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Cancer shows musician who his friends are

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

(Updated Wednesday, November 11 - 5:16 am)

By Jeri Rowe
Staff Writer

GREENSBORO — As the debate about health care rages in Washington, a sleepy-eyed guitarist thinks about life and death.

He’s Britt Uzzell. Everyone calls him Snuzz.

He doesn’t have health insurance. He can’t afford it. He’s never made more than $16,000 a year. So, he’s always tried to stay healthy by hiking, walking his dog, Stray, and biking with his wife, Nicole.

Now, though, he has cancer, a rare form of lymphoma. He found out in July. It usually strikes men older than 65. Snuzz is 45, and he doesn’t know if he’ll live one year or five years or longer.

He just knows he’ll start chemotherapy treatments this week. He’ll receive a cocktail of two drugs to try to kill the cancer that has caused his fingers to swell, his knees to weaken and his blood to thicken, which could cause a blood clot or a stroke.

He’ll do it for a year. The cost of chemo for one month: $50,000.

Snuzz has applied for Medicaid because he’s exhausted all his savings, and he needs help paying for care that’ll cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

And that’s not including a bone marrow/stem cell transplant.

It’s a load of unknowns. And a load of money.

The bills make Snuzz dizzy. He’ll know whether he gets Medicaid in a month. If he doesn’t, he’ll reapply. And if he doesn’t get it at all, he’ll forgo treatments.

“I’m not afraid of dying, but I’m petrified of the process of lingering and leaving Nicole saddled with debt,’’ Snuzz says. “I don’t want that to happen. I think about that, but I don’t let it impact me or cut into my soul in any way.

“I’m an eternal optimist. But I have no choice.’’

No choice. Nicole hates to think about that.

“You always think about growing old together, and you always want that opportunity, but right now, it’s so scary,’’ says Nicole, 41, an education and exhibits program coordinator at Piedmont Craftsmen, an artists’ guild in Winston-Salem.

“He has so much more to give to the world, and I don’t want that cut short.’’

For more than two decades, local music fans caught Snuzz onstage.

He’d scissor-kick, rip off a guitar solo and bend his rubber-limbed body all kinds of ways before leaning into the microphone and singing in a thin, wobbly voice that sounds like a kid at a talent show.

And the British cap he always wore on his head never moved.

He sang his own stuff, all written on some scrap of paper — a napkin, an envelope, a receipt, anything — that he scattered around his house.

And he played with everybody — from Bus Stop, the Greensboro band that almost broke big, to Ben Folds, one of the Triad’s most famous pop musicians.

Now, he has to think about life and death. About a cancer that could silence his guitar forever.

And he’s broke.

We have 46 million Americans — more than 15 percent of our population — who can’t afford health care. And according to the U.S. Census Bureau, that figure is going up.

But far away from the wide, well-lit aisles of Washington, you’ll find the faces — and the names — behind those figures. In all kinds of places. Like a dark, crowded bar in Greensboro.

That happened Sunday night.

At The Blind Tiger, a crowd bellowed “Snuuuuuuuuuz!’’ as three dozen musicians played Snuzz tunes and a crowd of music fans raised money for a nonprofit helping money-strapped people hit hard by a health crisis.

People just like Snuzz.

The benefit raised $4,515. It’s not nearly enough. But two months ago, friends raised money in Chapel Hill. And last week, Folds held a fundraiser outside Boston. All for Snuzz.

He’s humbled by it all, and he worries about his future. But as Sunday night turned into Monday morning, Snuzz stayed anchored at The Blind Tiger and talked to everyone he saw.

He wanted to say thank you.

Contact Jeri Rowe at 373-7374 or jeri.rowe@news-record.com

Accompanying Photos

Lynn Hey (News & Record)

Photo Caption: Britt "Snuzz" Uzzell tips his hat to the crowd after playing a song at the Blind Tiger on Sunday,

What do you think?

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Snuzzlover

November 10, 2009 - 9:10 pm EST

Ok, I will preface this by saying that I'm usually a huge fan of Jeri Rowe's articles. This article, unfortunately, is an exception.

