Much needed update

It’s been a while since I’ve provided you all with any news on the family. This has mainly been the result of my abstaining from all things “blog” related for Lent. This year’s Lent has proven to be quite an interesting time for us.

To begin with, it appears that my dad has been approved for SSI! This is a tremendous answer to prayer and a testament to the hard work and dedication of so many people who tirelessly worked on my dad’s behalf. Specifically, I thank Jason Brisendine, Sen. Johnny Isakson and staff, Sen. Ronnie Chance and staff, and every one who prayed so fervently for this breakthrough. I do not know right now how much assistance will be provided, nor do I know when we will begin to receive it, but we are thankful regardless of the amount.

Secondly, I was offered a graduate assistantship at the University of Georgia for a master’s degree in Entomology. This is a paid position that will essentially double my current income. My tuition is waived as well. The program should take two years to complete and I am set to begin on May 17, 2011. I will complete my classes during the fall and spring in Athens, while my research will be completed during the summers in Griffin. There is a possibility that I may be able to spend my last spring semester in Griffin as well. In terms of my plans for medical school, this program should provide a solid science foundation and should strengthen my candidacy for medical school admission. I continue to believe it is God’s will for me to become a medical doctor. While not exactly complementary, this master’s program will do nothing but improve my understanding of the sciences and give me a greater understanding of the topics on the MCAT. I have decided to postpone re-taking the MCAT until next summer (2012), as there are several classes that I want to take in the fall and spring that should help with the exam.

Mom’s doing very well health-wise. Her taste continues to improve ever so slightly. She is definitely eating more of a variety of foods and the amount she has been able to eat has also steadily increased over the past few weeks. She just received the results from her latest PET scan (the scan was performed on May 2nd). The scan showed no cancer and the doctor said that mom was right where she needs to be and could not be doing any better! Mom’s health continues to be an answer to many prayers!

One last note, during today’s communion service at home, dad said the entire Lord’s Prayer. And by said, he actually said it where we could understand him. I cannot remember the last time I heard my dad speak so clearly and complete any prayer, let alone any sentence, in English. I just wanted to pass this along!

I will write more as everything unfolds. I haven’t been as diligent in updating this blog as I had hoped, but I aim to do a better job over the coming weeks. Thank you all for your constant love, prayers, and support!

Jacob

Bishop Epps visits the Holloways

Bishop David Epps, Bishop of the Mid-South Diocese, pictured as he prepared to complete his journey to Orlando, Florida

The Holloways are honored to have had Bishop David Epps in their home twice within the past week. On Ash Wednesday, Bishop Epps and Deacon Bill Shelton visited the family – serving Holy Communion and imposing ashes on each family member’s forehead. Bishop Epps then returned today (Sunday, March 13) to serve the family Holy Communion. Bishop Epps was on his way down to Orlando, Florida for the annual spring meeting of the House of Bishops in the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church.

What made today’s visit a bit more unusual than most was the bishop’s mode of transportation: a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Today’s weather was certainly excellent for any type of “bike” ride and we count it a blessing to have had the bishop visit us once again!

Updates

The rain held off and Mom returned to Emory this past Monday (February 28th) for routine blood work, a physical exam, and to meet with her doctor. The computers were down in the lab, so mom was not able to get the results of her blood work. Her blood pressure was up considerably, which is good news. Mom was able to see her doctor this visit – more good news. Mom’s doctor said that mom was doing well and appeared to be making good progress.

Mom is to return for a PET scan and more lab work in May. She does not have to go back until then (this is great news!). Overall, she is doing well and continues to improve. Her taste is still giving her trouble, but has begun to improve ever so slightly.

Please keep my dad in your prayers. He has been downcast the past few weeks.

In terms of the vehicle situation, we still haven’t made any progress in locating a replacement for or getting an estimate done on the van. Either way, we’re not in any position financially to really be able to consider replacing or repairing the van. Please keep this situation in your prayers as well.

On a personal note: I want to thank you all for the kind words about my (brief) appearance on this week’s “Dirty Jobs”. I’m honored to have been included in the episode and to have had the experience of filming an episode of the show. I had a blast and I sincerely appreciate you all sharing in my excitement!

That should do it for now. I will keep you all posted as everything unfolds.

Thanks,
Jacob

Vehicle update

I wanted to provide a quick update regarding our vehicles and transportation status. As you know, last week mom was involved in an accident. While I have yet to have an estimate done, I do not believe that it will be within our means to have it repaired. I plan on eventually having an estimate done, although I am unsure when I will be able to do so.

I also want to thank the individual who paid for mom’s citation. You are a blessing and we certainly appreciate your generosity!

In addition to losing mom’s means of transportation, on Saturday the car Josiah was driving died. Although we do not own the car, it was Josiah’s means of getting to and from school, work, and baseball practice. It also provided transportation around town when my car was unavailable.

Which, speaking of my car, brings me to my last update. My car is in decent condition, but the windshield wipers do not presently work. A squirrel (yes a squirrel) fell from a tree nearly a year ago and broke the wiper joint. I do not have an estimated cost of repair for this, as the three mechanics I have asked do not know where to get a replacement assembly (Saturn went out of business a couple of years ago and they stopped making the Ion in 2007). If anyone knows where I might be able to have the wiper assembly replaced, please let me know.

Just to recap, we’re down to one vehicle and that vehicle has some significant issues. These issues weren’t as significant until my car became our only means of transportation. Mom is scheduled to return to Emory on Monday (February 28th). Rain is in the forecast as of now. Please keep us in your prayers.

