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It’s been about six weeks since I last posted about how Isaac Bonewits is doing.

Please bear in mind, as I discuss his health, circumstances, and requests, that in all good conscience I can only put forward those things that Phaedra has already made public, or for which I’ve received specific permission from Isaac to share. This is a hard time for the family, and I wish to give them control over their privacy.

In my last post on the subject, I mentioned that Isaac had received a colostomy in order to give a chance for his body to focus its healing on the tumors in his colon. That surgery took a lot out of Isaac; he was in a considerable amount of pain. For a couple of weeks he was mentally unfocused and his condition worsened.

About a month ago he was taken to the hospital again, because his stoma became strangulated. It turned out to be a productive visit, at least for the sake of his sense of well-being. They got some much-needed fluids and nutrition into him, and he was able to go home. They’ve also been continually adjusting his pain medication.

At present, his combination of meds allows him relief from pain, yet keeps him mentally alert. He is now able to eat and drink, and thus maintain some semblance of energy. He is receiving hospice services at home. They managed to fit a hospital bed into his crowded living room, and he spends almost all his time in it.

Between his wife Phaedra and his son Arthur, he has someone attending him 24/7. Maintaining that level of attention and care has been rough on them. That leads to the magical request:

At this point, no additional healing magic is requested. (There’s a little bit of confusion on that point; if you hear about a request for additional healing and feel like doing it, go ahead; in Isaac’s words, "Keep lighting those candles!") The idea is to let all the spells that have already been cast have a chance to do their work.

However, there’s a strong need for magic to grant them ease as they deal with all the practical issues of their situation. The key words are "mercies and mitigations." Please direct your magical intent towards Isaac, Phaedra, and Arthur so they can find those little things that make the difficult bearable, that ease the tasks that must be done, that give a smile or a laugh in the midst of hardship.

There one more thing I feel I must say, though I was not specifically asked to do so.

Isaac’s financial situation can only be described as dire. The medical expenses are mammoth, even after what insurance is willing to cover. The circumstances look like they may get worse, perhaps much worse, before they or Isaac has a chance to get better.

Most of the folks reading this post are pagans, or at least pagan-friendly. In general, that means you don’t have a lot of money to spare. But it doesn’t take much.

If everyone who ever benefited from Isaac’s teachings or efforts in the religious community were to send in $10, that would be mercy and mitigation enough.

The donation buttons are on Isaac and Phae’s web page at http://www.neopagan.net.

Edit: This is being organized magically: "Rolling Coin." See http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=136354859730062

Please feel to forward this post and boost the signal; the link is http://crytolos.livejournal.com/23709.html.