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RY
Sport climber
Pasadena
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Jul 19, 2007 - 12:08pm PT
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South Africa is the most dangerous country in the world which is not at war. It has an HIV incidence of 40 per cent. I can satisfactorily tour it via the Animal Planet and get my kicks on El Cap. This "accident" was likely an act of violence.
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Janet Cozzens
climber
Cody, WY
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Jul 19, 2007 - 02:31pm PT
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Hi Bobby,
I saw your dad and Mona yesterday. They were in good spirits and looking well. I conveyed my prayers for you as well as your whole family. I know that this has been a trying ordeal for all of you. You are so blessed in the family and friends that hold your hand in theirs, whether it be in person or through the power of thought.
It has been fun to read the stories posted here. I don't know you as well as so many other people here, but I have learned a great deal in reading. You are a WILD MAN. I always knew it, but I never saw it in writing until now. I just know you as the guy next door that picks up his mail on accasion and chats in meeting on the street or out among the town. I am glad to know that you are not a stuffy stick in the mud that has no fun!! (I always knew that but now it is blackmail material!)
The trees and grass in the lot are great to look at. The little guy from Northern Gardens is out watering again. I can't wait to get started on the building and get it done. I think we are all a little anxiuos. It can never go fast enough when you are on to bigger, better things.
I am hoping that Kirt's blisters are healed up enough to go hiking this Sunday. He kind of tore up his heels on his Beartooth hike. We didn't go hiking last weekend, but instead took a drive up to the Mystic Lake trailhead to see what that would be like for the boys to hike soon. It was beautiful! The lakes were incredible and the grass is so lush and green right now. It has been awesome to have the grass still be green this time of year and not brown and dried out. This drive was incredible. It made me feel so blessed to live in this part of the world surrounded by the myjestic mountains and everything wild that I love so much. It was kind of cloudy coming out and I got that indescribable feeling that you get when it is starting to get cloudy and the possibility of rain lingers in the air. It touches my soul and is incredibly serene. I know you have felt axactly what I am talking about. How could you live here and not have, at least once or twice? I love everything about this part of Wyoming that I was born and raised in.
Well Friend, I guess that I should probably stop talking and get busy doing something productive. I am here praying for you right along with so many others. I think of you and your family throughout the day - everyday.
Best,
Janet
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Daniel hayward
Mountain climber
Laramie Wyoming
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Jul 19, 2007 - 03:10pm PT
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Dear Bobby, Faith family and friends,
It is so difficult to know how to begin writing such a letter, to nearly no one that I know. Bobby, you are my link to everyone else around you and writing into this forum, and even you and I are more acquaintances than friends. Not by choice but by how life goes.
Dearest Faith,
We’ve never met but your incredible unconditional Love for, and amazing dedication to, Bobby is inspiring beyond words, and almost beyond the emotional ability to truly wrap my mind around the essence of such selfless giving!!!!! I pray for you that you are able to find the time for yourself that each of us needs, especially when providing another with such care and such emotional support. I also pray that in your darker times during this tremendous trial, that there are people close to you who simply hold you, and that you are able to allow the Creator to hold you in arms of pure Love and Compassion, allowing you to drain away whatever pressures and troubles you have so you are cleansed and balanced, for you, and then for Bobby and others who you care for.
I met Bobby here in Laramie when he gave possibly the first slide presentation on the Trango Tower ascent. He knew of me through my own photography, and we found an immediate bond between us. Although we never talked a lot or too often after we met, we did talk about exhibiting his photographs in my gallery here in Laramie, and I always considered him a friend. I am now considering re-opening my gallery here and wonder about showing his work in the gallery in a special exhibition, and possibly on a regular basis. I’d like to talk further with all of you about that. I know he was showing in Cody, and I don’t know if his gallery there continued after his move to Kenya.
