Official Luthiers Forum!

I have asked Lance to pin this and lock it as we do not want to start another thread on issues that are not germane to Kevin's present illness. Neither Sam nor I will respond to any thread that opens speculation/gossip/immuendo, etc regarding Kevin. The man is gravely ill and that was, and continues to be, our focus.

Hank





To the people of DevelopingWorship, Acoustic Guitar Forum, Original Luthiers
Forum, ANZLF and others who are interested...

Sam Middlebrook had the opportunity to visit Kevin Gallagher at his home in
Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania last week. There, he met Kevin face-to-face,
along with his wife Paula and his kids.

The unfortunate news that we have to relay to you is that Kevin does indeed
have “stage 4” Pancreatic Cancer. It is both advanced and extremely
aggressive. He had lost almost 80 pounds in the course of this illness, and
has lost 21 of those pounds in the last two weeks. Sam was able to see with
his own eyes the lab reports and diagnoses made by the medical team at Fox
Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. Sam went with Kevin as he had tests
done and blood drawn, and had the chance to see Hope Lodge, the place where
Kevin stays during his treatment, courtesy of the American Cancer Society.

When the news of Kevin's fraudulent claims about the guitar theft came out,
Sam had written an email saying that he felt like he had been “duped” by
Kevin. Publically, he would like to retract that hasty comment, as that is no
longer the case.

Having been with Kevin and his family in person, Sam is now confident that
the illness and medical issues that Kevin faces are separate from his
fraudulent dealing with the insurance company and law enforcement officials.
Hank Mauel and Sam raised money for the medical issues, and those issues
are gravely real. Without a divine intervention, Kevin has a terminal
cancer that is causing havoc on his body. Many people gave money for Kevin
during this time of need, and this need is enormous. Kevin hasn’t spent a single
penny of the money we raised for him. In fact, he was prepared - checkbook
in hand - to give it all back while Sam was there, but Hank and Sam both agree
that the money is right where it needs to be, in the hands of a man who is
very ill and needs transportation to and from Philadelphia for treatment.

Here is a picture of Kevin posted in 2008 on the AGF by “songsender” after
working in Kevin's shop to build a guitar for himself and his son. Kevin is
in the middle with the grey shirt.

(See first photo)


Here is a picture of Sam and Kevin taken at Hope Lodge in Philadelphia on
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010. Sam is on the right. The drastic weight loss
is obvious.

(See second photo)


For those of you who believe in the power of prayer, pray for Kevin and for
his healing. As for the legal issues that have come up, we feel it is not
our place to speak to those, as our only concern was to give help to a man
with a deadly illness.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to Kevin's fund, and thank you to
everyone who is willing to take this to prayer.

Sam Middlebrook and Hank Mauel

_________________
Hank Mauel