Keep The Lights On

News Journal Article

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Recapping this week. If you missed the great feature in the News Journal please check it out! Thanks again to journalist Lacey McLaughlin for doing such a FANTASTIC job!

Click Here to see the full article online.

Click Here to see the full article online.

Miracles Do Happen

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 Survived 14 months with no car, with 3 children

 Survived 14 months with no car, with 3 children

On the evening of February 18, 2013, I was just getting into my car when my cell phone rang with such astounding news. Elizabeth Coberg was on the line telling me that she had a car to donate to the Vanhoutte family. The news was so amazing and unexpected. The initial shock left me frozen,  I may have come across sounding ungrateful because I could not, at that moment, find the words to speak. The information was slowly registering .

The timing of her call was perfect, I was just heading over to the Vanhoutte’s to have cake with them to celebrate Tyler turning 15.  It was in his card that I delivered the news.

Mr. and Mrs. Fadi Coberg and their son Daniel attend the same church as I, Trinity Presbyterian. This is the family that changed the lives of the Vanhouttes with the donation of their vehicle.

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Night Fishing

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Tyler’s favorite thing to do is fish, especially at night.  This is his big escape from all things.

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Yesterday, Alison met with a neurosurgeon to discuss the next steps. She will be heading back to Shands hospital to have more extensive scans done to her spine to see if the number of tumors have increased in size and/or multiplied. She will also be meeting with another neurologist that specializes on the brain to discuss the problems that have arisen.

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I am having a meeting tomorrow afternoon that I will follow up with you all in my next post. I will also tell you about some amazing people that have thus far extended their hand.

Please stay tuned and donate if you can! They really need help at this time with travel expenses back and forth to Jacksonville and an upcoming trip to Gainesville for Tyler’s treatment.

We are also raising funds for their rent and to help them get set up with an online home-based job. They truly need your help, please consider!

Keep The Lights On

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Their story began like so many; life was good and living the quintessential American dream of a middle class family, but life took a sudden turn… 

I want you to know that this could easily be my family or your family. “Over the course of the past couple of years, it has been one misfortune after the next,” they say. They have no idea how they have reached this point or why they are enduring layer after layer of such intolerable hardships. It is difficult to see and hear their deep felt thoughts and feelings. Even more so, it is hard to hear them say that there are days they just want to throw in the towel.

At age 39 the mother, Alison, discovered that there were several tumors growing on her spine, a tumor on her ovaries, and white matter change on her brain.

The father, Kendall, tries to keep it all together, but over a year ago he lost his job after having to care for his ailing wife. The effects of no income have resulted in the loss of their home and only car.

Alison is facing the risk of death or paralyzation in order to biopsy her tumors as the nerve roots are wrapped around these tumors to her spine, thus leaving her at this moment feeling very helpless and scared as the number of tumors continue to increase.

Alison and Kendall have three children; Tyler age 15, Cody who is 13, and Samantha who is 11.

Tyler was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis at age 10, a condition that was genetically passed down from Alison. When Kendall lost his job and lost his insurance, Tyler could no longer continue being seen at Arnold Palmer Children’s hospital in Orlando, FL.

Now that the family is receiving Medicaid, the closest hospital to assist Tyler is Shands Hospital in Gainesville, FL. Tyler has not yet been able get to Shands because of the loss of transportation. It has now been over a year since Tyler has not been able to receive the 5 shots a week that he needs.

Before Alison became ill, she was someone who devoted so much of her time helping others. I told her, “This is a full circle moment.”

I am hoping this story connects with you, would you please be able to make even a small difference, their needs are immediate. They are in need of financial support and prayers.

Over the past couple of months I have been trying to connect the dots, and just last week an extraordinarily generous couple donated one of their vehicles. More to that story later.

The most pressing expenses that the family are presently facing include rent, car insurance, setting up Kendal with a home based job, and daily necessities for the children.

There is much to this story that will unveil through time. Please help us as we are Taking Focus with this extraordinary family.

All donations are tax deductible. Please consider a donation.

Share this with others. Thank you so much!

Sincerely,

Jennifer Kaczmarek