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(11/16/09 4:02am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>An IU student was punched in the face and robbed at 2:30 a.m. on Saturday while he was walking on the corner of 10th Street and College Avenue.Brian Fetch, 19, was approached from behind by two males when one of them spun him around, punched him in the face and robbed him of $40 and his iPhone, debit card and hat. Without a cell phone, he could not call the police, so he proceeded back to his residence in Eigenmann Hall, Bloomington Police Department Lt. Jimmy Ratcliff said.Upon returning to Eigenmann Hall, Fetch was given a cab voucher and went to Bloomington Hospital to receive treatment for a possible broken nose.
(11/12/09 4:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A female student was physically assaulted in the basement of Ashton dormitory by her ex-boyfriend, who was later arrested and charged with battery, a class A felony.At about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, IU student Carlos Walter Azevedo, 19, got into an argument with his ex-girlfriend, which led to him shoving and slapping her, then stomping her head, said IU Police Department Capt. Jerry Minger.Azevedo was pulled off the victim and out of the room by witnesses and eventually fled Ashton. The victim was treated on the scene by Bloomington Hospital Ambulance Service.Officers at surrounding dormitories arrived to assist the search for Azevedo, who was eventually found hiding by Willkie dormitory. Azevedo is a non-U.S. citizen from Angola. The Angolan consulate was informed of his arrest, Minger said.
(11/11/09 4:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Police Department is investigating a false bomb threat on the Kelley School of Business.An anonymous caller phoned in a bomb threat at about 9 a.m. Monday to IU operators. While in the process of being transferred to the IU Police Department, the person hung up. “People who call in bomb threats will often look for how much confusion they can cause for police, fire and ambulance squads,” IUPD Capt. Jerry Minger said.After the call, IUPD went to the Kelley School of Business looking for unusual activity. “No other information is being released at this time other than the threat was illegitimate and IUPD is investigating the call,” Minger said.
(11/10/09 10:08pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Police Department is investigating a false bomb threat on the Kelley School of Business.An anonymous caller phoned in a bomb threat at around 9 a.m. on Monday to IU operators, while in the process of being transferred to the IU Police Department, the person hung up the phone.After the call, IUPD went to the Kelley School of Business while looking for unusual activity. People who call in bomb threats will often look for how much confusion they can cause for police, fire and ambulance squads, said IUPD Capt. Jerry Minger.No other information is being released right now other than that the threat was illegitimate and that IUPD is investigating the call, Minger said.
(11/10/09 4:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Jason A. Bridgewater is being charged with rape, burglary and confinement after breaking into a female’s residence, threatening her with a knife, tying her up with an electrical cord and sexually assaulting her July 19, said Bloomington Police Lt. David Drake, reading from a report.Bridgewater, 33, was arrested in his mother’s home around 1 p.m. Monday.On Friday, BPD received a DNA match on Bridgewater linking him to the sexual assault kit that was filed on the victim. Bridgewater had a blood sample filed from a 1997 burglary conviction for which he served four years in prison.Sgt. Jeff Canada led the investigation with other detectives and searched for Bridgewater throughout the weekend. When the arrest was made Bridgewater denied having any knowledge of the incident, Drake said.
