As many of you know, longtime KIDabra lecturer and columnist John Cooper is fighting for his life against congestive heart failure. Glenn Strange has graciously kept us posted on John's progress. John needs to hear from us all. Please send a colorful, light-hearted get-well card to John at:

John Cooper
101 Beulah Drive
Anderson, SC 29625

As Glenn wrote "It would cheer him up, and give him something to put on the bulletin board that's in his room. He would enjoy showing his nurses and the cards would help him remember just how many friends are pulling for him." Get your KIDabra chapter to sign a collective jumbo card! Create and sign a group "Get Your Butt Outta the Hospital" banner! Send him a singing video. Just do something to send some cheer his way, please.

You can also send heartfelt thoughts to him at his E-mail address: johnvcooper@mindspring.com His lovely wife Cathy will see that he gets them. Silly is good! John loves to laugh and can use a few now.

Glenn also writes, "Kathy has not ask for anything (and I don't think she will). But, I know they have had very little income for the last 3 months, and their future income is in question. If you would like to help them out, I'm sure they would be most grateful. There is a possibility that they may be able to qualify for medical assistance through the Anderson hospital. If they qualify, this would help with the hospital expense. I know they applied for assistance once before and they were turned down because they had $10.00 too much in their checking account. For that reason I would suggest that you send them a gift card, or cash. NOT a check. If something shows up in their checking account it would
cause them to be disqualified for the medical assistance. I'm not sure, but travelers checks or money orders might work. They just need to cash them without going through their checking account or having to use their SSN."

I know that if the tables were turned, John and Cathy would do what they could to help us. I'm sending the fee from one of my parties to Cathy this month. If everyone did this, it would help lift a huge burden from their shoulders.

Send a card! Share a buck! Say a prayer! PASS THE WORD!! Do it today!

Thanks, Skip. I'm taking action on this.

- Donald

Thank you Skip. Will do.

KIDabra People are The Best!

Consider it done!

Is there any update on John?


Thanks,
-stephen

The most recent update from Glenn (11/26):

"John's kidney's are still producing water. They moved him from ICU.
But, he is now in isolation, because he has Clostridium difficile (C.
difficile). This is an infection that is brought on from taking large
amounts of antibiotics. They're fighting this with some kind of
(another) high powered antibiotic. The last two and half days
(yesterday was the worst) have been ruff on him. He's been dealing
with extreme diarrhea, throwing up, and then 3 hours of dry heaves.
Those symptoms seem to be under control today, but he still has the
infection As you can imagine he is even weaker than he was 3 days
ago.

John said his body feels like he has been in a terrible fight. He's
black and blue and hurts all over. He asked for everyone's prayers."

Along with those prayers, a simple upbeat card or note to lift John's spirits would really be appreciated! Thanks, guys!!

Thank you for the update.

-stephen

Latest from Glenn:

"John's infection has improved and he is out of isolation. They're still giving him powerful medications, and he says it's making him throw up in the mornings. I talked with John, and he's voice sounded good but is still very very weak. He's been in the hospital since Nov 3. Twenty one of those days were in ICU - flat on his back - and he's now in a room.

They tried taking him off dialysis for a few days, in hopes his kidneys would start producing more. They did not and now he's scheduled to continue dialysis for 3 days a week for 3 hours at a time. John ask the doctors if he would be home by Christmas. The doctor's comment was, "That would be a date to shoot for."

John and Cathi's full income has always come from John presenting his educational programs. Obviously, they can no longer have that income. Cathi and John are trying to qualify for assistance so they can not have money in their checking account for fear of not qualifying. The last time they applied, they had $150 in their account and failed to qualify for assistance. It has been an ongoing battle for them. But, they do not complain nor whine. They face each day with much courage.

Since so many of you are asking how you can help John and Cathi. In order to not show a lot of money in their checking account, they have asked you to send only cash, Visa or AMX gift cards to them to their home address.

Their address is:
John and Cathi Cooper
101 Beulah Drive
Anderson, SC 29625

Coop would still love to get periodic emails from you as that is his most reliable resource to the outside world. His email is johnvcooper@mindspring.com Please email him or send him a greeting card to his home. They could use some of our attention during these tough times. Thanks for your consideration in helping.

Keep praying for them,
Glenn"

Hi Skip me old pal. How are you?? we havent spoken for a while.
I will email John in a few minutes and send him some silly stuff.
Thanks for keeping all us informed.
Cant wait for Kidabra, we are gonna cause a riot.lol
Jimbo

Missed your old silliness, too, Jimbo! If you can't bring a smile to John's face in these trying times, no one can!

Since John has lectured and has product, does he have a paypal account?

That would be an easy way to send money ... yes I understand the bank situation. Just a thought!

From Glenn:

"The doctors sent John home this past weekend, after 33 days in the
hospital. As you can imagine he is extremely weak. He says it's very
hard to get up and down. He has to use a walker to go to the bathroom.
He went for his dialysis treatment yesterday and will continue that 3
times a week (Monday, Wednesday, & Friday). He goes from 12 noon to 5
pm, but that may change. They removed 6 lbs of water. John has 3
backdoor steps that he has to navigate each time he leaves and
returns. Those 3 steps take a lot of energy from him.


