Helping the Hollcrofts

Hello I am Marcie Risch, grandma to Emersyn and mom to Kimberly and Kaleb. Last month, Emmers presented one blue eye and one eye fading to black. Then, a few days later, she started complaining of eye pain. Unfortunately, Kaleb was in between jobs during this time, and his health insurance lapsed. So, on April 19th Kaleb took Emmers to Doernbecher's Children's Hospital ER in Portland, Oregon. Unfortunately, we all knew about this eye issue and could not wait for insurance to be active again. So, Kaleb got her all checked in and waited for the Ophthalmologist to arrive. The nurse informed him that an entire Ophthalmology team was in the house making rounds this evening. Sure enough, they came to her aid. With many tests run, they determined that Emersyn had Retinoblastoma. However, with the tests done that day, they could tell that it was only in her right eye, which was good news however she will most likely have to have it removed. They went home and processed this information, and the hospital called to schedule MRI contrast and sedation to see if the cancer was just isolated to her eye area. Gratefully the tests determined that was the case. A few days later, the outpatient surgery center at Casey Eye Institute called with a day and time. This day was yesterday, May 3rd, 2022. At 2:15 Pm, sweet baby Emmers had her eye removed and sent off to pathology to determine what kind of cancer she has and whether or not she will need chemotherapy . When the procedure was done, the doctor put a prosthetic piece in place of her eye.

On May 1st Kaleb could get health insurance for the family again, but the deductible is $3500. So between the month's previous appointments and scans. The bills are going to start coming in soon. They have applied for a few grants through the hospitals and county. Let's hope those can help with the costs a bit, too. I am writing this now to try to be proactive in getting some help for them. Every little bit will help. Thank you for the time you took to read their story. We will keep everyone updated here and through our Facebook pages. Take Care Marcie Risch