(11/10/09 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Parked in the left-hand lanes of Kirkwood and Dunn avenues next to Peoples Park was the kindness bus. The old, light blue bus that Bob Votruba bought on Craigslist was painted by numerous family friends and neighbors. Many wrote their own words, images and thoughts of inspiration on the bus, including one from a 91-year-old that reads: “Tell your love you love her everyday – cy.” Sleeping alone on a mattress on the floor, Votruba prepares for the next decade of his life as a rubber tramp.But after 10 weeks of visiting 23 colleges on his kindness bus with his dog, Bogart, Votruba thinks he will do this for the rest of his life.Spreading kindness is what Votruba does, he said. He gave up his “grossly spoiled” lifestyle to do it. “One Million Acts of Kindness” in a person’s lifetime is the goal, and it’s as simple as a smile or holding a door open. Once a successful home builder, the Cleveland native went from living in a 10,000-square-foot house, to a 3,000-square-foot house to the school bus which he now lives in. He sleeps in Wal-Mart parking lots. The pieces fell into place that allow him to do this. His three kids are all away at colleges in Colorado, and he is divorced.But the reason why he does this came from two life experiences. The Virginia Tech shootings, Votruba said, was one of them. “How can so much hatred in one person’s heart drive them to shoot 32 people?” he said.Suicides very close to home are also a reason. A friend of his son’s and a friend of his own took their own lives, he said.“I just think if those people were even slightly part of this, things would have been different,” Votruba said.Starting small, Votruba talked to 10 kids a week, but that number has since skyrocketed to 4,000. The three B’s, as he calls them – the bus, Bogart and Bob – are picking up speed on the national and international level. His bumper sticker, “sow only seeds of love” is on display somewhere in every continent – including Antarctica. There is nothing more important for a dad to do, he said.Votruba never went to college, but at age 54 , he said he plans on visiting as many as possible. IU is his 23rd. When he first started his tour, his campaign for kindness garnered him so much attention around the Cleveland area that he could barely make his way out of Ohio, said Darla Motil, manager of community relations for the Achievement Centers for Children. Motil was out with her daughter and husband in Cleveland when she came across the “One Million Acts of Kindness Bus.” She was so impressed by Votruba’s dedication, her family had him over for dinner and put him up for the night.“His message is simple and so true,” Motil said. “If we just pay attention and look out for another we can make the world a better place.”Although Votruba carries with him a load of love and kindness, he also has a great deal of concern for today’s college student generation and the current state of the world. He said he feels people have gotten away from kindness from the heart and have developed too much of an “all-about-me” attitude.“I believe this is the greatest generation that has ever existed,” Votruba said, “Cause you know what – you are going to have to be.”Votruba doesn’t so much preach as he does talk with people. He encourages people to find something they are truly passionate about that others will benefit from – a system that he feels anybody can embrace and many already have. Two women have changed their retirement plans after speaking with Bob, one of which will be taking care of handicap kids, he said.“It’s so rewarding to look in their eyes and see that they are going to do something with this,” Votruba said.After his divorce and sending his kids off to college, it seemed that Bob’s life was winding down, but it is really just beginning. He made it difficult to return back to his old life simply because he has nothing to return to – other than friends. Everything he owned has either been given away or sold. He said all he owns – clothes, family photographs and food – is on the bus. Another important possession is his dog.“He is the star,” Bob said, smiling at his 2-year-old Boston Terrier, Bogart.His hope for the future outweighs his concern for it, he saidWhile holding Bogart in his lap, Bob leaned forward and said, “The cool part is you don’t know what’s happening from this. You don’t know a kid is not doing something.”
(11/05/09 2:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A 14-year-old girl was approached in the Crestmont Park area by a man claiming to be a modeling agent. She got into his car and was sexually assaulted, according to a Bloomington Police Department news release. The assault occurred at about 2:05 p.m. Tuesday. The assault took place on the side of a road near Vernal Pike and Howard Road. The victim reported seeing other vehicles drive by. Afterward, the man returned to the Crestmont area where the victim was able to exit the car. The victim reported the suspect was a white male in his 50s with white hair and a beard, about 250 pounds and professionally dressed. The vehicle was a newer four-door model and is dark gray or silver. The victim was taken to Bloomington Hospital where a sexual assault kit was filed. BPD is currently working on a composite of the suspect.Anyone with information concerning the assault can contact BPD detective Rick Crussen at 812-349-3374.
(11/03/09 3:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A 21-year-old woman reported a possible sexual assault after her outing to the Video Saloon on Friday, Bloomington Police Department Lt. David Drake said. Because of pain, the woman believes she was assaulted.She gave a description of two men she believed were “coming onto her.” Both were white males, one with a painted zombie face with bloody clothing and the other with a full beard with fake cocaine in his mustache, wearing a top hat, Drake said.The woman went to Bloomington Hospital and notified BPD on Sunday, Drake said.
(11/03/09 3:21am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>An 18-year-old female reported being sexually assaulted by a familiar male after they were out drinking with friends late Friday, Bloomington Police Department Lt. David Drake said. The woman reported the incident to BPD Saturday at Bloomington Hospital, Drake said.Although she cannot recall what happened after 2 a.m., she does remember waking at 5 a.m. thinking she was sexually assaulted and a man being on top of her, Drake said. She did not wake until later that afternoon. People with any information should contact BPD officer Kyle Thomas.
