News
Wess Benefit
This Sunday at Snug Harbor in New Orleans
August 17
Greetings Loved Ones,
It's been a little bit since I've last given an update so I thought I'd fill you in on what I know.
Wess has started his therapy and he is finding out his limitations and what he needs to be working on. He is bringing his saxophone to therapy and playing there. The left side still needs some work both in the mouth and fingers. It is not prohibiting him from playing, just still weak so the continued therapy will help strengthen that. Wess is also working on his short term memory. That's about the extent of what I know with his therapy.
Wess has had many visitors and Desi wanted me to just thank all that have come. She is trying to schedule those that want to go to therapy with him or come by the house. She wanted to thank Daren Hardin for cooking some steaks and motivating Wess to work hard. Kengo Nakamura, good friend and one of his bassist, for coming in from NY and cooking some traditional Japanese Food and helping Wess with his left hand weakness. Caleb Curtis came by played his sax and shared a moment. Brock and Debbie Walker for filling the freezer w/ steaks. All the members of his MSU family and Professors of Jazz who have shown constant love in coming over and lifting spirits and motivating.
Last week Wynton Marsalis came by with two of his sons, and also was accompanied by Raymond Murphy and Frank Stewart. They took over the house lifting spirits, playing music, and cooking. Wynton was very encouraging and having to rehabilitate his lip recently could he could easily relate with Wess on the hard work that lays ahead of him. There was an informal jam session and Henry Butler showed up and was a motivation to get on the road to recovery.
So the love and gifts keep coming and words just cannot express the gratitude in their hearts. The support from around the world has just been overwhelming. Thank you all again!
I want to tell everyone down in Baton Rouge about a concert on Friday, August 17. Wess was booked to play this but when the stroke occurred Vanessa Rubin most graciously agreed to fill in for Wess. This concert is free and I have included info on it. You do need to have a ticket however. I also want to say that Wess may make an appearance.
Love and Blessings,
Max
July 31
Greetings Loved Ones,
I'll keep this brief.
First, I wanted to thank Wess and Desi for letting me be a part of their family and for Desi's kind words in her e-mail out to everyone. My response is the same as most of yours would be. How could you not help them? They have given so much love to so many people, now they are reaping some of those benefits getting replenished to start again in due time. I can't tell you how many times Wess would be talking to me about someone and he would just say to me "Those are some good people there" Well, Wess and Desi are "Good People"
Next, I want to thank two radio stations for helping get the word out about Wess and for their support. WBGO in New York has been great. Please support them and listen to them on line if you are not in the city. Go to
Then I want to thank Lazaro Vega at Blue Lake Public Radio. First for having Wess on live two times this year and for his support . You can listen to him live online every night at: http://www.bluelake.org/radio.html
Now to Wess. They went out to the MAC facility again today and waded in the pool and went on the tread mill. So he is trying to get back physically slow but sure!
I'd like to share a quick story from Sunday. If you hang around Wess a little or talk to him briefly on the phone you can hardly tell that anything has happened. One thing that was not effected by the stroke is his personality. He has his same mannerisms, sayings, and spirit. I thank God for that so much! Physically he is getting around but his body is sore. But those two things sometimes seem to diminish the fact that he had a pretty serious stroke. This was made evident to me on Sunday when Wess was talking with a friend on the phone and the friend asked who else was with him, and it was Desi and I and Wess could not remember my name. He kept trying to say Delfeayo ( Wynton's Brother) but knew it wasn't right and ended up asking me what my name was of course being followed up with "I'm sorry man". I have talked with Wess almost everyday for a year and a half. It was a good reality check for me. Like Desi said we are not starting at ground zero. He has a very selective memory. We can play blindfold test and he gets most everything. Certain events and people he remembers fine and some he really can't recall. But Wess has a ways to go. He will not be teaching at least this semester at Michigan State University. We'll see how his progress comes along. I have cancelled all of his performing engagements for the month of Aug. then we'll just take it day by day but I think that will take awhile also.
