of Gary and his family. I am aware of the dissimilar beliefs of people all around the world, and the Audiogon community is bound to represents a variety of these.

Regardless of your belief system, your positive thoughts are important to his family. Knowing that others share his pain and feelings of love for family will help him survive, regardless of the outcome. Gary still has a small child to raise, with or without his wife.

Prayer is important to his family, as it is for mine. But, regardless of your own belief system, love and compassion are universal, and will help ease his suffering. For all the kind words and suggestions posted above, I am grateful.
My sister and the wife of a close friend has overcome cancer just last year. I believe in miricals and I hope one happens for Cindy.

Chris
Pefstratiou> I agree that good medicine is a necessity , however there are studies that indicate that those people who are prayed for recover from their illnesses more quickly than those who are not prayed for.
Thanks Albert for passing along this info. We too will pray for Gary & Cindy in their time of need. God bless.
BTW My mother in law had cancer and was given 6 months to live. That was 30 years ago. She spent the afternoon with us today. I too am a survivor of cancer.
You are indeed a friend Albert. And to Gary and Cindy both my wife Luzi Mari and I will both pray for them. I too agree in the power of prayer and faith and have seen its positive effects on too many occasions to dismiss it. God Bless you both. Sincerely Will
ALBERT: Simply the greatest post so far. This is great what you are doing. My family and I will remember Cindy, Gary and family in our prayers. Every little prayer helps. There is a reason we don't understand why right now, but GOD has a reason. I lost my dad at 11 and my mom to cancer when I was 22. So I know about sorrow. I didn't understand why my mom had to suffer and die from this dreadful disease at the time, but I do now. My mom suffered for 10-11 yrs. and still put GOD 1st in life. I found out later that she was a role model to many people including myself. You can't have any excuses after this type of example. Hand in there and GOD bless you for what you are doing and the family we are praying for.
Miracles DO happen. This collective good will is already one. May there be another.

I hope the following is not interpreted in any other way than one of utmost concern for YOUR loved ones...as a professional in health care, I urge you all to have ANY woman you care about GET AN ANNUAL EXAM AT ANY AGE. This type of tragedy is regrettably all too preventable.
I will lend whatever help my prayers add. Thank you for your kind and generous act here Albert. You are truly a blessing on our site.
Life is weird, nobody knows what it is. These aren't profound statements. To offer a little help. I work in a hospital laboratoy. Believe it or not, just today one individual who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer actually fought it off. We saw his lab results and apparently his body just got rid off it like it was a common cold. Every now and then you'll notice that the human body will decide to fight off a mole. Why that one and not the other moles is beyond me.
Another weird story at work. One coworker up there we were all upset with his laziness, it wasn't just me. He finally gets fired (for other reasons.) Anyway, a week later he gets a job as a security officer at the airport. Three months later he's promoted to supervisor of security (meanwhile the rest of us back at the other job who do it well aren't even due for our meager raises for six months.) A couple months after that he's now alternating work between Chicago and here in Missouri. I'm guessing it was like getting fired (normally not a good thing) led him to the perfect job: he probably sits in a control room most of the time looking at a bunch monitors where there's lots of quite time (where he's probably happier, making more money, and has a better resume now). I don't know how it applies to your specific situation other than, life kind of sorts things out in weird ways. I hope it didn't offend in any way.
Albert your friends can log to Website ClinicalTrials.gov and search for cervical cancer. There are several trials that recruit women with stage 4 disease. If you click on any of the trial name you get a list of the various hospitals that are involved so your friends can select a center near by. I hope this helps.
Thank you all for your warm-hearted responses. The emails I have sent out around the nation and world have spread beyond my expectations. Albert is a wonderful person to have as a friend and you all are lucky to have him to correspond with.
Cindy is in for the fight of her life and is doing well, she is receiving radiation treatment along with 2 forms of Chemotherapy. I ray a few times a day and we are working on. keeping her metal state extremely positive. The lord will heal her, if it is through medicine or miracle, she will beat this.
Also, thank you for your awareness postings on gynecological exams. In Cindy’s case, she hade 2 PAP tests done 6 months apart, the last being 5 months before her diagnosis and both came out normal. She has what’s called Adenocarcinoma and is a very violent growing cancer. It hit her fast and did not give the medical community any warning. I agree with the awareness postings, but never take anything out of the ordinary (how you "feel") for granted.
God bless everyone who read Albert’s posting and thank you again for your spiritual report. And Albert, thank you.
Regards, Gary, Cindy, and Michael.
May God Bless you with All of His Great Love!!!!!!!!!!!!Our prayers go out to you, your wife and your child.
I pray that the Greatest Healer of the World hears all of our prayers and Comforts you and your family.
Sincerely and with Prayer, Bruce and Flora Y.
I am so sorry to hear about your wife. My fiance and I are saying our prayers for you and your family
More thoughts going out to Gary, Cindy, and especially Michael. Our 5-year old lost his 2-year old brother recently, and I can't begin to think how hard it would have been to lose his mother. I wish you all strength in the hard times.