May 28, 2009

Dear Friends and Family,

Yesterday, May 27, we were invited to attend the graduation and award ceremony at Coastline Community College. I can honestly say that this was the most inspirational graduation ceremony I have ever attended. Five of the students, all of whom have suffered an acquired brain injury, presented a speech. It was hard to fight back the tears as each of these five people expressed the seemingly insurmountable challenges they have faced, but it was impossible to hold in the cheers as each one relayed how they now see their lives having value and meaning as they expressed the goals they have for themselves and how they have mapped out ways to accomplish these goals and how they refused to be held back by any obstacle. A couple of them told how they had wished and prayed for death but now realize that each new day is a gift to be treasured. Each expressed how Coastline had been instrumental in helping them move forward and giving them the tools needed to succeed.

Coastline divides the students into four teams placing them in the team which best reflects the degree of their individual brain injury and learning ability whereby each team can advance and work together at the same level. One member of each team was presented the Outstanding Student Award and we had been told ahead of time that Kevin was to receive the award for his team. Everett and I, along with Kevin's Uncle Steve, surprised Kevin at the ceremony as he had no idea he was to receive the award. Unfortunately Sarah was unable to attend as she had to be at work.

Below I have written what was said by one of Kevin's instructors as this award was presented to him as we were fortunate to receive a copy of it:

"It is with great pleasure to name the Outstanding Team 2 Student...It will come as a surprise to him I am sure: Kevin Hollar. Kevin is most deserving of this award. I must share that this is a real treat to present to Kevin. The evolution in Kevin's level of awareness and insight into his brain injury has truly been phenomenal. Kevin came into the program insuring us that he had no apparent deficits resulting from his brain injury. He had made it very clear on numerous class occasions that he was not satisfied with the instruction, curriculum, critical thinking, psychosocial class, book club, goal setting and, imagery--Forget It! He made teaching quite challenging. He pretty much resisted all aspects of the program. At one point in time Kim and I pulled him aside and asked him why he was here. He appeared to not need anything that we were offering him by way of compensation strategies or brain injury education...it was that day that we saw a glimmer...it was the way in which he heard the feedback, something in him began to click. I will say from that day forward we have seen a new and improved version of Kevin. It is remarkable how he has changed his attitude and has become more receptive and dare I say, open-minded with respect to the curriculum. He still remains intellectually skeptical, and I believe this to be healthy. He is serious about his role as a student, and as I have observed him embracing the curriculum to a level that is complementing his personal life, he sets realistic goals and contributes to class discussions in a much more positive way. He even presented stress reduction, breathing, relaxation and guided imagery in our last Team 2 project whereby he interacted with every student in the program in a healing and interactive way. I am pleased with the turnaround that Kevin has demonstrated; it gives me hope for all students who are willing to hold up a mirror and trust the process. Team 2 instructors thank you for your willingness to honor the feedback that we have given to you and we are very proud of the way in which you have begun to discover the nuances of your individual brain injury. Keep up the good work Kevin, there is no doubt in our minds that you will continue to excel in your rehabilitation goals."

We were, of course, the very proud parents yesterday and I have included a couple of pictures of Kevin with his award. We are very much encouraged at the changes Kevin has made as he has allowed God to show him the areas where he needs personal growth and that others have seen this as well as was evidenced by the award he received. I had the opportunity to speak briefly with Kim, one of his instructors, before the ceremony. She expressed to me how impressed she has been with the changes Kevin has made. He has been more helpful and friendlier to the other students and has contributed positively to the class and instructors. She said he is really a sweetheart and that he has a great sense of humor.

Kevin still has another year to go at Coastline and we would appreciate your prayers that Kevin would continue to succeed and that he would allow God to use Coastline as an instrument to help him.

Grace and Peace,
Tami

May 7, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

Today, May 7, marks the two-year anniversary of Kevin's accident. To those of you who have followed us through this journey and supported us with your love and prayers, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Our God is an awesome and faithful God and He has held us close in His comforting arms during this difficult time and it has brought us much comfort knowing you have been interceding on our behalf.

Without a doubt, these past two years of dealing with Kevin's accident and my brother's suicide just over a year ago have been two of the longest and most painful years I can recall. On both of these accounts it looks as though we are making real progress toward closure...at least at the legal level. As executor, I am very close to closing my brother's estate and that is taking a huge load off my shoulders and things are progressing well toward Kevin's settlement with Worker's Comp.

Two weeks ago Worker's Comp. attorneys took Kevin's deposition and Kevin's attorney said it went very well and their attorney seemed genuinely sympathetic to Kevin's case. A few more things have to be done before final decision is made, however. Yesterday Kevin was seen again by the neuro-ophthalmologist and in the very near future Kevin's attorney will be taking the doctor's deposition to help in Kevin's settlement. The doctor said he thought Kevin's eyesight was about the same as when he last examined him. Kevin wants to be able to go to the Braille Institute to obtain a white cane and asked the doctor for the necessary paperwork he would need. We are all very happy he has decided on his own that this is something he really needs. The doctor said his report would include what he needs and was again going to recommend a seeing-eye dog for Kevin. It is still my understanding that as part of the settlement this would be included for him. Kevin also told the doctor he had some difficulty seeing the computer screen. The doctor was going to look into the matter as he believed there was some adaptive technology for the computer that would be beneficial. I believe the Braille Institute would be of assistance here as well.

Last week I took Kevin to an appointment with a hematologist to check on his condition of Protein S deficiency. As you may recall we discovered he had this condition when he was in the ICU and developed two blood clots. Since that time he has been on blood thinners, at least until about a month ago when the internist told him it wasn't necessary. At his appointment with his primary doctor a couple of weeks ago, however, he was told this really needed to be followed up by a hematologist, which we have now done. The hematologist is running quite a few tests to see if Kevin still has Protein S and/or any other conditions which may be contributing to this problem. If he still has Protein S deficiency he will need to go back on blood thinners. The doctor explained that Protein S is most often an inherited condition but can, in rare cases, be an acquired condition due to trauma. The doctor also said if he does have Protein S the rest of our family (Everett, Keith, and I) would need to be tested as well. He explained that one third of people with Protein S deficiency will experience an embolism at some time in their life. We will find out the results of his blood work when I take him back to the hematologist on the 18th of this month.

We ask your continued prayer that Kevin's Worker's Compensation settlement would be determined very soon and that Worker's Comp. would agree that Kevin is 100% disabled. We also ask that you pray we would all be patient as we wait upon the Lord as to what the future holds for Kevin and Sarah. We still have no idea if he can work, and if so, what he can do.

I want to ask you all to pray for Sarah's niece that was born this past Sunday. Little Charlize was born with a heart problem and was taken to Oakland Children's Hospital where she underwent emergency surgery. She was born with 2 backwards heart valves. The surgeons opened up a part of her heart to allow more oxygen and blood to flow through. They are working now to get her stronger so that when she is between 2 and 4 months old she can have open-heart surgery to repair these heart valves. This little girl will have to have surgery again when she is approximately 10 years old because she will need larger parts at that time. She will have to live quite a sedentary life as any stress on the heart can be fatal. Sadly, there is a very high mortality rate and approximately 58% of people with this condition don't make it to 20 years of age. Please pray for Sarah's entire family, for as you can imagine this has been quite a shock. Pray God will draw them closer to Himself during this very trying time.

Kevin and Sarah will be taking a long weekend starting this Friday through Monday to go and visit Sarah's family. Pray for their safety as the drive to the Bay area and that they will have a good visit in spite of the hard times going on at present.

May God's blessings be abundant to you all,
Tami