Hope for Holmes

As many know, this campaign is an ongoing effort...funds generously donated thus far have been used over the last 3 years to help this family battle pediatric brain cancer with Holmes and the massive expenses that come along with it...along with everyday life. There is no real end goal, but I will continue to raise the "goal" in hopes that everyone will understand that what they really need is a miracle...and in the meantime... they need support, prayers and love from all of us.

Many of you know all about Holmes Desmelik and the battle he is fighting against the awful tumor that's taken up residence in his little brain. For those of you who don't know, I started this campaign two weeks ago hoping to send Holmes to the Super Bowl. We couldn't do that because his 3 year old brother, Vincent (aka The Captain,) had to have an enlarged lymph node biopsied on Friday...before the Super Bowl.  They are trying to rule out lymphoma in this sweet child and we pray for good results when the pathology report comes back. 

Instead of the Super Bowl, we planned a trip for Holmes to go to Charlotte today, stay at a fancy hotel and welcome his Panthers home from Santa Clara which is happening right this minute. Holmes isn't there. As his mom was literally packing his Cam Newton jersey...he requested she wash it this morning so  it would be clean and he could "look fancy..." Clare got a call from Dave. He'd taken Vincent to the doctor to follow up on his surgery and healing. What she heard next just doesn't happen to people...Vincent had developed staph in his incision from surgery on Friday. He would be admitted to the hospital and Holmes would be missing his trip, for a second time in two weeks, to cheer on his favorite team ever. Vincent now needed them and with Vincent they would stay. They remain at the hospital tonight awaiting test after test to find out what the best course of treatment is to clear (and stop the spread) of the staph infection  in this 3 year old child with a weak little body that's been battling for weeks if not months that we didn't know about...all while awaiting pathology results that whether good or bad...are TERRIFYING. The wait is TERRIFYING. It is all TERRIFYING.

I don't know when it will stop for this family but I know they are exhausted,  worn down, struggling to remain positive for their boys when all they want to do is scream and beg for it to STOP.  I cannot begin to fathom what they feel like or what they are going through. I do know that the pain I feel for them and the helpless, empty feeling I have out here in Austin...so far from being able to hug them tight... feels bigger than almost any pain I've ever known. I've know a lot of pain too....ask anyone who knows me. Not this type of pain though and it brings me to my knees thinking about how I could ever handle it like they are....with a fierceness and fight that is tougher than any football player, any super hero, any wild animal...bigger than all of that....this is a fight...fought by two parents desperate to save their precious two children and they have fought harder than they ever thought possible. They prove it.  Every. Single. Day. 

So I'm asking again, not because they want me to (they probably don't)...not because their families have asked me to (because they haven't)... and not because our friends have asked me to either...but because I'm a mama too. I have two boys...5.5 and 2.5...and IF I ever have to go through something like this...I won't be able to do it alone and I probably won't ask for help...I won't want people to feel guilty for me, or feel I'm having a pity party...so I'm going to ask now...for the Desmelik family. Can we rally again to help this family...feel our love...be it through donations...prayers...comments...whatever you have to give...to help them hold on.?

Holmes is wise beyond his years, and I don't think many adults could handle this fight with the courage and grace this boy does. His  brother is the sweetest little Captain around.  Perhaps that's because Dave and Clare Desmelik are rock stars for their sons...inspirations to parents like me...and they don't want this fight anymore than anyone else would. They are now starring TWO beasts in the face...threatening BOTH of their children. 

I'm asking as a mom who now sees life with my boys very differently than I did two years ago. Life is a precious gift and while we can't give them the cures they want more than their own lives...we can give them hope and perhaps a little relief that maybe some burdens, such as the many financial ones they will face, might be a little less scary after they slay the beasts fighting their boys. 

I graciously thank all of you who have supported us thus far, and I thank, in advance, those who will continue to do so with each passing day.  Pray hard for Vincent tonight...that he finds painless sleep and wakes stronger tomorrow morning. Pray that Holmes knows his day will come to see his Panthers and the love he is giving his brother right now is unlike any gift he could ever give him. I love you all and am humbled by the love of the good people in this world. 

LOVE HEALS.