Paying it Forward

  • Denice Rovira Hazlett
  • November 3, 2011
  • 355
                        
Summary: Robin Lydic knows what it's like to be shocked by a loved one's cancer diagnosis. She was shown 10 years ago what it feels like to be loved by a caring community. Now, she's paying it forward by organizing a benefit meal and auction for the Jason Hoxworth family. Story: On May 28, 2011, Memorial day weekend, Jason and Debbie Hoxworth and their four young children were sharing dinner together, enjoying some much-appreciated family time, when their eldest son, Jake, noticed something unusual about his father, prompting a question that would change their lives. "Why are your eyes yellow, Dad?" Debbie checked the whites of her husband's eyes and found that, sure enough, they were disturbingly discolored. "We looked it up online," said Debbie Hoxworth, "and realized right away that this was pretty bad." The Hoxworths reached their doctor who urged them to have blood work done immediately. Initially, the results pointed to a bacterial infection or reaction to an unknown chemical, but when his bilirubin count skyrocketed from the typical one to a whopping 39, it was clear that something more serious was happening in Jason Hoxworth's body. Two months later, after a series of tests, Jason Hoxworth was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, cancerous tumors of the bile duct, a very rare disease affecting about 2 out of 100,000, mostly men over 65. Cholangiocarcinoma can cause frequent infections, liver failure, and, if found to be inoperable, can spread to other organs. With treatment, half of patients with cholangiocarcinoma live one year, while half can live longer. If complete removal of the tumor is possible, less than half of patients survive five years or more. Debbie Hoxworth said that, given the location of the tumors and Jason's young age of 37, it was hard for the doctors to believe what they were seeing. "We just decided that we weren't going to try to make sense of it," said Debbie Hoxworth. "We were just going to take the information we had and move forward with it." When surgeons attempted to remove the tumors, they discovered that lesions had spread outside of Jason Hoxworth's liver and moved into his vascular supply, making removal impossible. Transplant was not an option. "That's when the choices became a little more limited," said Debbie Hoxworth, who also discovered that, for cholangiocarcinoma, chemotherapy and radiation are not generally effective. And while the prognosis looks, at best, discouraging, the Hoxworths are believing for a miracle. "Jason's not a statistic. He's a human being created by a God who had a big plan for him 37 years ago. We've been given a life to live, so we're going to live it." The family is also keeping their eyes open for every good thing that comes their way. "There are blessings every day, but you only find them when you're looking for them," said Debbie Hoxworth. "We find ourselves looking for them a lot more often than we did before." Debbie Hoxworth said the blessings they find are almost always unexpected, and have most often come through the love and concern of others in the community. "People have asked how they can help out. Businesses who make their living doing services for other people have offered to do our yard work and clean our house for free. Because of the community's care, we've spent more tears in gratitude than in sadness." One of those people is Robin Lydic. Lydic worked with Jason Hoxworth at Millersburg True Value and knows what many others do, that's he's an all-around great guy who's always willing to help. Lydic also knows what it's like to have life rocked by cancer. Ten years ago, her son, Reece, then just 21 years old, came out of a routine chiropractic visit which revealed a lump on his neck. It was Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that originates in the white blood cells. "I was in shock," said Lydic. "We'd never had cancer in our family." To help the Lydics with expenses, two close friends, Dana Wengerd and Chris Hawkins, organized a benefit for Reece, who has now been cancer-free for nine and a half years. When Lydic heard about Jason Hoxworth's diagnosis, she wanted to do something similar for his family. "It's kind of a pay-it-forward thing," said Lydic. With the help of others in the community, Lydic has organized a Swiss steak dinner, auction and raffle for Saturday, Nov. 19 at the Killbuck VFW. The meal will begin at 4:30 p.m, the auction at 7:00 p.m. "We'll serve the same meal served at Reece's benefit--a Swiss steak dinner, scalloped potatoes, and roll and butter," said Lydic. The cost for the meal is $10 for adults and $8 for children under 10. The auction will feature an Amish handmade quilt, Millersburg Glass, Christmas items, tools, furniture and more. The benefit will also feature a 50/50 raffle, a chance to win a Remington 870 shotgun and a second handmade quilt. Raffle tickets can be purchased ahead of time by contacting Lydic at 330-473-8821. Donations are still welcome, and no item is too small. "People sometimes think their gift is too small," said Lydic. "At Reece's benefit, someone donated a John Deere throw worth $25. It started a bidding war that brought in $2,000." Debbie Hoxworth said that it's support like this that caused the couple, who both grew up in Holmes County, to stay here and raise their four children, believing that it was a caring community. "We know now, without a doubt, that this was the right thing. We can't imagine how scary and lonely this would be if we were anywhere else." Spurred on by such support, and despite daily challenges, the Hoxworths are staying positive. "We serve a great big God, and anything is possible," said Debbie Hoxworth. "Whatever happens, we know it's going to be okay, because we're not alone."


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