(11/03/09 3:20am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Both the Circle K at 201 W. 17th St. and the Circle S at 530 S. College Mall Rd. were robbed Sunday at 3:15 a.m. and 4:19 a.m., respectively, Bloomington Police Department Lt. David Drake said. The description of the suspect from both robberies is a 6-foot black male with a semi-automatic hand gun, wearing black clothing and a black ski mask, Drake said. The suspect stole from the cash register at Circle K and took a fistful of cigarette lighters from Circle S after not being able to open the cash register, Drake said. Video surveillance from both locations is in the process of being analyzed.
(10/30/09 3:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A male student reported on Oct. 25 to the IU Police Department he had been sexually assaulted on Oct. 20. The assault occurred at about 3 p.m. in a dorm room in the southeast portion of the IU campus. The victim went to Bloomington Hospital.In an effort not to compromise the victim’s identity, IUPD will not release which residence hall the sexual assault took place in, said IUPD Capt. Jerry Minger.The victim reported first meeting the suspect in Wright Food Court three weeks prior to the incident and had since seen him on other occasions. The day of the incident, the suspect asked the victim to play video games in his dorm room. While in his room, he was assaulted, according to an IUPD press release. No indication of alcohol consumption is suspected on either party.According to the press release, the victim described his attacker as a white male between 21 and 23 years of age, 5’10 and 215 pounds. He has acne, curly brown hair which hangs approximately three-inches long, brown eyes, a “pinched” nose, long facial stubble, a gold ring on his right hand, possibly with initials “WHS” and dark skin. The victim said the suspect’s name is possibly Dylan.The suspect was wearing a grey T-shirt, with “INDIANA” in black block lettering, blue jeans and black tennis shoes, according to the press release.IUPD has a primary suspect, but is hoping for people with information to call in, Minger said. He said people who called in with information regarding an Oct. 11 rape helped lead to a primary suspect.If anyone has information on the case or identity of the suspect, contact the IUPD at (812) 855-4111 and speak to an investigator or shift commander.This is the second report this month of a male-male sexual assault IUPD is investigating. The first report of male-male rape, which has a different suspect, occurred early in the morning Oct. 11 possibly in the parking lot of the Student Recreational Sports Center.
(10/29/09 12:33am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Hype of paranormal activity may dominate during Halloween, but for the Hoosier Paranormal Researchers, the unknown never rests.The eight researchers that make up the investigating team have been going to presumably haunted locations in Indiana with digital audio recorders, infrared and night vision cameras and K2 frequency meters. The group hardly claim actual merit in their findings, and instead investigates for their own benefit and understanding.“We knew going into this that any evidence that we captured or presented, there will be skeptics,” said HPR founder Greg Wilson. “We understand and appreciate skepticism because we are skeptics ourselves.”That being said, group members Ricky Stevens, Shanon Ping and brothers Robert, Greg and Kenny Wilson have all experienced paranormal events. Most recently at the old Pixy Theatre in Edinburgh, Ind., the investigators shot night vision footage of Robert Wilson’s glasses mysteriously flying out of his hand six feet across the room they were standing in.More footage of various paranormal experiences can be found on their Web site at www.hoosierparanormal.com, which also features recorded Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVPs).The team tries to keep things as scientific as possible by establishing controls such as room temperature and frequency readings early in the investigation and then pairing the different findings against each other.Their most recent investigation took place Saturday in Columbus, Ind., at a Noble Roman’s pizza restaurant. Investigators were at the scene until 3 a.m., using their tools in hopes of proving customer complaints of a reported “shadow person.”While closing, Noble Roman’s store manager Ashley Duncan said the night was different than others, largely because of the presence of HPR.“I just hope they find something,” she said. “There have been some weird things happening around here for a while now.”Duncan went on to cite examples of previous encounters. One report involved customers who were eating at a booth across the room from the main counter.“There was a tile that seemed like it came out of the ceiling from a vent above their booth,” Duncan said, providing an eyewitness account. “It just shattered to the floor.”The tile, which was broken in three pieces, was a brown, ceramic 2-by-2 square, that, interestingly enough, matches no other tile patterns in the building.Duncan said she had been working at Noble Roman’s for nearly four years and added that she is not the only one who has witnessed strange happenings.She said she has seen a half-torso apparition looming in the restaurant’s main hallway near the restrooms, as well as a taller pitch-black shadow figure of a man entering the kitchen area.“The ghosts are friendly, but you still have the feeling of being rushed,” Duncan explained.While Duncan’s shift was ending, HPR’s shift was just beginning. The men circled the restaurant with their tools, clad in casual wear and goatees. Some were sipping Diet Cokes and others were leafing through menus.But all of them, even in all their experience, were focused on the task at hand while keeping in the mind the skeptical opinions of others – and themselves.“You always have those butterflies in your stomach,” Ping said.
