07/25/2024
Hey y’all. I really haven’t been talking about it, mostly because the situation changes almost on a daily basis. In case you haven’t been following, I’ll give an overall recap. I was diagnosed with tongue cancer. I went in for two surgeries, two weeks apart. The first was to remove the cancerous tumor from my tongue, which required cutting off 1/4 of my tongue. The second surgery entailed removing 32 lymph nodes and the salivary gland from the left side of my neck. The recovery process has been long and full of complications. I’m in speech therapy and physical therapy. My left side from my ear to my upper back is all semi paralyzed. They are hopeful that it’s from bruising of nerves during the surgery and that it will all return to normal over time.
I mostly just stay in bed; although I don’t actually sleep much. I’m so restless because the pain and discomfort is so debilitating, and I can’t get into a comfortable position. I try to walk to the end of the block and back again a couple times a week, but that’s about all I can take before I start to get dizzy and lightheaded. Most of the time I just stay in bed for a couple days at a time if I don’t have appointments, and I don’t even look at my phone. Haven’t checked email in over a month. It’s hard for me to focus and I lose concentration. Depression and anxiety are starting to get the best of me. I’ll try to do some other posts to detail my less than pleasant weeklong stay in the hospital and some of the complications I’ve been having. Too much to put into one post.
I appreciate everyone that has reached out with well wishes and offers of support. I’m especially thankful for a close group of friends that have been taking care of me, getting me groceries, taking me to and from the hospital for appointments, and making sure I have everything I need. John P Breaux, Gene Speas, Phillip Lege, David M. Smith, Kevin Hemenger, Eric Babineaux, Trent Bender, Matt Dow, and especially Tracy Deroche.
I’m beyond grateful to Tracy Deroche (most of you know him as Clint Taylor at the New Orleans Phoenix) and Nancy Gross for organizing a GoFundMe on my behalf. Thank you to everyone that has contributed.
Here is the link if you’d like to contribute:
I am sure most of you have heard by now that Kip has been in and out of the hospital… Tracy Deroche needs your support for Support Kip's Battle Against Cancer
