Gary Cavener Gary Cavener

       Last Friday evening Uncle Gary was not feeling well but thought that he was just under the weather and needed to rest. Aunt Diane felt something was not right and checked on Uncle Gary throughout the evening. At around 4am Saturday Aunt Diane found Gary to be having difficulty breathing and she was unable to wake him. Gary was taken to the hospital and was given support for his breathing and has been monitored to try and assess the reason Uncle Gary has not been able to regain consciousness. Uncle Gary's condition was complicated by what seems to be moderate kidney disfunction. His body has been unable to clear ammonia from his system and this may be exacerbating his neurological symptoms. Doctors have run many tests but it remains unclear from these tests whether Gary suffered from an ischemic attack or his consciousness was effected by other underlying medical issues. Fortunately, his MRI results did not show any clots or areas deeply damaged from a possible stroke.
       For several days Gary did not regain consciousness and had his family very worried. As of Monday however, Gary has started to regain consciousness but is still very disoriented. He was moved Monday to Providence Portland Medical Center in Portland for dialysis. We hope clearing the ammonia from Uncle Gary's system will help Gary recover consciousness and start the road towards recovery. 
      Gary's family has been overwhelmed with support and love from you all. Prayers and well wishes are a testament to how much Uncle Gary and Aunt Diane mean to their friends, family, and community. We hope by setting up this site we can keep everyone updated to Gary's progress and create a space for his loved ones to leave their thoughts and messages for Gary and family. Please check back as Greg, Nathan, and Diane will be sharing news as they get it. It is very important to Gary's family to keep all of you up to date but, as anyone might imagine, has had trouble keeping up with responses to everyone wanting the best for Gary. Please leave messages for Gary, Diane and family here, the messages will mean so much to them and give them the ability to share these with Gary as he recovers. Thank you all so much for your prayers, concern and love during this difficult time.