(10/27/09 4:26am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>At 8:10 a.m. on a Tuesday, the Falveys are running 10 minutes late for 3-year-old son Fletcher’s treatment at Bloomington’s Midwest Proton Therapy Institute.With open smiles, father Noel chases Fletcher into the treatment room. Following close behind is Andrea, Fletcher’s mother. The mood changes as Noel scoops Fletcher up and onto his lap while doctors waste no time gassing the toddler. Noel presses his face against Fletcher’s head, and Andrea rubs his cheek as the boy slowly loses consciousness. His high-pitched moan fills the room, leading into the sticker-filled corridor and echoing through the main hallway.But Noel and Andrea are just happy to see their “little mate” running before another round of radiation therapy. The need of about $215,000 for treatment at MPRI is in the back of their minds. MPRI is one of the six facilities in the United States that treats cancer through radiotherapy. Patients typically come from all around the world.***Three months ago in Velez-Malaga, Spain, Noel wrote in his online diary:“What’s the worst thing you could hear? ‘I’ve some bad news, your son has a tumor in his brain. Hello, I’m your brain surgeon.’” Aug. 14, two days after this post, a team of doctors cut into Fletcher’s head to remove an anaplastic ependymoma brain tumor.“Dread,” Noel writes, wondering if this could be the last time he, Andrea and their 8-year-old daughter Shannon will see Fletcher alive.The surgery took seven hours, but doctors could only remove 80 to 90 percent of the tumor because of its location around the brain stem, where breathing and heart rate are controlled.The family’s three-week stint at the hospital left Fletcher with a fear of doctors and generally anything he is unfamiliar with. Because of this fear, Noel had to be around to help Fletcher cooperate with doctors.“I had to physically hold him down while they removed the stitches from his head,” Noel said. “I had to do that.” The rest of the tumor still needs to be removed, or Fletcher will die in a matter of years.For a developing mind like Fletcher’s, conventional radiotherapy would cause intense brain damage, rendering the 3-year-old deaf, possibly blind and with severe learning difficulties. Option two: tomotherapy radiation, which was the best Spain had to offer and was free of charge. Still, too dangerous for Fletcher.The Falveys got Andrea’s brother to look into proton beam therapy after Noel heard a story on an English radio station about another child who had the same diagnosis as Fletcher and is now doing fine after receiving the treatment.Two weeks later Fletcher was accepted to receive proton treatment at MPRI. Originally from Bexley, England, the family lived a year and a half in Torrox, Spain. Now, they’re in Bloomington.“I can’t help but thinking how lucky we are,” Noel said. “God only knows how many people did not have this chance.”***The gas kicks in, and Fletcher goes limp in Noel’s arms. He is placed on a mold that keeps him in place during the treatment while doctors access a vein through a port in his chest and hook up monitors to check his vitals. The Falveys have left the room well before this happens.They have never seen the actual treatment done on Fletcher.“I wouldn’t want to,” Andrea says.Doctors tape his eyelids shut and put a white, meshed mask that covers his entire head with a slit in the mouth area for the breathing apparatus. A large monitor outside the treatment room states, “DO NOT ENTER, BEAM ON”.Noel temporarily leaves MPRI to drop Shannon off at school, and Andrea sits on the computer and makes small talk with patients in the waiting room, trying to keep her mind off of things.On his way back to MPRI, Noel blasts the band Kasabian from the stereo in his rental car – perhaps to drown out his thoughts. The previous day, Fletcher woke up in a fit from the anesthesia. It took him 50 minutes to stop screaming. Because of his age, he has to be put under so he will not move during the treatment.Andrea’s diary entry from the previous day reads, “He was shouting at us: ‘I dont like you,’ and ‘I dont want you.’ This upset me a lot. He has never said anything like that before; it’s just not in his nature.”Both parents worry what today’s treatment will bring. ***The Falveys need to raise $215,000 to cover Fletcher’s treatment.Family, friends and those influenced by Fletcher’s story are avidly raising money for and donating to the Falveys.The Falvey’s financial situation is not that uncommon from other patients at MPRI, as a lot of their expenses go uncovered by health insurance. People can donate to the Falvey’s bank account through the Web site www.friendsoffletcher.com.“All I’m worrying about is that the treatment will work ...” Andrea said. “Because you don’t get much of a second chance,” Noel said.They are right to worry.