Amazingly John is still positive and says the word quit isn't in his
vocabulary. I'm sure Cathi is under a lot of stress because of John's
health and their financial problems. Please continue to remember them
in your prayers.


Here's another way you might can help John and Cathi. This past year,
Cathi started an on line book store. http://sunnysideupbooks.com/

You can go to her store and see if there are some books you would like
to purchase. But better yet, please check around your home and see if
you can round up any old books that you know you will never reread or
refer to again. Any type book, even old college books. She says a lot
of professors and teachers like to have them for reference. I know
many of you live hundreds of miles away and shipping these books might
be expensive. You may have some clever ideas on how to get the books
to Cathi that's not too expensive. I travel a good bit, and I know,
many of you are entertainers and also travel. There may be a way we
could meet somewhere. You never know when we might be traveling in the
same area. I would be happy to pick your books up and get them to
Cathi. We might could do it like an old time fireman's bucket brigade.
Just pass the books from one friend to another until we get them to
Cathi.


This would be a big help to John and Cathi. At this time they have no
income at all. Cathi needs to be with John 24/7. With the online book
store she can have a little income and care for John.


Thanks,

Glenn "

Posted: Dec 23, 2008 8:33am
From Glenn:

I don't know a lot of information. At 9:30 pm, Monday, and Cathi called. Coop has had a setback, and he's in intensive care again. She was in the room with him and I could not ask many questions. He threw up blood this morning, but he went on and did his scheduled dialysis. They got home from dialysis around 5:00 pm, and John went into the bathroom and called out for Cathi to call 911. She said lots of blood was running down his legs.

The ambulance transported John to the Anderson Hospital. Johns blood pressure is very low, and his blood is extremely thin. Because of his heart condition, they've been giving him blood thinner but not enough to make his blood as thin as it is now. Sounds to me like his liver may not be doing what it should be doing (I'm guessing, I really don't know). They also said he has an internal hernia. They are trying to thicken his blood. Cathi ask that I notify John's friend and ask for your prayers. That's all I know now.

Glenn also added in an earlier message:

Thanks for the ones that have sent books to Cathi. He mentioned to me today just how appreciative they are to their friends that have been so kind to donate books for Cathi's online store, and to donate money to help them with their everyday living expenses.

Someone ask if John and Cathi had a PayPal account that could be used to accept donations. I checked with Cathi and she does have an account. As I mention before, because they have applied for Medicare and Medicaid they can not have money in their checking account, but donating through PayPal would be a safe way. You go to https://www.paypal.com and log in to your account. Click on "Send Money" Then you type in Cathi's e-mail, which is wwinc@mindspring.com. An easy way to remember the address is to think "Wonder Woman Incorporated @ Mindspring.com"

12/26/08


Cathi just called. John had a really bad night. The doctors told Cathi
that John's systems are shutting down, and they don't expect him to
live through the day.


Glenn

Oh, that's so tough on them all.

Thanks for letting us know.

- Donald

My prayers are with John I do think of him every day.

Dennis

From Glenn:

Hey guys,

I visited John and Cathi yesterday morning (Friday) and Cathi is
really exhausted. She's not eating and she's sleeping very little.
John was not responsive. His breathing was heavy, and his color was
very bad. They were not doing dialysis because something was wrong
with the equipment. I left around 1:00 pm because John's son, his
girlfriend, and Cathi's cousin, were there with her. John's brother
was on his way from Kentucky.

Just talked to Cathi this morning (Saturday). John is still hanging
in there. The equipment is repaired and they started back doing
dialysis and will continue until it is useless. The doctors say there
is always hope, but John systems are slowly shutting down because his
heart is so weak. He said because John is such a fighter he may get
some better. Today John is a little responsive, and he ask for some
water when the doctor was there this morning. So, today it sounds like
the doctor is not saying John has a day to live, like we were hearing
yesterday.

Please continue to remember John, Cathi, and the family in your
prayers.

Glenn

I thought it might be a neat idea for some people to get to know John a bit, through his writings.

First, you can read his reviews in the KIDabra Journal, because he was the product reviewer for many years. So, you can go back through your old Journals.

Don't forget, you can also look up some of his writings / posts / threads over on the KIDabra forum.

Also, here are a few threads that he particpated in (among many) here at The Magic Café. On the Café, John is known as "Creative Coach" for his posting name:

--> Magic Café thread titled... Ther......usiness!

--> Magic Café thread titled... Flyer or letter?

--> Magic Café thread titled... Dire......one/mail

- Donald

As was mentioned on another thread, John Cooper passed away yesterday. He will be missed. Our condolences are with his wife, Cathi, and his family.

Here are a few MORE threads that John participated in (among many), here at The Magic Café. On the Café, John was known as "Creative Coach" for his posting name:

--> Magic Café thread titled... Dayc......arketing

--> Magic Café thread titled... Mission Nutrition

--> Magic Café thread titled... Theme Shows For Schools

--> Magic Café thread titled... January--what to expect?

--> Magic Café thread titled... Diff......Business

--> Magic Café thread titled... Day Care Centers

--> Magic Café thread titled... Anot...... schools

--> Magic Café thread titled... Bewa......From....

--> Special treat... a routine from John Cooper

- Donald