So, Bobby... I, like others who have written here, believe that you are soaking up all the Love and healing energy that is pouring out to you!!! Much of that is coming to Faith and then through her to you!!! She is such a pure conduit for much of that Love to reach you, and you seem to be so very open to receiving all that Love as well. I pray for you often and in Ceremonies (sweats and other Ceremonies in the Lakota (Sioux) tradition), and know that you are healing every second of every day. I pray also that upon your recovery, each of us be open to accepting the ways the trauma, and now this healing experience, will have changed you. You and your whole family and many close friends (and even us on the fringes) are, and/or will be, renewed in small or powerful ways, by each person’s connection to you and our participation in this epic, communal journey.
Be Brave, everyone, and strong, courageous, wise, respectful, generous, patient and humble. BE!!! And Bobby will BE too!!!
In Peace and Love to all, Dan Hayward
http://www.haywardphoto.com
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Charlotte
climber
DC, Turks and Caicos
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Jul 19, 2007 - 08:19pm PT
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Hey Bob-Meister,
Sorry, it's been a while, but I was busy soaking up all the recent posts and photos. I'm telling you, Bud, we have been learning A LOT about you and I just cannot wait for you to wake up so that I can give you a whole lot of grief. Don't worry, though, everything that was posted is just soaked with everyone's love for you and your secrets are safe with us. I particularly enjoyed Matt's post on your climb of Mt Kenya and I was chuffed to read the article before the mag even comes out. Now that's what I call ACCESS ... but then again, I expected no less from you and your friends.
Hey, by the way, I wanted you to know that I went to the Patagucci store in Georgetown when my bro was visiting and they have a little montage that features your latest photo in the catalog. They were advertising "urban climbing" clothes, whatever that's supposed to mean, with cinder blocks, and the catalog open to your pic. It was very cool, and I was the only one in the store who knew it was yours. I sent you some extra positive and strong vibes so I hope you got them loud and clear! Usually, I have to confess that I tend to brag about you every time I go to the store, nonchalantly leafing through the catalog, and, as soon as I spot a hot guy I exclaim "whoah, check it out, it's one of my friend Bobby's pictures!" It's great pick-up line and makes me look way cooler than I really am (OK, I'm busted ...) but this time I couldn't tell anyone, didn't want to go into explaining where you are and what you have been through. So, I just thought, of you, and nothing else.
Otherwise, the latest news posted by Faith about you sounds really good, it's good to know that you are in good hands and that you are just doing your best trying to get better. You just need to know one thing Bobby: that we are all rooting for you, waiting for you, and that we will keep on waiting until you are ready to come back to us.
As always, Bud, I hold you close in the back of my mind,
Charlotte
PS: stop the press! The new (and last) Harry Potter is coming out tomorrow at midnight. I'll send you my take on it and a blow-by-blow of the resolution, though I will probably not post it here since I don't want to ruin it for anyone. 'ello 'arry!
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Lyon Davis
Social climber
Cody, Wy
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Jul 20, 2007 - 04:58pm PT
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Thanks for everyone for all the posted pictures and stories about Bobby's adventures from around the world. It's comforting to see what a wild man he still is. From the photos he looks incredibly comfortable & happy with who he is and what he's doing in the world. He is truly a blessed person and a humble one. You can always count on him for taking whatever your doing with him to the next level and I expect no less from him with what's going on now. Thanks Bobby for putting Cody, Wyoming on the map and making us all so proud of you and your accomplishments, it's like we were all right there with you. One thing he would always say was "if your going to be a bear, be a Grizzly!” Then of course he would tackle you and bear hug you to the ground. Keep pushing it my friend and we'll all be here when you come back to us.
Your friend,
Lyon
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gradyphoto
climber
Washington DC
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Jul 21, 2007 - 11:34am PT
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I wanted to post a few words about our friend Bobby b/c I visited with him this past Wednesday, along with Rebecca Martin (NGS) and Tommy Heinrich (photographer). I don't know most of you on this forum but have known Bobby for about 10 years now and first want to say how astonishing his reach has been and how comforting it is to know how many love him and are pulling for him.
