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Paul Willis's Surgery

[Paul is my coeditor for the KINK anthology.]
From Greg Herren/Update on Paul Willis's Surgery
Thu, April 6, 2006 8:32 pm

Hello everyone:

Deepest apologies for the mass email, but again, as it was in this situation two years ago, it is merely easier to send this out to everyone.

As some of you may have known, Paul went into Touro Infirmary today at eleven o'clock to have his right eye removed, as a result of the vicious attack on him two years ago. The surgery lasted seven hours approximately, but was a resounding success and Paul came through it safely. (Ugh, they showed me the eye. I didn't want to see it, but at the same time I couldn't help myself, you know?) Anyway, right now he is resting comfortably under the influence of some pretty amazingly powerful pain killers, and will be moved into a room relatively soon. He will be discharged tomorrow, and the recovery period can take about 7-10 days, with yours truly as caregiver, nurse, and maid. He will be healed enough in about six weeks to be fitted with a prosthetic eye.

While this is awful, at the same time it is finally over. Two years of pain, major surgeries and countless painful laser procedures are finally over, and Paul was in almost constant pain for the last two years. Bless his heart, he is such a brave little soldier and quite the inspiration for me. But now we can get on with our lives and put this whole horrible incident behind us once and for all.

Thank you all for your concern, your support, friendship and love throughout this horrible time. It has meant so much to both of us to know what wonderful people we know and what an extensive family we really have.

Obviously, I have not been the best at corresponding or responding to things since the evacuation (hard to believe it has been less than eight months!) but we no longer have this surgery hanging over our heads anymore, and hopefully we will somehow manage to get back to some semblance of what we call 'normal' over the next few weeks.

If you can pass this on to anyone you think might be interested in Paul's welfare, I would greatly appreciate it.

Any questions regarding Saints and Sinners can either be emailed to me, or you can call Karissa at the Williams Festival office at 504-581-1144 during normal business hours on weekdays until Paul is ready to take the helm again.

Thank you all again.

Greg and Paul

Published by Ron Suresha

Ron Jackson Suresha is an editor, anthologist, and writer. He is considered an authority on emergent queer masculinities, in particular the subcultures of gay and bi male Bears and of male bisexuality. For Ron's service to the bear community, he was named "Bear of the Year" 2008. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Suresha attended the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, 1976-8), where he studied creative writing, and Vista College (Berkeley, Cal., 1989-92), where he studied American Sign Language. For more than two decades, he has worked as a freelance proofreader for trade book publishers such as Shambhala Publications. He was married in October 2004 to Rocco Russo. He is also a licensed Justice of the Peace in Connecticut, an ordained minister, ULC, and a member of the New London Green Party. Nonfiction works include Bears on Bears: Interviews & Discussions; Bi Men: Coming Out (coeditor, with Pete Chvany); Bisexual Perspectives on the Life and Work of Alfred C. Kinsey (editor). His latest book is The Uncommon Sense of the Immortal Mullah Nasruddin: Stories, jests, and donkey tales of the beloved Persian folk hero, published by Lethe Press.