First off, contrary to Jeri's usual style, this article is exploitative. I'm a huge proponent for health care reform but Mr. Rowe, is clearly using Snuzz and this benefit to push his personal politics. Sadly, this results in a very very dark article. Snuzz is the most generous person I've ever met. He gives every part of himself, material and emotional, to every single person he interacts with. The whole benefit movement is about hope.

This piece doesn't mention the huge amount of work that Catie Braly put into planning and producing both benefit shows as well as just convincing Snuzz to agree to them. Snuzz is one of the most loved people I've ever met but is so humble that he can't even wrap his brain around the idea that he's worth all of the love and gifts.

There are ways to illustrate the dire need for healthcare reform and how it relates to Snuzz without casting a shadow on the huge amount of work and positivity put into Snuzzfest West.

Reply to this comment

bubba

November 10, 2009 - 9:21 pm EST

"I'm a huge proponent for health care reform but Mr. Rowe, is clearly using Snuzz and this benefit to push his personal politics."

Thanks for noticing.

The agenda almost seems like it was more important than Snuzz.

Reply to this comment

Snuzzlover

November 10, 2009 - 9:12 pm EST

One more thing: "singing in a thin, wobbly voice that sounds like a kid at a talent show."

Could Mr. Rowe be any more disrespectful towards one of the greatest performers that the triad has produced?

Reply to this comment

hubba-bubba

November 10, 2009 - 9:44 pm EST

Hmm. I didn't take this as anything negative towards Snuzz. I think the intent of the article was clearly to tie it in to the current heath care crisis, but I don't feel as though it just used Snuzz to make a point. The fact that it was written means that the writer was at the show and cared enough to give the event some ink. It could have focused more on the positivity of the evening I agree. If anything deserves some criticism it's the choice of photo used. I mean jeez cumon, clearly there could have been a better shot of Snuzz! Thanks for writing about music Jeri!

Reply to this comment

Highlander

November 11, 2009 - 9:20 pm EST

Snuzzlover must be a healthcarereformhater. There are only two, maybe three paragraphs that refer to the health care debate, and another couple that mention health insurance. The rest is about Snuzz. This was a great article and I enjoyed reading it.

Reply to this comment

sealionwoman

November 12, 2009 - 10:57 am EST

Highlander, I'm afraid I have to agree with Snuzzlover (who, by the way, mentioned being a proponent of health care reform).

It's clear that you didn't read Snuzzlover's post OR the article very well.

Btw, I wonder if the writer of the article knows that Snuzz's dog, Stray, died a couple of years ago?

Reply to this comment

Jeri Rowe

November 12, 2009 - 3:07 pm EST

Wow. Some varying views here. Let me tell you where I was coming from.

I had known Snuzz since 1996 when I wrote about the FIRST Bus Stop Reunion. I traveled to Raleigh and watched them at The Brewery before they came back to The Blind Tiger. That was my introduction to Snuzz. The guy could play and sing (And yes, I always thought he had a thin, wobbly voice. But Bob Dylan has a thin voice. So who really cares?But I digress) Anyway, he also could write songs. Damn fine songs. And I always saw him as a sweet, unappreciated talent in our neck of the woods.

So, over the years, I had written about his latest project, his latest band. Or I'd run into him when I was covering entertainment for the N&R or running a weekly here in the Triad. And always, always, I knew his predicament with health insurance. It's like any local musician. They all say the same thing. They can't afford it.

Then came the healthcare debate. Then, Snuzz's illness. I sat down with Snuzz last week and told him I wanted to shine a light on his predicament. Laid it out for him. I wanted to give readers an idea of what he faces, warts and all. It's not pretty. I wanted to make sure he was cool with it. And he was.

I'm a columnist, and yes, I can write from a point of view. But with this particular piece, I wanted to hold the mirror and let readers decide what they think. Some folks saw it one way. Well, that's their perogative. I simply saw it as a way to put a face on the health-care debate that's happening up in Washington.

Some of you disagree. That's fine by me. But at least we're having this conversation. And people are coming ot Snuzz's aid. Check out the MM and Snuzz says it himself. He says he's like many people.

For what it's worth.