By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
Kind. Joyful. Giving. Selfless. Compassionate.
Those are just a few of the words that come to mind when Anthony Trobeck thinks about his mom Cyndi, a longtime realtor in the area and the current mayor of Otsego.
“Oh man, my mom is the person to pour her whole self into everyone and everything around her,” Anthony said. “She lives with a joy and excitement for life that is amazing and contagious.
“She is always on the go, her schedule is always full, but none of it feels like a chore for her. Her life is an example of what living to love others and make the community around her better looks like.”
Having the opportunity to make her community a better place is what led Cyndi to serve as Otsego’s mayor.
“Being mayor is something she holds highly not because of the status, but because of the opportunities it gives her to make an impact on those around her,” Anthony said. “She is a natural people person and sees each person as someone who is unique and important.”
But during the past few months, Cyndi’s life has been turned upside down by a mysterious medical condition that has her family members and other loved ones praying for answers.
It started in early December when Cyndi began noticing vision impairment.
Seeking medical care from a local ophthalmologist, Cyndi was told she had dry eye as all eye scans had come back clear. She was given eye drops and told her vision would gradually improve.
That didn’t happen.
“It got to the point where she could only kind of see shapes and tell that there were colors there,” Anthony said. “It progressed really quickly. She noticed it when she was driving on her way home from showing a house.”
Cyndi sought a second opinion and received a referral to University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, where she was admitted so more comprehensive tests could be run. When those tests came back normal, doctors sent Cyndi home, with the assumption being that her condition was due to a vitamin deficiency and would be treatable.
Cyndi’s condition only worsened, however, with her cognitive and motor skills beginning to deteriorate. She began struggling with her memory and was unable to maintain a conversation.
“She couldn’t even hold her silverware,” Anthony said.
Numerous visits to the emergency room followed until, on Sunday, Feb. 6, Cyndi was admitted to Ascension Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo and placed in the intensive care unit. She was placed on a ventilator and had a feeding tube inserted.
With doctors still unable to pinpoint the cause of Cyndi’s condition, she was transferred to the Cleveland Clinic last week for further treatment and testing.
“The past two months have been incredibly difficult,” Anthony said. “Emotionally, it has felt like a roller coaster from hoping test after test would give us answers only to have them come back clear.
“It has been frightening how fast this all happened. One week we thought it was just a vision-loss issue to a week later it being noticeably more complex and with loss of motor ability and memory issues. It has felt like we were losing her right in front of our eyes, but there was nothing we could do to stop it or treat it.”
As the family continues to wait for answers, they are drawing strength for the community that Cyndi loves so much.
“We have had so many people reach out,” Anthony said. “It has been astounding. The response from the community has been incredibly comforting and uplifting to our family.”
Several of those individuals who have reached out to the family have also contributed to the GoFundMe page that has been set up to help cover Cyndi’s medical expenses.
Comments left for Cyndi on posts sharing the GoFundMe link included:
- “Cyndi is such an amazing lady who has done so much for our community. Any help you can give would mean so much to their family.”
- “Cyndi is an amazing human… please join in prayer and support as you are led.”
- “One of the sweetest people you will ever meet. So sad to hear this is happening. Thinking about her and her wonderful family during this time and hoping for good results soon.”
- “Sad to see this. She’s a great person with a big heart! Any little bit helps.”
Neighbors have also shoveled Cyndi’s driveway and community members have provided meals for her husband and family.
These comments and gestures, said Anthony, have played a big role in helping the family navigate this difficult time.
“I knew my mom impacted people’s lives, but the support that has come pouring in has brought tears to my eyes,” he said. “I am in disbelief and at a loss for words with the response our family has received.”
As of Tuesday, Feb. 22, more than $30,000 had been donated since family members set up the GoFundMe page less than a week earlier.
“The response to the GoFundMe has been amazing,” Anthony said. “The generosity of everyone has been overwhelming. I want to tell those who have and continue to pray, share and give that we are so thankful from the bottom of our hearts for all of the love and support.
“While this journey to answers and healing has been painful and filled with unknowns, to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we have so many people praying and supporting in any way possible is so encouraging and comforting.”
Anthony is also comforted by the example his mom has set for him, the rest of the family and the community in general.
“She deeply loves her family and is a loving and proud grandma, mother, wife, sister and daughter. She exemplifies what loving Jesus, family and others looks like. I am so proud to be her son.”
Anthony asks for continued prayers for answers and healing as well as for wisdom for the doctors and medical staff.
“God is the ultimate healer, and our hope is in Him,” he said.
