THE HODGE FAMILY

Hey everybody!

I'm hoping to help out a very special family (my niece Megan Hodge and her family), her husband Kevin Hodge has had some serious medical issues and will be undergoing more procedures in the very near future. They have been thru so much these past months, with losing time at work, medical bills and monthly bills. This family is an amazing Christian family (yeah I'm a little partial)..We understand completely if you can't help financially, please just lift this precious family and medical staff in your prayers.

Just to give you a little background info as what they've been going thru, this is what Megan has recently shared:

Thursday, November 17, 2023 I found Kevin passed out in the shower. Earlier that morning he was having severe chills to the point he was shaking the bed and waking me up. He had been having alot of health problems coming from his Lupus and gastrointestinal problems. He just had a Dr. appt the day before w/his Lupus doctor, so he didn't want to go to the hospital, he was going to call his doctor when they opened. So I thought he went to the couch where it was warmer and we both were sleeping. When I woke up to get ready for work, I saw his bathroom light on and as usual didn't think anything else of it...after getting the kids ready for school, I felt like something was wrong because Kevin hadn't come out yet. I sent River to check o him and he said Daddy didn't answer, he's not in there. My stomach dropped! I knew he was in there. I went to the door and it was locked, I called for him w/no response, I beat on the door til my hand hurt and I barely heard a moan or grunt or something. I ran to Aiden's room and snatched him up to come unlock the door because I couldn't get it open. Aiden got it open fast and I made him take Kenley & River to Marissa's room so they wouldn't see him and to wake Marissa up. He was unresponsive and I immediately called 911. I was calm on the outside and panicking on the inside. I kept talking to him and telling him it's okay, that help was on the way and that I love him, and I was praying like never before. He could barely groan or move his eyes. He looked dead, and I thought this is it, I'm going to lose my husband today, how am I going to survive with the kids, I couldn't imagine our lives w/out him, we've been together literally half my life! The ambulance arrived, they called for backup. He was loaded and they said it would be a few min. before they left, so if I wanted to talk to the kids before they left..I was telling the kids that I had to go and Aiden was going with me, I remember I had pushed the button on the Keurig and before it finished, the ambulance lit up and blew out of the driveway. I'm praying Lord Jesus please don't take my husband. Aiden & I ran out and went strt to the ER. When we walked in I could feel it was bad, I could see it on the EMT's face. She came out & aplogized for running off, but said my husband was VERY sick and she could't wait another minute. She was an angel, but I knew she was holding something back. I then heard on the intercom something about SEPTIC Room 3. A few min. later they came to take me back and told me he was in ROOM 3, you could've knocked me over with a feather, I was fighting a panic attack and everything started to be a blur. Pop came & Aunt Jill came to get Aiden. So much was happening, I finally had to slip away to the restroom to fall apart for a minute, no doubt Jesus met me in that restroom! When I walked out I ran into a nurse that had been working w/Kevin and she said we're taking care of your husband, but how are you? I'm not sure what all she said or even her name, but she loved me and I loved her and she gave me the encouragement I needed in that moment. They had to put a line in Kevin's neck and he wasn't sedated or fully numb and Aunt Jill & I could hear him screaming, it was awful and I had to remind myself they were helping to save his life and the pain was temporary. He was transferred to ICU to be treated for SEPSIS and RSV that had turned into Pneumonia. On Sunday he was transferred to MUSC Florence to receive the antibiotics he needed. I followed them there and didn't come home until he did. I told God I wasn't going home w/out my husband, I flat out refused to and Thank the Lord he agreed. Keven was gradually downgraded from ICU to lower level ICU, then eventually to a regular room. After 9 days they discharged him on Thanksgiving Day and we made it home right as it was getting dark. He had so much medication to take, I think it was 8 prescriptions to pick up the next day. The next 3mths were rounds of medication, Dr. appts., making him eat because he had lost 40ish lbs. and wasn't overweight in the least. He was to weak to do anything, everythind made him winded & tired. He was very discouraged because he's a busy body and never lazy. As he was gaining strength and getting little better at a follow up appt. we were told he had a tumor in his lung they had saw at the hospital. We knew nothing of this. I honestly think they never brought it up to us because at that time they didn't know if he was going to make it or not, and by the time it was important, he had been transferred and they figured we already knew. So the biopsy was scheduled and it showed the spot was not cancer but he has atypical cells all around it, meaning they could be cancer and further test were needed. He had PET scan and it showed the same cells in his rectum area. He had outpatient surgery to remove those in mid May. We haven't rec'd those result yet. The following week he was scheduled for the lung procedure so he could recover from both at the same time and not miss so much work. Well, I took Kevin 2 weeks ago to have the surgery that was supposed to remove the atypical cells, when we got there the Dr. says they are not going to do the procedure, that they need to remove the lower lobe of his left lung. Basically they are treating him for lung cancer before it turns into lung cancer. The original Dr. had taken Kevin's medicals etc. to the tumor board and that's what they decided to be the best course of action.(I recently learned that this is an array of top doctors that discuss & plan the best treatment)...Literally knocked the breath out of us! We thought he would have the simple procedure and we could enjoy our summer and work out butts off to get caught up on bills and here we are. He will be in the hospital at minimum a week w/no complications and will have drain tubes 3-5 days. He will be out of work 4-6weeks at minimum. BUT after that, things should heal because he is young and otherwise healthy and active. Once they send it off, if it's determined to be cancer he will have to do 2 rounds of chemo, if not cancer-no chemo. Kevin being completely drained and over all he's been thru asked the Dr. what if he didn't do the surgery..The Dr. said he understood his frustration BUT he could do the surgery now or you can wait until it is cancer, because it's either cancer now or it will be, then you have to do surgery, radiation and chemo and take the chance of it spreading. SO July 6, 2023 is the surgery date! We've made arrangements at work, for the kids and dogs. Pop or I will be w/him 24/7 those first few days. Marissa and Aiden will come some. If you're still reading this far PLEASE PRAY FOR US AND THE MEDICAL STAFF. We're still processing and PRAYING. I have no doubt the Lord will see us through, but it's still scary and we're already running on fumes!