08/12/2020
Making connections and being a facilitator is what Jackie Eastwood of Durham loves. This includes sharing her medical experiences with friends and colleagues with candor and concern. Whenever there’s an opportunity to positively impact their health and well-being, she is there. Five years ago, Eastwood’s ability to be out and about, serving on various boards and traveling in support of multiple organizations, was severely curtailed by worsening pulmonary issues: “I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t leave the house. My fear factor – just not knowing what was wrong with me – was sky high.”
“I was often in respiratory arrest, and even after many visits to the ER and misdiagnoses, nobody could figure out what was wrong,” says Eastwood. She found the answers – and relief – at Wentworth Health Partners Seacoast Pulmonary Medicine at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital. Eastwood was suffering from Tracheal bronchial malacia – a rare condition that is often difficult to accurately diagnose. It occurs when the walls of the airway (specifically the trachea and bronchi) are weak. This can cause the airway to become narrow or collapse. Depending on the condition’s severity, treatment options may include surgical correction.
Says Eastwood: “Accurate diagnosis helped me immediately access the care I needed for successful treatment – in my case, tracheoplasty surgery to reinforce the deteriorated cartilage in the trachea.” Eastwood has been so pleased, she shares her story at every opportunity with friends, such as Paul and Anna Grace Holloway of Rye. Paul Holloway also was dealing with breathing issues. “I told Paul about Seacoast Pulmonary,” says Eastwood “because I was so confident that he would get the same level of care I did. We both had the good fortune to get the right diagnosis and then the right treatment. Paul and I are now ‘rehab buddies.’ I also did what’s called ‘pre-hab’ before my surgery, which included breathing exercises to help strengthen my body for better results.”
After Paul’s successful treatment, the Holloways were inspired to fund the Holloway Challenge, a philanthropic initiative to help expand the Pulmonary Services Program by challenging the Wentworth-Douglass Foundation to raise $150,000 in three years to match the couple’s gift of $150,000. The total of $300,000 will support advanced pulmonary care for patients throughout the Seacoast area.
Eastwood applauds this “generosity with a mission.” She says, “The Holloway Challenge is right in the wheelhouse of building awareness and support for a program that can benefit so many. Most everyone knows about cardiology, oncology, orthopedics and other specialties, while pulmonary medicine is perhaps underappreciated and underfunded. You often don’t even know about pulmonary medicine until you need it.”
“Another friend of mine, Beverly Bruce, is also supporting the Holloway Challenge. She saw the pulmonary team, and she, like me, says that from the very first visit, she had complete confidence because of the time they took and the way she was treated.”
The Holloway Challenge will elevate all aspects of the program to help educate and assist patients in taking control of the challenges and symptoms of pulmonary disease. The Holloway Challenge is – at its core – a concrete investment in supporting wellness and quality of life.
Says Eastwood: “I want to help broaden the scope of people who are actively engaged with this wonderful program. My advice for anyone experiencing difficulty with breathing: ask for a referral to the pulmonary specialists at Seacoast Pulmonary. The entire staff is so good at what they do. They not only love healthcare, but they know how to deliver it with a personal, caring touch.”
Donors who contribute to The Holloway Challenge will make a big impact in two ways. Their dollars will be doubled by the Holloways’ generosity, and vulnerable patients will get the help they need to navigate complex pulmonary conditions.
We invite you to learn more by contacting Cristine C. More, CFRE, Chief Philanthropy Officer, at (603) 609-6207 or Cristine.More@wdhospital.org.