Know that Bobby truly is in the best hands possible with the best doctors possible. His family and friends and their unwavering support is nothing short of heroic, but they wouldn't say so. They are just doing what comes naturally. Between Faith, Anne Bobby's Dad, Mariella, and all of Bobby's many admirers, he is covered nearly 24/7, but is also given the time he needs to rest alone, and heal. The staff caring for Bobby are a very warm group of people who have come to know Bobby and realize who they are dealing with, how special he is to so many, and how important it is that he come through this.
Having spent a few hours in ICU with him I (and Rebecca) definitely felt that Bobby experiences varying stages of "awareness," though he is still in a coma. We are not just paying lip service to that, we both felt it, as I know his family and close friends have on their visits.
Luckily Rebecca was a good talker, as I found it hard to find words upon first seeing Bobby. She was telling him all the right things he needed to hear, and I was "seconding them" :) It's very comforting to hold Bobby's hands, whether he responds with a squeeze or not. I understand each day is a different experience, with varying levels of response. Bobby seems to know when he needs to rest, which is a very good thing.
And I'll be quite honest, despite a bit of a tough-looking spot (indentation) above his front right brow where the impact was, (reconstructive surgery will take care of this later) Bobby truly is handsome as ever.
When he is off the ventilator, which I believe is the majority of most of his days, they add steam to keep things moist around his neck and face, and so his skin, lips, etc look very healthy. His skin probably rivals that of a newborn at this point!
Bobby definitely responds to discomfort, i.e. one of the female nurses was shaving him with only soap and water (the day before we arrived) and well, that simply wouldn't do, of course! Bobby made a fuss and so later Tommy Heinrich went on a mission to find the finest electric shaver and shaving cream money can buy in NYC. That simple gesture for some reason was one of the most poignant things I have ever witnessed between two men. That, and the way Tommy came in to say goodnight to Bobby, quietly, with gentle but masculine strength. That was the first time the entire day that I cried.
After Tommy and Rebecca left, I was sitting with Bobby just holding his hand, close to the end of visiting hours (11-7 each day) The nurse put him back on the ventiltor, just to give him a break (she said he was doing quite well, but as a routine they give him breaks)..anyway when she was attaching it back to his throat he seemed quite agitated for a bit, but within seconds after it was adjusted, he calmed right down. In other words, he is responding to stimuli as Faith has reported, and this is a good thing, surely. Several times Bobby yawned some very big yawns, which at first startled me, until I realized they were yawns. Since yawning is an unconcious way of bringing oxygen to one's brain, I took that as a good sign.
His infections are under control at this point. During our day-long visit, his vitals were strong, he was breathing on his own all day long, the color in his face looked great, and his eyes were constantly in motion (his left eye almost always open when someone was in the room, his right eye not open yet, but moving--the right side being the injured side) At one point when Rebecca and I started to leave the room, the second we were outside, his left eye, which had been open and seemingly alert, slowy started to shut as he began to rest. We also noticed that when we were talking "across" Bobby (two people allowed at a time with him), he would sort of cough, almost as if to say "ahem, here I am, talk to ME" and maybe it was coincidence but when we started to talk directly to his face, he seemed to calm down! Since I'm obviously not a doctor these are just a few observations, but wanted to share with those who have not yet had the chance to see him face to face.
And I want to say to Bobby that it was wonderful to be with you, and let's hope the next time you receive visitors you will be that much closer to waking, or better yet already awake--lots of love to Bobby and all--Liz
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babboo
Social climber
missoula,mt
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Jul 22, 2007 - 11:16pm PT
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Liz, A million thanks for your honest, insightful, loving, report on your visit with Bobby. Those of us too far away really appreciate such notes, Sarah
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gradyphoto
climber
Washington DC
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Jul 23, 2007 - 03:24pm PT
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Sarah,
Sure thing. It's certainly the very least I can do. I'm just so glad I'm close enough to NY to have gotten to scoot up there, and Bobby's certainly worth the trip.