“There’s not much else that can be done,” said Dr. Andrew Chang, director of pediatric radiation oncology at MPRI. “If the tumor comes back at a quick pace, it will take his life. If the tumor comes back at a slower pace, further radiation treatment can be considered, but it is not looked highly upon.”Chang specializes in pediatrics and also does work at the IU School of Medicine and Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. He had to inform Noel and Andrea that Fletcher has a 50 to 60 percent chance of surviving.Noel writes: “Afterwards Dr. Chang offers to say a prayer for us. Why not? He prays while I cry”.Hope they have, but faith – not so much. Religion has never been a part of the family. That is not to say they are not appreciative of all the support they have been given from Sherwood Oaks Christian Church. They stay nearby, paying a reduced rent thanks to Hoosiers Care, a non-profit organization helping hospital patients from out-of-town find homes during treatment. They will be there until Fletcher’s seven weeks of treatment is done, around Nov. 20.“Here, it’s not just something they pay lip service to and go to church on Sunday to be seen to be doing it and because their parents expect it – they want to,” Noel said. “More, here is what I feel the essence of it would be if it were really good.” ***Fletcher wakes up alone.His scream builds up and breaks into a cry, and then back into a scream. Doctors and hospital staff at MPRI realize Fletcher just woke up from the anesthesia.He curls up on a wheeled hospital bed being pushed into a room across the hall. Andrea follows him into the room. Bending over, she coils her arms around him while Fletcher’s screaming muffles whatever she might be saying.This scene plays out for a while until Noel comes through the main hallway doors, and hearing Fletcher’s cries, he quickens his pace down the hallway.The treatments have gotten easier on Fletcher since the anesthesiologist increased his dosage, allowing for more sleep.After 40 minutes of Fletcher being upset, his mood is temporarily swayed by a big orange freeze pop provided by MPRI manager of marketing and development Amanda Burnham. While Andrea and Noel speak with Dr. Chang, Burnham gets Fletcher to go to the playroom with her. He does a wobbly run down the hallway, falls down and pushes the handicap button to open the doors.***A tense silence, an overdue sigh from Noel. “I would like to look back on this time of my life and think ‘that was when we saved Fletch’s life,’” he said.Shannon and Fletcher come bounding into the room.“He’s an elephant, I’m a bunny,” Shannon announces.Andrea tells her to go back into the other room.“Come, Fletch,” Shannon says.Shannon, with bunny ears on her head, hops away into the next room. Fletcher follows her, giving his best series of hops and nearly falling down.The operation has swelled Fletcher’s brain, putting pressure on his optic nerve and making him “boss-eyed.” He has not been physically active in the last months, all of which cause him to frequently fall.The time surrounding the brain operation took the heaviest toll on the family. A fresh scar still shoots up the back of Fletcher’s head, where his thin, shaggy, blonde hair is permanently singed.“It was loads of things, like when we could hear him crying as we walked away and left him to get anesthetized,” Noel said.Andrea can barely talk about her experiences without crying.“When we were in the hospital he said to me, ‘I’m not broken, doctors fixed me,’” she said. “That’s what he decided.”The 3-year-old has not the faintest idea of the cancer in his brain or the fact that he could die; because Andrea and Noel do not tell him, hoping at least the trauma will not leave a scar.They do, however, disclose things to Shannon, who happens to be in the process of writing a book for school about her brother.But talking has not been one of the Falvey’s strong points lately, though they are trying to improve.“It got to a point for me where I just wanted to stop finding out about stuff, and I just wanted to shut it all out,” Noel said. “We weren’t talking to each other. ... I need Andrea, I couldn’t do it without her.”It is this kind of stress and pressure that can tear a family apart.“It’s been tough,” Noel said. “I can see how some couples wouldn’t make it, and I worry about it because I also think that we’re just starting.” Andrea has had many sleepless weeks. When she tries to sleep, the silence and solitude creeps up, allowing her mind to go. Only now with a herbal sleeping aid has she been able to sleep a little better, she said.Fletcher is a very happy, playful 3-year-old. At moments though, the simple joy a parent gets from watching their child at play has been robbed.“Sometimes it just gets too much,” Noel said. “The pressure just feels physical, like I’m being suffocated or a weight pushed down on me. I feel at times I can actually feel it, even if I’m not thinking it.”Editor's NoteSince the story published in print, the Falvey family set up a U.S. PayPal account to accept donations to help cover Fletcher's medical expenses. To contribute, visit http://www.friendsoffletcher.com/help-us/.
