Who is Hour House?
The journey with a chronic health condition, mental or physical, comes with so many different emotions and defining moments along the way.
In our moments of quiet despair, when left alone with the tsunami of fears and not an answer in sight, how do we know what to do next? How do we deal with the quicksand of emotions and the moments of lonely isolation that accompany the journey?
Imagine finding a whole community of people, much like you. Facing similar struggles, and feeling similar frustrations. The stories are different, but familiar, the conversations as welcoming as a hot cup of coffee at a good friend’s house. This house is Hour House.
When the storms of life come, and the clouds roll in, we are here to tell you, this time, things can be different. This time, go get your umbrella, it’s time to dance in the rain!
No more wasted moments. Every moment; every hour; every day matters! Come on over to Hour House. Hour by hour, we’re making an impact, we’re making a change. It is time for some new defining moments in your life!
Meet Holly Jespersen
Holly Jespersen faced life-long, health challenges that she was determined to find answers to. Raising three children, while being confronted daily with the unknowns, the fears and a constant reminder of the seriousness of her situation created difficulty in living every day life. Faced with the fears of what was happening with her body, and the reality of her responsibilities as a mom to 3 precious babies, she coped by focusing on her family and on others, searching for a need greater than hers, doing the things she could do, instead of focusing on what she couldn’t do.
After over two decades of fighting for answers, Holly was faced with a decision. Her research led her to a doctor that possibly held some answers, but there were no guarantees. The possibilities were set across the globe in London, England. Holly had to decide whether to take the risk, that this time could be different. This time, maybe the answers would come…….knowing she was creating an even larger financial burden with her decision. What if she was wrong, and it was a humiliating outcome?
Her fears and the enormous weight of the unknown won out, and she got on that plane.
Holly was met with a kind, compassionate, caring doctor, and a lifetime of mysteries was solved with an expert's keen examination in just 30 minutes! A tsunami of emotions followed, including gratitude for this doctor, and the immense relief of knowing that while there was no cure for Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome-Hypermobility Type, it was manageable. While she had some heart repercussions, it wouldn’t affect her life span. At 42 years young, with three littles to raise, her biggest fear of not knowing what was wrong, was put to rest, and the She had the profound awareness that had she been found to have EDS-Type 5, the news would have been far more grave, as the life expectancy for EDS-Type 5, was 40. She was right to have been so concerned.
After all the years of misdiagnosis, of being accused of malingering, and told all she needed “was a little rest”, years of not being believed, gratitude washed over her to the very core of her being.
Gratitude for finally having answers, gratitude for the life yet in front of her, and gratitude that while there is no cure, to date, for EDS, it is something that, though notoriously painful, it’s something that can be effectively managed.
Holly felt how fragile life is and even expresses so much gratitude for that! She takes nothing for granted! Not a day goes by that she doesn’t realize how blessed she is for every moment of every hour of every day.