Outer Banks Fundraiser for Sonny Holcomb

By Kip Tabb – 

Dawn and Sonny Holcomb.

Sonny and Dawn Holcomb thought a liver had been found for Sonny’s transplant last weekend. The phone call had been placed, the car was packed and the couple was off to Duke Medical Center. Then word came that the liver was no longer viable and the wait continues to find a match for Sonny.

One table of silent auction items.

There was a fundraiser for Sonny Holcomb last night. Hosted by the Hilton Garden Inn it was a wonderful example of what a giving community the Outer Banks is. Hard to say just how many people were there, but there were well over 100 guests enjoying an excellent buffet from the Garden Inn kitchen and great music from the Crowd. Most importantly, though, it was a major step in helping the couple during a very difficult time.

“I certainly appreciate everything this community is doing for us,” Dawn said.

There are a number of causes for fatty liver disease, and in Sonny’s case genetics would seem to be the culprit. “Both his parents had it,” Dawn said.

It is usually a treatable disease–usually, but not always, and in Sonny’s case, the scarring on the liver is too great and the only cure is a new liver. Although a difficult–and expensive–road to follow, when Sonny gets a new liver he will also have a new lease on life. “The doctors tell us when he gets his liver, it will be like a light switch got turned on,” Dawn says.

There was a lot that went into creating a successful evening, and the reasons why the Outer Banks community seems so willing to come forward and help friends and neighbors in need are varied. Yet in the end, it may be a simple thing that seems to drive what we do; an understanding that the suffering of one may one day be the suffering of any of us, and that ultimately it may be that common thread of humanity that binds us all.

As she looked at the well wishers and talked about the generosity of the people who had come to the fundraiser, Dawn brought everything back to the most basic. “I just want my Sonny back,” she said.

For more information or to donate, go to www.helphopelive.org. Type in Holcomb in the search bar on the right side of the screen.