A lot of his really close friends will be up there with him in the coming weeks and that is bound to have a positive impact.
I hope to get only positive news the next time we're updated on his condition.
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Heather Merten- Cowden
Social climber
Hagerman
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Jul 23, 2007 - 03:29pm PT
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Hi Bobby,
Still thinking about you. No big hikes this past weekend. I had work in Anaheim,California. I bet it has been awhile since you've been to Disneyland, and it certainly isn't as cool as sooo many of the places that you have been, but it is a magical place. You may have to add it to your list of places to go while you are building up your stamina again. Mono y mono.
Heather
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HR Coe
climber
Cody,WY
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Jul 24, 2007 - 12:41am PT
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Hello to all. I was just catching up on some of the postings on the website here, and wanted to say that we are all still thinking about Bobby everyday and are still anxiously waiting for the day that he decides to wake up. I guess since he missed this 4th of July in Cody we will just have to do it up twice as good next year. I can't wait until he is back because I am planning on making alot of money betting on Bobby scaling the side of the Silver Dollar Bar here in Cody. He did it once I'm sure he can do it again. Anyways, keep fighting bobby, we are all pulling for you.
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elemental
Gym climber
Lander, Wyoming
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Jul 24, 2007 - 10:40am PT
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BoMo
Just back from a weekend in the Winds. Saw this sign on the Big Sandy road...funny that in the middle of Oil Country you'd get to see something like this without even one bullet hole through it.
See you Friday.
Steve
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skm
Sport climber
Cody, WY
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Jul 24, 2007 - 02:53pm PT
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Bobby's mother, Anne, asked me to please post this note from her to Bobby's "SuperTopo" family:
Dear All,
I am Bobby's Mom and how I appreciate your notes, messages of hope, and most of all, your stories! Treasures!
Bobby and I are very close but mostly at the Mom angle.Your tid bits and tales of more adventure fill in lots of gaps and make Bobby bigger than life, tho I know he is bigger than life anyway. He's fighting. Keep 'em coming.
With thanks and love to you all for your precious lives!! Hug your kids or somebody else's!
Anne (Young)
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Mees
climber
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Jul 24, 2007 - 03:50pm PT
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An update from Faith via Helen...
Hello all,
This is Helen writing from/for Faith. To start, I know Faith and her family are so deeply touched by your continued support, prayers, love and outreach to Bobby and her family. It is what brings smiles to their faces and carries them through these long days and they tell Bobby about every e-mail, text, voicemail, letter, gift, photo that you send. They are very grateful and as you know Faith wishes there was more time in the day to respond personally to everyone.
Here is the update:
On Saturday and Sunday morning, Bobby was showing good signs of
responsiveness - squeezing hands, tracking with his eye and had heightened awareness. At the end of Sunday night, however, Bobby was stretching his arms and locking them in a stretched position which looked as though it was causing him some pain, which they addressed. Yesterday, the stretch and locking of his arms/posturing was escalating and around 5pm EST, Bobby went
in for a CT Scan to see why this was happening.
The scans essentially show that Bobby needs surgery. The surgery is an extensive and delicate one and it is not without risk. So now more than ever please keep your prayers and positive thoughts high for Bobby. He should be having the surgery in the next 24-48 hours once the surgeons have
assembled the correct team and plan of action. Due to the delicacy of the surgery, the family asks that until they know more information to please continue to send your love and support but please no visitors at this time.
I'm sorry I can't give you more medical information at the moment, but everyone is still in the process of information gathering.
I know how anxious everyone is for updates and as soon as there is more information, an update will be sent.
Thank you from the family for your prayers, positive thoughts, love and
support.
