By Brenda Sexton-The Courier-Herald
Ky Loop is shooting for remission.
The former Cafe Panini executive chef has been battling stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma since January. After a quick trip to the emergency room in July, Loop found himself on life support and then in critical-but-stable condition in a Tacoma-area hospital for five days. Family members thought they might lose him.
It took nearly six more months before a diagnosis was found and he could start fighting.
“I came down with pneumonia, that's how lymphoma manifests itself,” Loop said.
Today, he's halfway through treatment.
“This should put him into remission,” his mother Alberta Sinclair said. “But it won't cure him.”
“It's tedious,” Loop said of chemotherapy treatment, but he's upbeat.
“Hopefully, it'll go into remission for two to four years so I can get healthier,” he said. “And when it comes back then I can focus on beating it.
“It's not as bleak as it sounds,” Loop said. “I have my wife and family to get up for every day.”
Friends and family have planned a fundraising dinner and auction at 4:30 p.m. March 29 in the Enumclaw High commons to help Loop meet mounting medical bills and everyday expenses.
His wife, Stacy, who he married in October, and has been helping him meet the daily challenges.
When the ordeal began in June, Loop was without insurance and with a limited income.
Now, some of his expenses are paid by the state. Charities and fundraisers have paid for others. However, Sinclair said since he's unable to work, the expenses continue to climb.
“You don't realize how many people you really effect day to day until something like this happens and they come out of the woodwork to help you,” Loop said. “It's humbling.”
The dinner and auction is an opportunity for the community to rally.
Loop, who grew up in Greenwater, is a 1995 Collins High and South Seattle Community College culinary arts program graduate. After graduation, he worked for a Pullman fraternity and later at a Seattle restaurant.
He moved back to the Plateau several years ago to be near his mother who was battling cancer. He worked at Rooter's near Lake Sawyer while building his own business, KJ's Backyard Barbecue which he operated out of Enumclaw's Yella Beak Saloon. Later, he hooked up with Phil Porter and joined Cafe Panini when it opened at its Cole Street and Griffin Avenue location.
The fundraising spaghetti dinner and auction is $10 for adults and $5 for children. A number of items are available for bid. Information is available at the Web site www.kyloop.com.
Brenda Sexton can be reached at bsexton@courierherald.com.
