…AND BARRY WORKED…
A Story of Courage and Integrity
This past July 4th, I hung out with my buddy, Barry Harness,
at my cabin just 3 doors down from his house. Barry was wearing a portable pump
around his waist. It was attached by a long clear tube to a plastic fitting,
pretty much like a fitting on an icemaker in the back of a refrigerator. That
fitting was attached to a sheet of clear plastic that was glued to, and covered,
Barry’s entire back. In the center of his back, where the fitting was located,
was a hole about the size of a silver dollar. In the hole was drainage. A month
ago it was infection. Also a month ago, the hole was the size of my fist. That
pump was keeping a vacuum on the hole in Barry’s back. Thanks to the pump, the
infection was being removed, and the hole was healing and getting smaller. Also
in the hole were two steel rods on each side of Barry’s spine.
Barry is a carpenter. With the pump strapped to his waste, Barry worked two half days that week installing interior trim in a house before the 4th of July. What makes
America great is people who don’t ask for much and who go to work and carry the load
of 14 others. There are people who can’t help themselves by working; then there
are people who shouldn’t work, don’t listen, don’t complain, and put in a day
equal to any two other people in their profession. If you enjoy your work, and
if there are days you don’t enjoy it and do it anyway
because it’s YOUR work, stay with
me for a minute or two…
There are now two steel rods in Barry’s back. Here’s
why. In the fall of 1999, Barry had taken his dad to the doctor for a check up.
Barry decided he needed to tell the doctor that he, Barry, had been passing
blood. In November 1999, Barry was diagnosed with kidney cancer. On November
29th his right kidney was removed. On December 5, Barry worked installing
interior trim. And Barry worked January and February. By the end of February,
Barry was losing the use of his right arm. A cat scan proved cancer in his right
collarbone. In April it was removed. From June through August, Barry had
radiation on his collarbone. Through the entire ordeal, Barry worked.
And He Worked...
It was now 2001. A routine cat scan showed spots on Barry’s left kidney. Also, there were spots on Lumbar 1 in the spine. In Sept. 2001, one half of Barry’s left kidney was removed. Barry was also put on a light chemo to shrink the tumors on the
spine. In 2003, he began radiation treatments on the spine. Through the entire
procedure, Barry worked, installing interior trim in houses.
The pain had now reduced from bearable to manageable. But chemo works on the teeth. In late 2004, Barry had a tooth removed. After two months the jaw would not heal. So, Barry was put on antibiotics to kill the infection. But antibiotics and chemo don’t
always work together. The jaw still would not heal. Barry was taken off chemo to
let the antibiotics kill the infection. For one year Barry endured an open wound
in the jaw, and a return to excruciating pain until Sept 2006 when an operation
removed part of his jawbone. Barry worked the entire time.
With Barry not on chemo to let the jawbone heal, the cancer in L1 began to grow. In Feb. 2007, the tumor was removed and the metal rods were installed. The pump was installed, and nurses visit his home weekly to care for his wound.
Barry was placed on government disability December 2006. The total medical bills exceed $500,000. The disability payments don’t begin to cover basic living expenses.
Can you help?
Skyhook Ministries BARRY’S FUND is an IRS-registered
non-profit corporation. Every dollar sent to Skyhook Ministries BARRY’S FUND
IS TAX DEDUCTIBLE. We are simply trying to help Barry make ends meet, and make a dent in the mountain of bills. HELP US.
SKYHOOK MINISTRIES - BARRY’S FUND
P.O. BOX 344, SIMPSONVILLE, SC 29681
God bless you,
Fred Morris, Skyhook Ministries
