THE GOOD NEWS
As many of you know, Skip Healy had surgery several weeks ago to remove a tumor from his upper arm / shoulder. The surgery was a success but in the aftermath he came down with a bad infection and flu simultaneously. He has recovered fully from both. The biopsy on the tumor has come back negative for cancer (which is HUGE good news).
THE BAD NEWS
The bad news is Skip has continued to have dramatically increasing pain in his neck and down the arm where he had his surgery. Before the procedure, it has been assumed that this pain was somehow related to the tumor and its involvement with a nerve bundle (there was no damage to the nerve bundle, by the by). With the pain increasing post-surgery, Skip went to a specialist where he discovered that he has two badly herniated discs in the base of his neck. The herniations likely began quite some time ago, but they have progressed to the point where they now severely impact the nerves running down his left arm. At this point, Skip is undergoing a lot of physical therapy and ultrasound treatments to see if the herniated discs will re-absorb into their normal position. The goal is to avoid surgery if at all possible. Surgery could be especially problematic as Skip (like many performing artists) has no health coverage.
THE BETTER NEWS
Previous to going in for surgery, Skip completed his latest recording project with his new band, THE CARTEL (http://www.skiphealy.com/cartel/). This new project combines traditional Irish music (songs & tunes), American fife, and a dash of Eastern European music. The Cartel features the talents of Healy (flute, piccolo, octave mandolin, cittern, vocals, percussion), Rhode Island’s Marc Bernier (vocals, mandolin), and Mark Poloka (prim, string bass, clarinet, alto recorder, vocals). Skip has already had two very successful performances with The Cartel at the University of Southern Alabama and the Austin Celtic Festival in Texas.
See the new CD and download music samples here:
http://www.skiphealy.com/frames/fr_cd_cartel.htm
At this time, you can only purchase the CD from Skip’s website. If you’re a music vendor and would like to distribute the CD, then please contact Skip at skip@skiphealy.com.
Right now, Skip is in Florida and has been ordered by his doctors to avoid travel and remain as immobile as possible. He does spend a little bit of time at the computer every day to reply to emails, but that depends on how he’s feeling. If you email Skip and don’t get an immediate reply, then please don’t take it personally. Through all of this, Skip has held up admirably and with good humor.
That’s all for now. I’ll post more information as I learn more.
John Harvey
I’m so glad to hear that the diagnosis isn’t cancer. OTH, serious back and neck problems, and the chronic debilitating pain that accompanies them, are still a really serious issue medically. So much more so when one doesn’t have health insurance.