With love,
Helen
pulling for you Bobby and family
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Charlotte
climber
DC, Turks and Caicos
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Jul 24, 2007 - 05:28pm PT
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Hey Bob-Meister,
Well, as promised, I finished the new Harry Potter (all 750 pages!) in, ooooh, maybe 24 hours. And the word, my friend, is that it is AWESOME!!! I was even able to read it without going straight for the last pages and the denouement. It is dark, but not so much more than the last two, and of course all the characters have become more mature. Anyway, I don’t want to give anything away for those who haven’t read it yet, but here’s yet another reason for you to come back to us: to find out what happens to “the boy who lived.” As I was reading it, it reminded me of the first time I saw 24. I was at your house in Karen, you recommended it as an awesome show, and I started watching it around 7.00 at night. I managed to squeeze in about 3 hours of sleep and was done with the whole first season before 7 the next day. In other words, I lost a WHOLE day of my life to one of your recommendations!!! And of course, I loved every second of it …
Otherwise, things here in DC are OK, a bit on the boring side, but I am counting days because I take off for Turks and Caicos in three weeks: awesome! On the schedule, lots of beach time, scuba diving and lobster fishing … all right for some, I know. We also got a nice message from your Mum on this site and an update from Faith so we are all up to speed.
Well, that’s it for now. I know you have a few trying days ahead of you, so just remember what you can always count on: we are here for you, thinking of you, praying for you, and sending you heaps of positive thoughts.
As always, Bud, I hold you close in the back of my mind,
Charlotte
PS: and hugs right back at Anne.
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Shelley
climber
Cody, WY
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Jul 24, 2007 - 06:21pm PT
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It's been a while since I've posted, but I've kept up with the reading. One day, this will make a wonderful memoir of an incredible person. Bobby, I'll be there for the book signing! Remember that I babysat you and Faithy and you were good kids - hopefully you'll say something nice in the cover of the book!
In fact, I would've adopted Faith to be my little sister, but you seemed to have a strong grip on her. She is indeed an angel in our midst.
The weather is too hot and dry here in Wyoming; even in the Big Horn Basin. Things just don't feel normal. We need you back, being you Bobby. The thoughts and prayers never cease.
~Shelley Simonton
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babboo
Social climber
missoula,mt
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Jul 24, 2007 - 08:52pm PT
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Hi Faith, Anne, Bobby, Bob, All the fam, All our love, thoughts, and prayers are with you as you go through surgery. All the mountains you have climbed Bobby, climbing out of this challenge is so in your reach!Your Mom is waiting to hear your side of all these stories she's reading. Tons of love and hugs, Sarah, Michael, Jarod and Alyssa
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Kari
Sport climber
Bishop CA
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Jul 25, 2007 - 04:06am PT
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Hi Bobby...We have not met YET!!! I hope to some day in the future...I fly with your Aunt Cookie...she brags about you all the time. I just want you to know that many of us in the flying community are thinking about you and sending all the healing energy and the strength you'll need to get thru this next part of your journey...stay strong and know that you are in our thoughts and prayers.
Kari
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gradyphoto
climber
Washington DC
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Jul 25, 2007 - 10:19am PT
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hi Bobby,
You can do this--having seen your strength and spirit last week I know you can..
your friend,
Liz
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Scott Bragonier
climber
Cody Native
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Jul 25, 2007 - 11:07am PT
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Bobby on Devils Tower, circa 1990
Here’s a photo of the wild man on Devils Tower back in high school. This is just before a snow storm hit us. We loaded his ol’ blue VW down and headed out after school one night. I think we only had two tapes that trip: “The Wall” and “One Love” still ring in my memory. That was a great trip. Check out those golden locks! Hang in there buddy, we love you.
Scott
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Heather Merten- Cowden
Social climber
Hagerman
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Jul 25, 2007 - 11:49am PT
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Bobby
I am sending you all the strength and positive energy I can. Keep fighting like we all know that you can. You will be climbing mountains and walls again.
Love and strength to you Faith, and Anne and Big Bob Model.
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