Update: To clarify my wiper troubles, I have circled the area that the wiper is broken (or appears to be broken). The motor works fine and the passenger side wiper works fine. The driver’s side wiper arm acts like it has become unhinged. It will move when the wipers are engaged, but it will fly off the windshield and will fail, if it actually does return to the windshield, to return further than half-way down the windshield. It will usually only “work” properly one time. If the wipers are left on, it will get stuck halfway up the windshield.

Thanks,
Jacob

Mom and Hannah involved in auto accident

Today, while traveling to Fayetteville to pick up my dad’s Valentine’s day gift, mom and Hannah were involved in an auto accident. Mom was making a left turn and mistakenly thought she had a green turn signal, when in fact she only had a green light. An oncoming vehicle was not able to avoid mom and t-boned the van. Aside from being a bit shaken up, both mom and Hannah are doing alright. Hannah hit her head against the door window, and may have incurred a slight concussion, but the paramedics did not see a need to take her to the hospital. We certainly are grateful that neither mom, Hannah, nor the other driver were hurt.

As you can tell from the pictures, the van is in pretty bad shape. Neither one of the doors on the passenger side are operable. The windshield is cracked and beginning to shatter. Both passenger side door windows were knocked off track and will not seal. Apart from mom’s and Hannah’s condition, this accident has hit us pretty hard. To save money on our monthly premiums, we had only liability insurance. Mom was cited for failure to yield the right of way and will have to pay this as well. Being completely honest, I do not see how we will pay for the van to be repaired – even if it can be repaired. Mom was able to drive the van home, but it is really not drivable. Not that there ever is an opportune time to be in an at-fault accident, but this hit us at a bad time. We welcome your prayers for this as well as for all the other issues we are currently facing.

Mom continues with ‘her exercises’

Mom exercising - double leg lift!

Never one to take a break in a fight, mom continued today with her leg exercises.

PET Scan Results

As scheduled, mom returned to Emory today for the results from last week’s PET scan. She was also scheduled for labs, but when we arrived we were told the labs had been canceled. We then went straight to meet with the doctor and to get the results. We were told that last week’s scan showed no cancerous activity. Additionally, mom’s lab results from last week indicated nearly all normal blood levels (hence not needing additional labs this week). This is great, great, great news! NO CANCER!

Following mom’s meeting with the oncology staff, we then went and met with her radiation oncologist. Both the doctor and her intern noted that mom’s skin looked to be doing particularly well considering last year’s radiation therapy. Mom was told it is a good sign that she is beginning to recover a little bit of her taste, as it could be an indicator that her taste will completely recover. We were also told that it is not uncommon for patients’ taste and saliva glands to be completely altered or damaged as a result of radiation. The doctor is optimistic, however, that mom’s taste will continue to improve.

All in all, both groups of medical staff seem excited about a second cancer-free PET scan! It goes without saying we’re even more excited as well! Mom is scheduled to return on February 28th for lab work. She will have her next PET scan in April, which happens to be her 1 year mark following her stem cell transplant.

We certainly appreciate your continued prayers and support. Please do not stop praying! We pray that mom continues to have results like today’s!

Thank you!

It’s the little things

Mom’s visit yesterday went very well. We arrived bright and early for lab work and her PET scan. Lab work usually takes anywhere from 30-90 minutes—usually closer to 90 minutes. Mom needed to meet with someone in the financial aid office and wanted to do that in between her lab appointment and her PET scan. She thought she might have a window of about 10 minutes to spare, if everything went very, very quickly in the lab. With her PET scan scheduled for 9:15AM, and it being 8:30AM, I told her there was no way she was going to be able to squeeze in a meeting with the financial aid counselor. My exact words were, “It will be a miracle if you get out of here in time for your scan, let alone with time to spare for to meet with the financial office.” Mom, being mom, replied, “Well Jake, I believe in miracles.” Whereupon I immediately had that immortal classic, “You Sexy Thing”, by the Hot Chocolate, forced into my mind. I digress.

Several minutes later a nurse called mom back and she was off to have her lab work done. I was a bit surprised, but it normally takes them a long time to get mom’s blood, so I expected it to still take some time. Well, so much for my expectations. At 8:40AM, mom had completed her lab work, with plenty of time to spare to pay a visit to the financial aid office. Mom then made it to her scan early and all went well. We will have the results next Monday (January 31st).

I know it’s not really a miracle, and I’m grateful that my mom didn’t rub her proving me wrong in, but it is one of those little things that makes you stop and think. Sometimes it really is the little things that matter.

Jacob

Mom beginning to (finally!) feel better

There is not much new to report regarding mom’s condition, but we do have this photo to post. Hannah and I walked in the living room to discover, to our obvious surprise, mom “exercising”! She must be feeling better!

Mom...exercising?

Tooth Successfully Extracted!

Mom’s dental appointment went very well this morning and her tooth was extracted with no problems. The dental clinic, which is made possible by numerous local dentists and First Methodist Church, provides extractions at a greatly reduced cost to the needy in the community.* Mom’s procedure and all medications involved totaled to only $18.00! We are extremely grateful to those whom suggested the clinic, as well as Drs. Magusiak and Schroeter and staff. In a slightly interesting twist, Dr. Schroeter, who is normally one of mom’s dentists, was the one who performed the extraction!

Mom is currently on an antibiotic to guard against infection. She has yet to experience any pain. The tooth appeared at first to be difficult to extract, but Dr. Schroeter was able to extract the tooth without any problems and without having to cut into the gum.

As previously mentioned, mom is to return to Emory on January 24th and 31st for a PET scan, labs, and then the results of the PET scan. I will keep you all updated as everything unfolds. Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

*Note: If you would like more information on the dental clinic, please contact Griffin First United Methodist Church by visiting their web site or calling the church office, 770-228-3020.

Jacob