By JESSIE HORTON
TheFlashToday.com NEWS & SPORTS – FREE & LOCAL
DUBLIN (March 29, 2015) — March hasn’t been easy for the Holt family in Dublin, but they say they’re counting their blessings and hoping for more as the month draws to a close.
“Chey will be scheduled for surgery on Good Friday at 10 a.m.,” said Bonnie Holt.
Cheyenne Holt, Bonnie’s teenage daughter and a Dublin High School senior, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer a few weeks back following an injury during a softball game against Stephenville. Cheyenne was involved in a pick-off play and hurt her neck. The resulting CT scan revealed a mass, which was discovered to be cancer, and doctors recommended surgery to remove it.
Bonnie Holt said the surgery would be preformed by doctors in Houston. She said the surgery would take an estimated five to six hours and then Cheyenne would have to stay in the hospital about two days.
While this tragedy has seemed insurmountable, Bonnie said they’ve felt blessed to live and have friends in Dublin. Cheyenne works part-time at Golden Chick in Dublin and as soon as news broke, the owners and mangers of the store planned a fundraiser for the Holt family, saying they understood the high cost of healthcare. Already hundreds of Dublin residents have come into the store to make purchases, and for each purchase, the store will donate $1 to a fund to help cover costs. The Stephenville Golden Chick has a donation jar set up as well.
But Golden Chick isn’t the only business accepting donations. Bonnie said donation jars are also in Brookshire Bros. in Dublin, Bradberry’s Best, Backroads Grill, Chigger Ranch, Dublin Dairy Queen, TexasBank in Dublin, Dublin National Bank, First National Bank, Granny Clark’s, Dublin Golden Chick, Dublin Chamber of Commerce, Barbed Wire and Lace, Southern Charm and Higginbothams. She said there is also a special account open at Dublin National Bank for the donations.
Residents are planning more, too. The Flash has been informed that there will be a garage sale held in Cheyenne’s name on Saturday, April 4, from 8 a.m. until everything is gone. The sale will be held at 710 N. Grafton in Dublin. All donations and proceeds from the sale will be going to Holt’s medical fund. Reports suggest members of Double N Church and residents from all over Dublin have donated items for the sale.
“It means so much to us and is so humbling to see so much kindness from our neighbors and others in the community,” Bonnie said. “This is an awfully hard time, but we’ve felt truly blessed through the whole experience.”
The fundraiser at the Golden Chick in Dublin will continue through the close of business, Friday, April 10. And the jars will be out approximately the same amount of time.
Prayers and best wishes for the Holt family during this most dofficult time