( So much for being brief. Sorry)
Some have asked for the address of the Credit Union if you wanted to send a check to the fund:
Michigan State University Federal Credit Union
600 East Crescent Road
East Lansing Michigan 48823
The last item is and I've mentioned it before is please utilize the blog on the website. One thing Wess is struggling with is names and faces. If you have pictures that you don't mind sharing with everyone else, put them on the blog and tell who and where it was taken especially if they are with Wess to help him remember. This can be an active way for you to participate in Wess's recovery process no matter where you are in the world and believe me we have gotten calls from around the world! Amazing!
God Bless You All. Don't take this life for granted. Lot of lessons to be learned through all of this.
Much Love,
Max
July 30
Hey Family...
It's Desi!
Finally a moment to personally thank you all for the LOVE... Especially Max Colley... If you had not taken the lead to assist us... this endeavor would have been impossible. We love you Max! You are truly an example of love, commitment, and brotherhood. What a manager! Actually, what a brother!
Thank you all for the cards, flowers, prayers, gestures, calls, texts, steaks, $$$ (u know who you are), Wal-Mart cards, emails, taking messages, coming to the hospital at 7am last Friday, passing on messages, taking my cell phone and creating a database of contacts, cooking dinner for us, cleaning our clothes, cleaning off the deck, taking out the trash, picking up mother from airport, providing transportation, motivating Quad, staying with me at hospital, being there when I fell apart, answering my call at 3am, picking out and delivering the king's throne, hugs/kisses, prayers, prayers, prayers, .... THANK YOU>>>>>>
The love from everyone has given us strength to go on forward.
If I say names, I will forget someone... and I do not want to do that!.... We feel the love!
The battle is NOT over... however, we are not starting at ground zero... If we must get to 100, we are at 30. He does have memory loss, short and long term. We must watch him when taking meds and insulin... He remembers musicians by instruments; he knows his family but not his nieces and nephews (by name). He remembers the septet and Lincoln Center musicians/employees; however, he does not remember colleagues from Michigan State...
Physically, he does not have the "Stroke" look... he is experiencing incredible back/leg pains, which make moving from standing to sitting (and vice versa) very difficult. Also, he is very fatigued! After up for a few of hours, he must rest for 2 or 3 hours.... His speech and memory, we pray, will improve with therapy.
Finally the answer to question about the saxophone... Wess said, "I will swing again!"
To sum it up...
1. God has blessed us.
2. Thank you for everything.
3. Thank you Max!
4. Visit www.wesswarmdaddyanderson.com---- leave messages there... I read them to Wess everyday.
5. Leave pics there! This helps with memory.
6. Utilize the Wess Anderson Rehab Fund account.... Michigan State University Federal Credit Union transit/routing # 272479663 acct # 33469808 (no swift # needed)... he will be out of work and in rehab for quite a while!
7. Thank you all for the LOVE!
July 29
Again Good Morning,
Wow! It's been quite a week. It seems like this last week took about a year. Lot of change for a week but God has been good!
This will be short because there is not a whole lot to report. Wess is still sore from the stroke. So he is slow to get in and out of his chair that he sits in. Wess and Desi both went to the Mac facility on Sat. and waded in the pool which was hard but good for both of them. He still seems to feel some muscle spasms in his leg and still has headaches now and then,He is looking forward to starting therapy. He told me it is not like him to just sit around and do nothing so I think he is anxious to get doing something.
For those of you that want to contribute financially yet and thank you to all of you that have, a fund has now been set up. It is under :
Desimonae Anderson
The Wess Anderson Rehab Fund
Michigan State University Credit Union
Transit #272479663
Act#33469808
No Swift # needed
Talk to Rhodope Martin
Phone # 517-353-2280
It's been an emotional week but with so much outpouring of love things are looking very optimistic. This still will be a long journey back so pray for patience. Again, I'll update as events warrant.
Love and Blessings,
Max
July 26
Good Morning Family, which continues to grow by the day! I tell you these folk are very loved! I'm writing you in the morning for two reasons. I did not have to work today and I couldn't keep my eyes open any more so that's why you didn't wake up to my daily update. I also wanted to thank you for all your kind comments to me. We have a love fest going on here and it's getting sappy so let's update you on yesterday.