(10/27/09 4:08am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Bloomington Police Department caught a man in the act of stealing office equipment from Quality Heating on 1412 W. Kirkwood.An anonymous 911 caller said a man, later identified as Montgomery S. Turner, 29, was making trips back and forth from Quality Heating to his residence carrying items, BPD Sgt. Jeff Canada said. When BPD officer Jeff Rees arrived at the location, Turner began to walk away and eventually began to run. Rees and another officer pursued Turner on foot and arrested him nearby, Canada said. Turner is being charged for burglary, resisting law enforcement and criminal mischief.
(10/27/09 4:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On Saturday, residents at 1101 N. Woodburn Ave. were robbed after letting a man who said he was homeless spend the night at their house.The residents, ages 20 and 21, said the man showed up at their house while they were having a food pitch-in. When they awoke the next morning, they were missing an iPod, $300, a computer and a folding knife, Bloomington Police Department Sgt. Jeff Canada said. Residents reported that the man identified himself as James and said he lived under a bridge. He was wearing grey sweatpants with cargo pockets and was missing a tooth. The case is still under investigation.
(10/26/09 2:12am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Victoria’s Secret has assured IU that it will reimburse the University for Dunn Meadow’s damage after Thursday’s concert featuring Cobra Starship and Girl Talk.What was once a grassy field turned to mud after the concert, said Tyler DeLong, IU senior and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage employees worker.People, rain, trucks, forklifts and vehicles with large, knobby tires traveling across the field led to its destruction.Workers started loading the equipment away as soon as the concert ended, and they continued into Friday afternoon.However, the University doesn’t know when the field will be fixed, IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said.The field “looks really devastated,” senior Nick Noel-Vourlas said.The benefit concert put on by Victoria’s Secret raised $5,000 for Middle Way House, an organization that provides shelter for victims of domestic violence. IU students also donated toiletries and cosmetics.
(10/26/09 12:47am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>At 8:10 a.m. on a Tuesday, the Falveys are running 10 minutes late for 3-year-old son Fletcher’s treatment at the Midwest Proton Therapy Institute in Bloomington.With open smiles, father Noel chases Fletcher into the treatment room. Following close behind is Andrea, Fletcher’s mother. The mood changes as Noel scoops Fletcher up and onto his lap while doctors waste no time gassing the toddler. Noel presses his face against Fletcher’s head, and Andrea rubs his cheek as the boy slowly loses consciousness. His high-pitched moan fills the room, leading into the sticker-filled corridor and echoing through the main hallway.But Noel and Andrea are just happy to see their “little mate” running before another round of radiation therapy. The need of about $215,000 for treatment at MPRI is in the back of their minds. MPRI is one of the six facilities in the United States that treats cancer through radiotherapy. Patients typically come from all over the world.***Three months ago in Velez-Malaga, Spain, Noel wrote in his online diary:“What’s the worst thing you could hear? ‘I’ve some bad news, your son has a tumor in his brain. Hello, I’m your brain surgeon.’” Aug. 14, two days after this post, a team of doctors cut into Fletcher’s head to remove an anaplastic ependymoma brain tumor.“Dread,” Noel writes, wondering if this could be the last time he, Andrea, and their 8-year-old daughter Shannon will see Fletcher alive.The surgery took seven hours, but doctors could only remove 80 to 90 percent of the tumor because of its location around the brain stem, where breathing and heart rate are controlled.The family’s three-week stint at the hospital left Fletcher with a fear of doctors and generally anything he is unfamiliar with. Because of this fear, Noel has to be around to help Fletcher cooperate with the new doctors at MPRI.“I had to physically hold him down while they removed the stitches from his head,” Noel said. “I had to do that.” The rest of the tumor still needs to be removed, or Fletcher will die in a matter of years.For a developing mind like Fletcher’s, conventional radiotherapy would cause intense brain damage, rendering the 3-year-old deaf, possibly blind and with severe learning difficulties. Option two: tomotherapy radiation, which was the best Spain had to offer and was free of charge. Still, too dangerous for Fletcher.The Falveys got Andrea’s brother to look into proton beam therapy after Noel heard a story on an English radio station about another child who had the same diagnosis as Fletcher who received the treatment and is now doing fine.Two weeks later Fletcher was accepted to receive proton treatment at MPRI. Originally from Bexley, England, the family lived a year and a half in Torrox, Spain. Now, they’re in Bloomington.