Lend a Hand to the Martin Family's Recovery

We are the Martin’s and here is our story:

2024 closed out great! We celebrated 10 years of pastoral ministry and the achievement of graduating Seminary. Things were looking up until the first week of the new year. After a routine visit to the local ENT for my tonsils, a tumor was discovered on my parotid gland (salivary gland underneath my ear). This discovery set off a series of medical events. The doctor ordered a CT to view this tumor. Upon CT results, it was confirmed to be a tumor BUT enlarged lymph nodes near my chest were discovered “incidentally.”

The doctor told Morgan and I that we were likely up against lymphoma. He took FNA biopsies of the tumor and a nearby lymph node. Those results came back clear. This gave us temporary relief.

We found another ENT for a second opinion and more imaging. After a full body CT, my chest lit up with bulky lymphadenopathy. The doctor said surgery to remove the tumor and some lymph nodes is a must. He also said he didn’t trust the FNA biopsy I had previously had and still speculated lymphoma. I had surgery Feb 28th. Surgery went well and the week of waiting for results again, felt like an eternity. Results came in this past Thursday and it all showed to be benign! Great news. But it also revealed granulomatous results which seems to indicate I do have a disease known as Sarcoidosis. Incurable but manageable. I still have many doctor's visits in my future to get “out of the woods” and treated.

In the midst of this chaos, Morgan (in an almost divine intervention kind of way) became pregnant with our third child and is due October 2025! It was both a blessing and a tremendous amount of pressure as we walked through very discouraging times. We are praising the Lord for NO CANCER. And we are praising the Lord for ANOTHER BABY! He has been so good to us.

We are currently faced with a mountain of medical bills. Many of these bills came in before insurance kicked in Feb 1. Many of these bills were not covered by insurance. It’s a major medical coverage with a deductible of 8,400 and max out of pocket 9,200. We are currently looking at $24,000.

We are currently liquidating any of our possessions that aren’t necessary to meet these needs. The North Carolina Baptist Convention has sent aid to us. The church (Hopewell Baptist) is supporting us as much as possible. The Lord has taken care of everything else and we don’t doubt the rest. Anything that you individually or you as a church would be willing to give to help us meet our needs would be a tremendous blessing. We are humbled, grateful, and deeply touched by the prayers and support!