Please POAer needs your prayers!!!!

AdamZ

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Adam Zucker
Folks as I have gotten older for some reason I can't explain I am taking more stock in the power of prayer and good thoughts. I am asking all of you to say a prayer or have a good thought for our fellow POAer and friend Bob Bruneau.

As some of you may recall a few months ago Bob was to take a mountain flying course for the helo's that he loves. Bob had to cancel his trip due to what he thought was a persistent case of Pneumonia. Around the second week in April I received an email from Bob telling me that he had lung cancer ( small cell to be exact, Bruce can expand on that should it really matter to anyone).

Bob's options as he explained them to me were 1) To do nothing and die 2) Take Chemo and buy sometime with a remission and hope for the small percentage that it would eradicate it. Bob' approached this with a very positive attidute and of course decided to FIGHT.

I have been trying to contact him via email to wish him luck on his first treatment for April 23 but have not heard from him. Anthony was also contacted by Bob and was concerned as well.

The night before the FLYBQ (which Bob really wanted to attend) I got an email from his wife that he was not doing well and had been in ICU since May 4th with Acute Respritory Distress Syndrome. He is still there today, intubated and sedated. Folks this syndrome is some serious stuff let alone the cancer. Bob's wife said they think it may have been and adverse reaction to the chemo but regardless she said the prognosis was not good.

Today she gave me permission to fill you all in and ask for your prayers. She told me he is still on the respirator but that it is helping less and less and his lungs continue to deteriorate.

For those that kept asking me about Bob at the FlyBQ I'm sorry I brushed off the questions but out of respect for Bob's privacy I did't want to say anything until he or his wife gave me or Anthony permission.

So please please folks what ever it is that you believe in say a prayer or have a good thought for Bob and his wife Dusty. Bob IS a great guy, pilot and contributor to this board.

May G-d grant comfort and healing to our Rotorhead Bob Bruneau and his wife Dusty.
 
Adam, thanks for the update... never good to have to share news like that, but how else would we know? Sending him and Dusty my best wishes for a speedy recovery... he'll need the thoughts of his fellow POAers right now.
 
Thanks for posting this Adam. As Adam said Bob and his wife Dusty have been in communication with me as well. In addition to being a fellow aviator and POAer, Bob was/is my neighbor and lives very nearby my PA home. He's a wonderful gentlemen, war hero and excellent helo pilot. I look forward to flying with Bob again. Please keep him and Dusty in your thoughts and prayers. This makes me very sad guys, I am really at a loss for words.
 
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Adam,

Thanks for filling us in. Very unfortunate turn of events.

My thoughts and prayers are with Bob.

bill
 
Bob has been an excellent contributor to these forums and a pleasure to meet in person. My heart goes out to him during this trial, and I wish him all the best and absolute hope for a speedy VICTORY over his illness.
 
I wish him well.

My mother died last year form complication of lung cancer. There are two types, small and large. If you have to get one, small cell is better. But the real trick is to catch it early. That is really hard as the disease is basically symptomless until it is pretty big. The best treatment is surgery, followed by chemo and radiation. It sounds as though his tumor is larger than stage 1 hence the treatment of chemo. There is about 50% of 5 year survival for stage 2 cancer in his age group. SO please send him all the positive energy you can!!
 
Wow, that's too bad. Thanks for the update, Adam. I've never met Bob in person, but I've always appreciated his contributions on the board. From day one, he seemed to be a gentleman and a class act.

Please tell Bob and Dusty that they are most certainly in my prayers. He hasn't yet given enough R44 rides...so there is no option but for him to BEAT THIS THING.
 
From day one, he seemed to be a gentleman and a class act.

. He hasn't yet given enough R44 rides...so there is no option but for him to BEAT THIS THING.

Your right on about the first part and I did tell him the second as well. The problem right now is the Acute Respritory Distress Syndrome.
 
God I hate to see cancer in good people like Bob. He's a real class act! I know he'll succeed in fighting, because he's the kind of guy that doesn't lose fights!

My prayers are certainly geared to him for a good long while.
 
Thanks for the update, Adam. Bob is in our prayers for healing and comfort, as well as comfort and peace for his family as well. Prayer is a powerful tool and something we can never have too much of!
 
