BLOOMINGTON -- Bob and Carolyn Busick of Bloomington have been foster parents to 254 children during the past four decades.

"Everybody needs somebody," joked Carolyn, 61, who's known as "Mimi" to her friends.

The levity doesn't come easy for her. She and her husband are the ones who need help now.

Bob Busick, 63, was diagnosed with advanced cancer of the larynx last month. Family and friends are hosting a fundraiser at the Windjammer Lounge in Bloomington on Saturday to help pay their medical bills.

They have no health insurance.

Bob Busick was a self-employed electrician until his illness forced him to stop working. Carolyn Busick ran a house with four biological sons, two adopted daughters and a constant stream of other kids passing through the doors. They had as many as eight foster children living with them at one time along with their own brood. There always seemed to be someplace else money was needed other than insurance premiums, she said.

"Money became pretty tight. We are no strangers to 'tight,' as are many. But we've been blessed," said Carolyn Busick, who speaks for the couple; her husband's cancer makes it hard to talk.

Their work with children, which The Pantagraph has reported on in the past, also has been put on hold until the cancer is abated.

Now, others who know them hope the Central Illinois community will help them.

"They've given themselves and opened up their home to so many children and to many others, adults, too," said family friend Chandra Denison, 36, of Decatur. "Even today, if someone needs food, they do everything they can. They give so much. I just hope the community can help raise money and try to give back to the family."

Denison was in her mid-teens when she met "Mimi." She lived with the Busicks for several years after she graduated from high school.

"They just kind of took me in as another one of their kids," she said.

Eventually, Denison became licensed to provide day care so she could help with the kids.

Carrie Busick is married to one of the Busicks' sons, Bob Jr. She also hopes for a good turnout because the Busicks have touched so many lives.

"They have lots of friends," she said.

Proud and sad

Carolyn and Bob Busick have been married 44 years.

They began to take in other children when the kids of a relative needed somewhere to stay. They eventually were licensed to provide foster care.

"We've watched them go to jails, prisons, we watched them become missionaries," said Carolyn Busick. "We are very proud of many and sad for many, also. I'm not sorry and neither is he."

Many of the kids stay in touch.

"Oh, god I still got them," she said, laughing. "You can't shake them away."

Their latest kids are Gayla, 9, and Tendra, a 6-year-old who also goes by Kiki.

"They are the light of our lives right now," she said.

Bob Busick had been healthy over the years with the exception of a bout with appendicitis. That changed last spring when he began having constant headaches. He eventually lost about 45 pounds from a frame that only carried 160 pounds.

Carrie Busick thinks he may have delayed going to the doctor a while to avoid the medical bills.

The cancer diagnosis was made earlier this month -- about the time the couple celebrated the 43rd anniversary of the start of their extended family. Attention has focused on his throat, but doctors in Peoria took a biopsy on his lung last week, his wife said. A tube soon will be inserted so he can receive chemotherapy. He also will undergo radiation, she said.

"He has excellent doctors, I can't give them enough praise," she said.

And, Carolyn Busick knows they must be paid somehow.

"The bills are adding up. I do what I can, a hundred here, a fifty there. We aren't rolling in dough," she said. "But I try to give everybody something. I don't want to be used, so I don't want to use anyone else."

And, they stay hopeful -- and grateful.

"My dad always taught me to look around the corner, there is always someone worse off than you are," she said. "When people ask, 'What can I do?' What you can do is pray. That's what I ask. ...I believe in my higher power, so I do a lot of praying to what I believe in. Robert and I have a lot of faith."

How to help

What: Bob Busick Benefit, including bands Foundry and Rival; food; door prizes; bake sale; 50/50 raffle; live auction, including a custom-made "mini chopper" and "mini bike."

When: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 7

Where: Windjammer Lounge, 2303 Stern Drive, Bloomington.

Other: Donations for the auction are still needed. Call 309-485-0102.