“I can’t help but thinking how lucky we are,” Noel said, “God only knows how many people did not have this chance.”***The gas kicks in, and Fletcher goes limp in Noel’s arms. He is placed on a mold that keeps him in place during the treatment while doctors access a vein through a port in his chest and hook up monitors to check his vitals. The Falveys have left the room well before this happens.They have never seen the actual treatment done on Fletcher.“I wouldn’t want to,” Andrea says.Doctors tape his eyelids shut and put a white, meshed mask that covers his entire head with a slit in the mouth area for the incubator. A large monitor outside the treatment room states “DO NOT ENTER, BEAM ON”.Noel temporarily leaves MPRI to drop Shannon off at school, and Andrea sits on the computer and makes small talk with patients in the waiting room, trying to keep her mind off things.On his way back to MPRI, Noel blasts rock band Kasabian from the stereo in his rental car – perhaps to drown out his thoughts. The previous day Fletcher woke up in a fit from the anesthesia. It took him 50 minutes to stop screaming. Because of his age, he has to be put under so he will not move during the treatment.Andrea’s diary entry from the previous day: “He was shouting at us: “I dont like you,” and “I dont want you.” This upset me a lot. He has never said anything like that before; it’s just not in his nature.”Both parents worry what today’s treatment will bring. ***The Falveys need to raise $215,000 to cover Fletcher’s treatment.Family friends and those influenced by Fletcher’s story are avidly raising money for and donating to the Falveys.The Falvey’s financial situation is not that uncommon from other patients at MPRI, as a lot of their expenses go uncovered by health insurance. The Falvey’s have a bank account people can donate to through the Web site friendsoffletcher.com“All I’m worrying about is that the treatment will work...” Andrea said. “Because you don’t get much of a second chance,” Noel said.They are right to worry.“There’s not much else that can be done,” said Dr. Andrew Chang, director of pediatric radiation oncology at MPRI. “If the tumor comes back at a quick pace, it will take his life. If the tumor comes back at a slower pace, further radiation treatment can be considered, but it is not looked highly upon.”Chang specializes in pediatrics and also does work at the IU School of Medicine and Riley’s Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis. He had to inform Noel and Andrea that Fletcher has a 50 to 60 percent chance of surviving.Noel writes: “Afterwards Dr. Chang offers to say a prayer for us. Why not? He prays while I cry”.Hope they have, but faith – not so much. Religion has never been a part of the family. That is not to say they are not appreciative of all the support they have been given from Sherwood Hills Church. They stay nearby in Sherwood Oaks, Ind., paying a reduced rent thanks to Hoosiers Care, a non-profit organization helping hospital patients from out-of-town find homes during treatment. They will be there until Fletcher’s seven weeks of treatment is over, around Nov. 20.“Here, it’s not just something they pay lip service to and go to church on Sunday to be seen to be doing it and because their parents expect it – they want to,” Noel said. “More, here is what I feel the essence of it would be if it were really good.” ***Fletcher wakes up alone.His scream builds up and breaks into a cry, and then back into a scream: Doctors and hospital staff at MPRI realize Fletcher just woke up from the anesthesia.He curls up on a wheeled hospital bed being pushed into a room across the hall. Andrea follows him into the room. Bending over, she coils her arms around him while Fletcher’s screaming muffles whatever she might be saying.This scene plays out for a while until Noel comes through the main the hallway doors and, hearing Fletcher’s cries, he quickens his pace down the hallway.27 more treatments to go, but they have gotten easier on Fletcher since the anesthesiologist increased his dosage, allowing for more sleep.After 40 minutes of Fletcher being upset, his mood is temporarily swayed by a big orange freeze pop provided by MPRI manager, marketing and development Amanda Burnham. While Andrea and Noel speak with Dr. Chang, Burnham gets Fletcher to go to the playroom with her. He does a wobbly run down the hallway, falls over, and pushes the handicap button to open the doors.***A tense silence, an overdue sigh from Noel. “I would like to look back on this time of my life and think ‘that was when we saved Fletch’s life,’” he said.Shannon and Fletcher come bounding into the room.“He’s an elephant, I’m a bunny,” Shannon announces.Andrea tells her to go back into the other room.“Come, Fletch,” Shannon says.Shannon, with bunny ears on her head, hops away into the next room. Fletcher follows her, giving his best series of hops and nearly falling over.The operation has swelled Fletcher’s brain, putting pressure on his optic nerve and making him “boss-eyed.” On top of things, he has not been physically active in the last months, all of which cause him to frequently fall.The time surrounding the brain operation took the heaviest toll on the family. A fresh scar still shoots up the back of Fletcher’s head, where his thin, shaggy, blonde hair is permanently singed.