Stand with Holly in Her Health Battle

I am starting this fundraiser for Holly - my big sister - who has been struggling with some major health issues over the past several months. Life has dealt her a pretty lousy hand when it comes to autoimmune disorders over the course of her life. She was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was just shy of 5 years old. 13 years later, practically overnight, she lost all of her hair to another autoimmune condition - alopecia totalis. Despite these major hurdles, Holly has always handled her medical conditions with grace and bravery.

Starting back in February, Holly started having some major issues with excruciating pain in her head. She visited her regular doctor, followed by a neurologist at Memorial Hermann, only to be told it was occipital neuralgia and was given medication that did not work. An MRI scan showed a calcification in a part of her brain, but she was told this wouldn't cause her pain. As the months progressed, her pain became unbearable and she ended up in Memorial Hermann in the medical center. The neurologists kept her there for 3 days and basically did a whole lot of nothing. Despite her having horrible pain that was not relieved by their "migraine cocktail" and having a dangerously high platelet level, they sent her home.

In typical Holly fashion, she did everything she could to not only continue doing her work-from-home job, but also take care of her two teenage children. It became glaringly apparent, though, that something was very wrong. Back in May, her vision became impaired in one eye and her hearing was also affected. When Memorial Hermann sent her home without any explanation, I knew that she had to be seen by a different team of doctors. I have great experience with Baylor and got her an appointment with my immunologist. He saw her and ran some blood tests which showed some abnormalities, which led us to the rheumatology department. They felt strongly that something autoimmune was going on. We had been thinking maybe it was lupus, but the rheumatologist had fears of another condition that is much more serious and emergent, especially since her one hand was having intermittent tremors. She directed Holly to go to the emergency room at Baylor St. Luke's. We spent 12 hours in the emergency department last Wednesday, June 12th, and they admitted her. She has been there ever since.

So far, Holly has had a temporal artery biopsy and has been placed on very high dose steroids, immune suppressants and antibiotic, high dose vitamin D and calcium, as well as painkillers to keep her terrible pain in control. Because of her type 1 diabetes, the endocrinology team has had to carefully monitor her blood sugar and insulin regimen. Steroids cause blood sugar to skyrocket in diabetics, so it has been a balancing act keeping things in control. The temporal artery biopsy surgery on Saturday went well but she had some issues right after with oxygen levels and they were concerned about her lungs. That has stabilized, thankfully, but being immune suppressed and diabetic, the doctors are keeping a very close eye on her.

Tomorrow she has two other procedures which include removal of a growth on her neck, as well as a cerebral angiography. These procedures will hopefully get us closer to figuring out what is going on with Holly. The high dose steroids have assisted in getting her platelets down, but her pain level is still not where we would like it, so having these procedures done will be key to putting the puzzle pieces together.

Baylor St Luke's has been amazing with a team of rheumatologists, endocrinologists, neurologists, neurosurgeons and an ophthalmologist. We have every confidence in the care they are giving her, but we just do not have any idea of timeline as to when she will be able to go home, never mind when she can go back to work.

This is where I am asking for your help. Holly has run out of paid time off (PTO) at her job and will have no income while she is hospitalized and recovering. Thankfully her husband has a wonderful job and employer who is very understanding of what is going on, and we are eternally grateful to them. Like most families, however, losing one spouse's income will be devastating. So far, she has $7,000 of medical bills, which is her out of pocket max. Despite hitting the out of pocket max, there will be other expenses and bills to pay.

To everyone who is blessed to know Holly, they know that she is one of the kindest people in the world. I have known her longer than most anyone else since she is my older sister. I was always the annoying kid sister, about five years younger than her. We have so many funny stories of how she teased me as a kid, but I have just as many memories of her being so good to me. That is just what she does - she is always there for the people she loves. There are so many of us who love her and want to see her well, and the last thing I want is her to be stressed over finances.

Times are tough now for everyone, but if you are able, I would appreciate any and all donations to this cause. Holly will be the beneficiary of these funds and will use them accordingly to pay for her medical costs, as well as any other unforeseen costs that may come up. Of course, if you cannot donate, all your prayers and good thoughts are so very much appreciated. It is never easy to ask for help, but Holly and her family could really use your help right now.

I will make sure to put updates here as we get more information from the team of doctors. Thank you all again for your generosity and prayers!