Wess went and visited the hospital again because he was complaining about pain in his legs and his headache was back although not as severe as earlier in the week. So they did not want to chance anything. Many tests were done and things are fine it was muscle spasms and it is my understanding your body will have some post-stroke feelings and that is what he was feeling, but better safe you know.... So after the day they were kind of beat and retired early to bed which was a good thing. One comment from the day, Desi at one point asked Wess what he was thinking about and he said he was thinking about Swingn' so that is a good thing. Wess begins his Occupational, Physical, and Speech therapies on Aug. 3
For Desi, and I have her permission to share all this, she is sore from the surgery but other than that feels much better than before the surgery. She had a cyst or mast the size of a cantaloupe on her fallopian tube. She was having back pain, gaining weight and didn't know why. Since the surgery she has lost 11 pounds, her back pain is gone and is now off her blood pressure medicine. So she is doing great, just post surgery stuff. Her word for the day was strength.
Housekeeping:
- Again a thousand times a thousand thank you's. Many are still asking how to help. For the Michigan
locals I'm sure when therapy starts Desi would appreciate rides to and from to save some trips for her.
- Those of you that want to visit a couple things. Call first so he is not overwhelmed and you can have
some quality time with him. Also be flexible, you may set up something and if he is having a bad day, you
may have to reschedule. Also mid-week would work best so not to be overwhelmed on weekends.
- Another way to help is right now they will do the therapy and that is covered but when that is done they
would like to join this gym membership at a place called the mac which has a pool and stuff. They really
want to stay healthy so there is a monthly membership fee and if you want to help with that, that could be
a tangible way to contribute to their well-being.
- When calling, stay positive. Desi says talk about music, nothing to heavy.
- I fwd every e-mail I get to them and they read a lot of them yesterday and had a good time doing it. The
blog is working I guess because I see comments there, again something new to me. Desi says if you
have some guh guh guh ( she said her Southern Friends will get that) funny CLEAN stories you can
share on the blog send those. Some have started sending pictures which is fun too.
- The last thing is I have gotten the comment to mention that if you respond to my update each day, if you
can respond to me and not the over 100 people on the list that would be appreciated. Thanks.
OK, everyone, be safe yourselves out there, keep the prayers coming, they are working.
Much love to you all,
Max
July 25-
Hello Family,
I think Carlos said it best the other night that we are all one big family. Let me first start off by saying I feel I have at least a hundred new friends. I have had the pleasure of meeting so many of you by traveling around with Wess the past year and a half and those that I haven't met I hope our time will come soon. I have been so fortunate to read so many of your comments and well wishes to Wess and what he has meant to you all. I hope there is a lesson in all of this that one person can make a difference! Much love to you all and thank you for your prayers. They are working but we still need them!
Also, I apologize for my grammar and spelling. It's not strong to begin with and doing it on the amount of sleep I've had this week, who knows what may coming out? Go easy on me Jon! Speaking of which, happy belated birthday to Jon Faddis yesterday!
OK, now to Wess and Desi.....
Both Wess and Desi had doctor appointments today. Again, we will not know specifics on the effects of the stroke until he starts his therapy next week. The doctor apt. for Wess was to refer him to his therapists. He went out with Desi to visit the rehabilitation center and to meet the doctors today. He did not have the severe problems with the headaches today that he had yesterday. He was more of his loving self today. What most likely will take a little more time and patience is his memory. He is having some trouble remembering names and associations. A story Desi wanted me to tell you was that when Desi asks Wess who she is he responds Desi, but when Desi asks Wess who his wife is he can't recall. The funny part of this is one thing he could remember was the 10 digit bank account number! So his therapy will start next week.They will need to go to a low sodium low carb diet.
The family is trying to stay positive about life. So they are having words of the day and sayings. Today Wess said he was proud to first be alive and proud to be a blessing to so many. Desi says don't just believe your eyes but what's in your heart. I spoke with Quad today also and he is doing well. He said it was good to be home with the food there rather than camp food which he has had most of the summer.
Housekeeping items:
- They are kind of overwhelmed with flowers. They are so grateful but they are quickly running out of room.
- Please try to direct people to the website. The same thing I send to you all I put on the website. I have
got many rumors about Wess's health and there is no need for that. I guess it's kind of like that secret
game you play when you are a kid. You know by the time it gets to the 30th person it's completely
different. Everything I tell you comes straight from Desi. So if you hear any, get the truth out there. Also
with the family trying to stay positive they really don't want to know the rumors that are out there. Let's just
deal with the truth. Thanks.