“It was loads of things, like when we could hear him crying as we walked away and left him to get anesthetized,” Noel said.Andrea can barely talk about her experiences without crying.“When we were in the hospital he said to me, ‘I’m not broken, doctors fixed me,’” she said. “That’s what he decided.”The three-year-old has not the faintest idea of the cancer in his brain or the fact that he could die; because Andrea and Noel do not tell him, hoping at least the trauma will not leave a scar.They do however disclose things to Shannon, who happens to be in the process of writing a book for school about her brother.But talking has not been one of the Falvey’s strong points lately, though they are trying to improve.“It got to a point for me where I just wanted to stop finding out about stuff, and I just wanted to shut it all out,” Noel said. “We weren’t talking to each other. ... I need Andrea, I couldn’t do it without her.”It is this kind of stress and pressure that can tear a family apart.“It’s been tough. I can see how some couples wouldn’t make it, and I worry about it because I also think that we’re just starting,” Noel said.Andrea has had many sleepless weeks. When she tries to sleep, the silence and solitude creeps up, allowing her mind to go. Only now with a herbal sleeping aid has she been able to sleep a little better, she said.Fletcher is a very happy, playful three-year-old. At moments though, the simple joy a parent gets from watching their child at play has been robbed.“Sometimes it just gets too much,” Noel said. “The pressure just feels physical, like I’m being suffocated or a weight pushed down on me. I feel at times I can actually feel it, even if I’m not thinking it.”
(10/23/09 9:36pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Victoria's Secret has assured IU that it will reimburse the University for repairs needed to Dunn Meadow after Thursday's concert featuring Cobra Starship and Girl Talk.What once was a grassy field turned to mud when the concert ended and people began to leave, said Tyler DeLong, IU senior and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees worker. People, rain, trucks, forklifts and vehicles with large, knobby tires traveling across the field led to its destruction.Workers started loading the equipment away as soon as the concert ended and continued into Friday afternoon.However, the University doesn't know when the field will be fixed, said IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre.The field “looks really devastated,” senior Nick Noel-Vourlas said.The benefit concert put on by Victoria's Secret raised $5,000 for Middle Way house, an organization that provides shelter for victims of domestic violence. IU students also donated toiletries and cosmetics during the event.
(10/22/09 3:39am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Police Department has a main suspect for the sexual assault that occurred Oct. 11 in the Student Recreational Sports Center parking lot.IUPD has repeatedly interviewed the suspect and has no other leads to possible suspects, said IUPD Captain Jerry Minger. Minger could not comment further because the man has not been arrested, nor is he facing charges.A 21-year-old IU student reported to IUPD on Oct. 12 that he was sexually assaulted in the parking lot of the SRSC.The student said that at about 4 a.m. Oct. 11, after a night of partying, he separated from his friends on Lincoln Street as he walked back to his apartment.He said he doesn’t remember much after leaving his friends, but remembers passing in and out of consciousness in an unknown vehicle in a parking lot that he said looked like the SRSC parking lot.The student said he did not think he was drugged. When he fully regained consciousness, he was at his apartment and does not remember how he got there.Anyone with information about the incident should contact IUPD at 855-4111.
(10/20/09 1:42am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A 21-year-old woman reported on Sunday that she had been raped by her roommate’s father.The woman arrived home at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday and fell asleep. When she woke up, her roommate’s father was having intercourse with her, Bloomington Police Department Lt. David Drake said, reading from a police report. The woman fled her residence to a friend’s house. She was driven to a local hospital. BPD was notified at 9:43 a.m., Drake said. BPD Detective Rob Shrake called the cellphone of the father who was visiting from out of state. The father called the detective back, admitting to having consensual sex with the woman.The father reported noticing the woman vomiting in the bathroom and then helping her. He reported that afterward he and the woman lay in bed together, Drake said, reading from a police report. BPD obtained a search warrant and collected several items of evidence. The daughter of the accused man was not home during the time of the alleged rape.“Needless to say, this is under further investigation,” Drake said.