Support Bob Holmes' Medical and Home Needs

Hello there everyone, my name is Daniel Greene and Robert Holmes has been my partner for 10 years. During this time, we have always taken care of one another and just like anyone else, we've laughed and cried along the way, but every day we celebrate the fact that we know that we made the right choice when picking the person that we wanted to spend our life with. Until March of this year, Bob hadn't had significant health problems for many years. Since March, he has been in the hospital 7 times in 6 months with issues such as apparent TIAs (stoke-like attacks), COVID, and more. The whole time, we always believed that he would improve and because of this, we bought our first home together. Unfortunately, as soon as we moved in we found that the plumbing was completely decayed and it all needed to be replaced.

As of today, I have been in a hotel for 4 weeks while our plumbing is being redone, with the hope of not being here much longer than around 2 more weeks. After insurance, we have already paid $10,000 directly from our bank account and I have had to sign a 12-year loan to repay the additional 40,000 in plumbing costs... all on top of the mortgage. While this has been occurring, Bob has unfortunately declined further, as he has been diagnosed with liver cirrhosis and is now too weak to walk on his own. I can no longer take care of him as I have for the past decade. He is currently in a nursing and rehabilitation center, but the cost of remaining there without long-term Medicaid (we are applying but we do not yet know whether Bob qualifies) is $12,000 a month. We do not have anywhere close to that kind of money.

Plumbing progress in our new home

Before asking for your contribution, I'd like to take the time to explain Bob to those of you who don't know him well. Bob is, and has always been, a teacher. Bob taught in Guilford and surrounding counties here in the North Carolina Piedmont for 40 years, teaching at every level possible in order to give each student the chance at a better future. Having grown up in the mill villages of Greensboro in the early 1940s, Bob knew what it was like to go without, but he also learned about the power of lifting others up. Bob has taught thousands of students in history and music here in NC at schools such as Ceasar Cone, Irving Park, Joyner, Bessemer, Mendenhall, Grimsley, Page, and Guilford College. Bob was the first band director ever at Mendenhall Middle, and he even took the Greensboro Senior High band to perform in Nassau, Bahamas and at the Washington Commanders halftime show--- which was televised nationally from start to finish without interruption. Bob brought out the best in his students and provided them with opportunities of the same caliber. You can imagine the words of advice and encouragement that he had for me as I pushed through my M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees as well.

Bob has stood up for so many here in North Carolina so that they would have a chance to shine. I humbly ask that you please do the same for him now, when he needs it the most. I cannot pay for the care that Bob needs and I do not want us to lose our home. If you will, please share this post far and wide to bring the music back to Bob's life as he has done for so many of us. ❤️