- One way to help the family and have it be enjoyable for you also is to buy a CD. There is a link on the
website to CD Baby to purchase them or from ITunes.
- Last thing is I've added a blog I guess you call it on the site for those of you who wish to express your
well wishes, comments, and I think photos. This is a new thing to me so I hope I set it up right. If not e-
mail me and let me know.
God is good and thank you for all your prayers! Please keep them coming! Do you know that Wess and Desi were supposed to be in the Netherlands during this time but it got cancelled? This is one of many things that we have to be thankful for. In time we'll share more. Thank you Thank you Thank you! Please know how much Wess, Desi, and Quad love you all. They will get to you all eventually!
Continued Blessings and Love upon all of you,
Max
July 24-
Again, on behalf of the Anderson Family a very sincere thank you to all who have called, e-mailed, sent cards and gifts and sent up prayers. It really is beyond words.
I think there will be many up days and down days and today was kind of a down day for Wess mainly due to the fact that his head really is hurting more than it has since the stroke occurred on Friday. Wess visited the hospital to see what they could do for the pain and so they are trying some different meds to try and make him more comfortable. He is home yet but it would be nice to get a handle on this. Other than that there is not a whole lot of new information to report on his health right now. We are just going to need to operate day by day.
Desi is doing ok but again has not really had a chance to recover from her surgery. Desi's mother and Aunt are here in Michigan helping out at home.
Housekeeping item: There is no doubt Wess is one very loved man. This has been demonstrated by almost 200 phone calls just today according to Desi. So to give them a little relief, unless you really need to talk to them the best way to communicate your love for them or offer help and support would be via e-mail. I forward every message to them that comes to me.
Desi said her saying for the day to all of you is "Love conquers all"! She just can't express enough how thankful she is for all of you.
I may not send an e-mail out everyday but will send one out as Wess's health dictates.
Love and Blessings to all of you,
Max Colley III
July 23- This was a letter I sent out to people I had addresses for :
By this point I think most of you have heard the news about
Wess but if you haven't on Fri. July 20 Wess had a stroke. Wess's
wife Desi had been in the hospital all week and he was supposed to be
picking her up and did not show up. When Desi called he was only
slurring words. At that point Desi did a conference call with family
friend Diego Rivera. Diego asked Wess if he needed help and Wess was
able to say yes. So they called 911. In addition to slurred speech
there was some paralysis on his left side because he was bleeding
from the right side of the brain is my understanding. Response time
was good and Wess was rushed to Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan.
Wess was discharged from the hospital today. He has control and feeling on
his left side and is talking and is very happy to be home. He will
start a few kinds of therapies to help with a few cognitive issues
and to continue to strengthening his left side. When
he starts his therapy, that may give a better indication of what damage has been done
in the brain. I believe the general thought
is that high blood pressure was a contributor to the stroke.
This is such a cliche but words really can not express the thanks
for the unreal outpouring of love from literally around the world.
The phones have been ringing non-stop. A special thanks to Michele
Steed for manning phones and helping compile a list to keep all of
you informed. It is the prayers from all of you that Wess has made it
this far. We still need those prayers. There is a lot of hard work
ahead for Wess and the family. Desi is also recovering from emergency
surgery. By the way Quad was up at Interlochen for music camp and
came home upon receiving the news.
In addition to prayers if you'd like to help monetarily or
with gift cards to Wal-Mart would be perfect so that they can get
their medications, food, and supplies. You may send any well-wishes,
cards and gifts to:
Wess and Desi Anderson
5258 E Hidden Lake Dr.
East Lansing, MI 48823
If you call, it would be appreciated if you could call between
the times of 10:00 A.M and 8:00 P.M. EST. Wess has been answering the
phone today but was pretty tired tonight.
Much love and blessings upon all of you.
On behalf of Wess, Desi, and Quad
Thank you all so much
Max Colley III
On July 20 Wess had a stroke. It is very early in the game and we don’t have much other information at this point. As information comes in I will keep this site updated so you will know his progress. On the very first day Wess made much improvement from when he was first brought in so we are thankful for that. Please keep Wess, Desi, and Quad in your prayers!