I met Bob at the Lancaster fly-in a few years back. He's without a doubt one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. My prayers and thoughts go out to him and his family.

Greg
 
Adam,

Thank you so very much for filling us in.

Bob has been a great guy to chat with, both rotor, fixed, and "life" -- a smart, wonderful man and an exemplar of what it means to be a class act.

Bob and Dusty, Jessie and I will keep you in our thoughts for a speedy recovery from this bump in your treatment. Keep up the fight, and kick cancer straight in the ass.

Best,

-Andrew
 
Adam, thanks for posting and keeping us all up to date. I was very to sorry to hear of Bob's condition and certainly wish him and his family the best of luck and a speedy recovery. He will be in our prayers.

Bob is a one of a kind act that no one else can replicate. His dedication to others through his contributions on the forum and genuine nature in person makes him a real charm. I'll be thinking of him.
 
Very sad indeed. "Remember the promise was, when everything fails, we would be held" - Natalie Grant. Prayers will go up.
 
. . . . and from Maine I'm feeling the pain while joining the refrain for best wishes and, soon, more rotor swishes. Prayers for Bob and family.

HR
 
Add my thoughts and prayers, as well... this is terrible news. I'll keep a good thought for him and Dusty. :yes:
 
Bob, I hope you read this thread. We're all pulling for you, my friend!!!!
 
Bob,

Fight hard. We're all in your corner and holding you up in our thoughts. Be well soon.
 
You can count on my prayers as well. I hope to see good news posted soon.
 
Oh man- it's bad when such things happen to good people. Prayers...
 
oh jeez, Bob certainly is a great guy. Cant wait for him to get well enough to get back here, I miss him!
 
Adam, thank you for letting us know about Bob. Please pass along my concern to Dusty and Bob. I enjoyed his posts and was hoping to get to meet him one day...he seems like a really great guy. This must be a really tough time for Bob and Dusty and his whole family. I'm sending positive thoughts their way.
 
Prayers for Bob!

Adam, what happens with a lung cancer is that it presents as an obstruction within an airway. Then the airway behind cannot drain and develops what we call a "post-obstructive pneumonia".

The pneumonia can't drain. The pus has to go somewhere, so it goes into the bloodstream, hence, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome as every capillary in the ol bod goes leaky and oozie and all the tissue flood with "tissue soup".

The first 96 hours in the ICU are always very very rough. We try to protect the kidneys from collapse; if we can avoid that the chances improve. But for this condition we really only have a couple of weeks...and it's two gone by as we read this.

Pray.
 
Bob,

Somewhere along the way, I'm sure someone will pass along these messages and you'll hear them. Several months back, you promised a ride in your Robinson. I fully expect you to keep that promise!

I've always appreciated your input on this board and have enjoyed your posts. So, you've got to keep that going as well. Too many count on your wisdom and wit.

I appreciate you and look forward to the day I can shake your hand. Get home soon. My prayers are on the table.

Ken
 
Bob, you have ALL of our hope, thoughts, and prayers behind you. You WILL beat this! God Bless!
 
Adam, Thanks for the update. I had no idea Bob was sick. I have been hanging around the red and blue boards for six years now and Bob was always here. Even though I have never met the people on these boards it feels like I know a lot of you from your posts over the years. As we all age (I'm 52) this kind of stuff really hits home.

Bob, my prayers and thoughts are with you and your family.
 
Now I feel badly about having asked where he was on Saturday. :(

Bob, speedy recovery! You have many more R44 rides to give and contributions to make to the board!
 
It's hard to know what to add to a thread like this. I've been sending all my good thoughts and prayers. Adam, I know Bob and Dusty desire some privacy but please express to them that we feel like they are a part of our familys and we are concerned and want to know updates so that we can help in whatever way (even if it's just good thought) that we can.

Missa
 
I will have a "from your friends" card with me at Gastons... any who wish to sign it for Bob and Dusty are welcome to do so, we'll get it in the mail on Monday the 9th. Does somebody have an address for them?
 
Bob,

Sending my prayers so you can enjoy flying that rotating hunk o' parts...er...helicopter again! Get well soon.

-Rich
 
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