Taking a deep, satisfying breath has become a major challenge for Kim Holmes, known to some as a longtime employee of the Bi-Lo on Pine Log Road, and now also for her struggle with idiopathic interstitial pulmonary fibrosis.
The supermarket's former deli and bakery manager is hoping for a double lung transplant, and is the beneficiary of a www.gofundme.com page with a goal of $50,000 in donations.
One of her daughters, Aiken resident Tiffany Holmes, noted that Kim was diagnosed in October with pneumonia and underwent an open-lung biopsy, which resulted in discover of the usually terminal illness.
Kim, an Aiken native and Nicholson Village resident who graduated from South Aiken High School, is to undergo an evaluation in Charleston next week, at the Medical University of South Carolina's transplant center. Hopes are that a double transplant would take care of the problem altogether, Tiffany said.
Fundraisers so far have included fish fries, T-shirt sales, car washes and more, she added.
The patient's family members include husband Lester Holmes and children Michael Glover and Kayla Mealing, along with Tiffany.
Kim's website for donations is www.gofundme.com/m1fv2w
Bill Bengtson, a native of Florence, Alabama, has worked for Aiken Communications since 1996.