Hey Everyone!
I’ve joined forces with my girls, Andrea and Narci, to bring you Friday Favorites. Each week we invite you to join us by simply linking up with a “favorites” post of your own.
Today, I have one big thing to share. One of my very FAVORITE friends, Sheaffer, has a kiddo near and dear to her heart who has just begun a battle with cancer. I’m going to let Sheaffer introduce you to Holt and his family.
My cousin Alden has a 3 year old son named Holt, who we are now calling The Incredible Holt. Holt is as precocious as they come, sweet as can be, and he has some spunk in him as well. He is a whole lot of fun!
Sweet Holt was diagnosed with cancer on September 21st. After multiple biopsies and soooo many tests over the last 6 months, the doctors have determined that Holt has a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma called Anaplastic Large T-Cell lymphoma.
Below is a picture of Holt’s family. Alden used to teach in Frisco, but she became a stay at home mom when she had Holt. She also used to do a little part time work at her church (Preston Trail), but right now she’s focusing all of her time and attention on Holt. Jeff is an English teacher and Varsity football coach at Boyd High School, right here in McKinney.
Alden is also pregnant and due in December. So, not only will they be undergoing treatment with Holt, she will also be caring for a sweet little newborn.
The preliminary treatment plan focuses on chemo. Holt received his port on Tuesday, and he’s already received his first 2 chemo treatments.
Holt will receive 6 “blocks”, or rounds, of chemo in three-four week cycles equaling out to about 6 months of treatment. Every block of treatment begins with a 5-6 day hospital stay where Holt will receive chemo for 5 days in a row and then we will head home for about 2 weeks.
Holt will receive 6 “blocks”, or rounds, of chemo in three-four week cycles equaling out to about 6 months of treatment. Every block of treatment begins with a 5-6 day hospital stay where Holt will receive chemo for 5 days in a row and then we will head home for about 2 weeks.
Just like all of us would do for our own children, Jeff and Alden are going to do whatever they need to do to get their boy the best treatment they can. They are a financially responsible young couple, but they were not prepared for this, as I don’t think many families would be.
This sweet family has gone through so much, and they still have such a long road ahead. I would be thrilled if our little community came together to help, The power behind each of us giving even just $10 each could have such an impact! Would y’all join me? Let’s rally together to take some of the financial burden of fighting cancer off of Alden and Jeff. Let’s give them a little peace of mind during this stressful season.
WHAT AN INCREDIBLE GIFT THIS COULD BE!
I HAVE 3 EASY WAYS YOU CAN DONATE TODAY:
- GO FUND ME DONATIONS
If you would like to give directly to the family through their Go Fund Me account, you can click here. Any amount would be so greatly appreciated. Personally, I don’t want Alden and Jeff to spend one second worrying over the financial aspect of this journey. I want them only to focus on their precious boy.
Click HERE to to get to their Go Fund Me page.
Please take a minute to watch this beautiful video that my friend Andrea made for Holt. The audio that you hear of Holt’s little voice was from earlier this year when they were in Philadelphia for some testing. They had been at the hospital that day, and a ton of doctors had been running tests on his eyes (they first thought he had eye cancer). Holt refused to open his eyes for like 24 hours after the procedures because he was so scared, and Alden captured this moment between them on her iPhone.
We all have a lot to learn from Holt. He has such an incredible faith.
2) YOU CAN PURCHASE A T-SHIRT
If you watched the video, then you know that the t-shirt below honors Holt perfectly. Chris and I will both be sporting the dark grey adult version, and Carter will be wearing the light grey kid version. They are ONLY $15! I of course love that the proceeds will go straight to Holt’s family, but I also love the idea of people wearing these tees and sharing Holt’s story!
This t shirt campaign will run until October 14th. At that point, it will close and then shirts will be printed and shipped. Estimated arrival is October 30th.
Alden also has a good friend that designed some super cute t-shirts with Alden’s faith in mind. Click HERE to see the t-shirts that were inspired by Alden. Love!
3. BUY A HOLT NECKLACE
My friends at Accessory Concierge have worked so incredibly hard over the last week to create this gorgeous and very special necklace that we are calling THE HOLT. They are graciously going to give 20% of the sales straight to Alden’s family. I’m so thankful for this!
I am SO PROUD of this necklace and my Accessory Concierge friends. When I approached them with this idea, they happily jumped in and got to work! It is PERFECTLY Fall and will go with so many different outfits. I love SHOPPING FOR A CAUSE, and I hope y’all do too! And don’t just shop for yourself, this would be a great time to stock up on Christmas presents AND help a wonderful family.
These FABULOUS necklaces would typically retails for $48, but the special price is $24. Code: INCREDIBLEHOLT
And here it is on me! I’m telling you, you NEED this necklace!
Let’s all come together to contribute to this cause and support this incredible family! I know that our community could be such a blessing to Alden, Jeff, and Holt.
In addition helping to ease this financial burden, we would also greatly appreciate your prays for Holt, the family, and the doctors. To follow along with their journey and keep up to date with specific prayer requests, click HERE. Alden writes beautifully about her faith and this journey. And for those of you that like to pray for very specific needs, Alden does a great job listing very pointed prayer requests.
And to review, here are ways to help:
- Donate to GO FUND ME
- Buy a T-Shirt (The Incredibe Holt tee or Alden’s tees)
- Buy a Holt Necklace
- PRAY
WE LOVE YOU, HOLT! You have THOUSANDS praying for you!
Have a great weekend, friends!
XO
I have THE BEST friends! Thanks so much for dedicating today to sweet Holt! Love you so much!
Sweet, sweet Holt. xoxoxo
Praying for this sweet family! His mama’s faith is amazing!!
Just heartbreaking! Praying for this whole family.
This is exactly why I love following you girls….continued prayers for sweet little Holt!!!
praying for this sweet little boy and his family… her faith sounds amazing!!! so glad to donate!
Thank you for hosting. I love sharing with your readers and always find inspiration here. Have a blessed week! #OverTheMoon #WWBlogHop #ThursdayFavoriteThings