09/21/2026
The House Of Pickleball wants to thank everyone for keeping Richard and his family in your prayers. The following update is from his daughter and HOP Co-owner Millie Holloman.
Our family has been through a lot lately. I haven’t posted an update because, quite frankly, there hasn’t been a free moment to collect my thoughts long enough to write one.
Dad had brain surgery on August 5th to remove a meningioma. Amazingly, he was discharged the very next day and initially seemed to be recovering really well. Then, about 10 days after surgery, he suddenly began having focal seizures that looked terrifyingly similar to strokes—facial drooping, difficulty speaking, numbness and weakness on his right side. We rushed him back to the Duke ER, and that began a whole new chapter of his recovery.
Since then, we’ve been navigating seizures, multiple seizure medications and medication changes, confusion, difficulty communicating, and days when he just hasn’t seemed like himself. Some of the medication side effects have been incredibly difficult, and we’re still working closely with his doctors to figure out what is medication-related and what is simply his brain needing time to heal.
There have been glimpses of Dad coming back to us, and we are incredibly grateful for every single one of them. But it has been an emotional roller coaster.
In the midst of all of this, Mom apparently decided it was her turn and got her first-ever kidney stone. Between Mom and Dad, we visited the ER six times in seven days. But don’t worry—we even upped our game at one point by having them both admitted at the same time. And the visits have continued since. At this point, they pretty much know us on a first-name basis.
Somewhere around our third ER visit in a row, my Aunt Susie packed her things and moved in with Mom and Dad to help us. She has been an absolute Godsend. I honestly don’t know how we would have survived all of this without her. She stepped right into the middle of the chaos and helped carry a load that had simply become too heavy for us to carry alone. There truly aren’t words for how grateful we are for her.
And when we haven’t been in an ER, we’ve been at follow-up appointments or making trips back and forth to Duke. There have been ambulance rides, CT scans, X-rays, MRIs, ultrasounds, EKGs, EEGs, labs, more scans, more appointments, more doctors—and more waiting rooms than I could ever count. Some days it feels like our entire lives have revolved around hospitals and doctors’ offices.
Yesterday was supposed to be Mom’s first day recovering from surgery for a kidney stone that absolutely refused to budge… only for them to discover during the procedure that it had somehow managed to slip out unnoticed.
So naturally, because apparently that wasn’t enough excitement for one week, Mom climbed onto a step stool to grab something. As she reached the top step, it collapsed underneath her.
She was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where we learned that she had dislocated her left shoulder, chipped a piece of bone when the shoulder came out of place, and fractured FOUR metatarsals in her right foot—some in multiple places.
Mom is now in the hospital.
To say we are tired would be an understatement. We are overwhelmed. Some days we’re just trying to figure out what needs to happen next and put one foot in front of the other.
But through all of this, we are also incredibly thankful.
Thankful for our family. Thankful for every person who has checked on us, brought food, sent gift cards, sent a message, called, prayed for us, or simply reminded us that we aren’t doing this alone. Thankful for the doctors and nurses who have cared for both of my parents. Incredibly thankful for Aunt Susie. And most of all, thankful for God’s presence through every bit of it—even on the days when it feels like more than we can carry.
God never promised us that life would be easy, but He did promise that we would never have to walk through it alone. And right now, we are holding tightly to that.
If you think about our family, please keep Mom and Dad in your prayers. Pray for Dad’s brain to continue healing and for his clarity and communication to return. Pray that the seizures stay away and that his doctors can continue finding the right balance as his brain recovers.
Please pray for Mom’s shoulder and all of those broken bones to heal well—and maybe pray that we can convince her to stay off step stools for the foreseeable future.
And maybe say a little prayer for the rest of us, too, as we try our best to hold everything together through it all.
We know God is with us in the valleys just as much as He is on the mountaintops. Right now, we’re trusting Him one day at a time.
