Matthew Hollandsworth

Hi, I’m Troy Hollandsworth, Jr. I am trying to raise support for my son’s (Matt Hollandsworth’s) day to day living expenses, while he is waiting on his appeal hearing with SS Disability. My wife & I have been assisting him during this time, but he needs further assistance. Below is the story from my son in his own words.

My son’s story:

My issues started early in the morning in Mid-Apil of 2021. I was getting up to get ready to go to work. I was having issues with my sinuses that morning and when I got up, I went to the restroom and my major problems started. I started having chronic diarrhea. I called my doctor’s office and told them of my sinus and my diarrhea issues. They immediately told me to come to the office for an appointment. They were thinking it was Covid-19 or the Flu. Fortunately, I tested negative for both. They said that I had a sinus infection. I finished the course of antibiotics. My sinus infection was better, but my diarrhea was still an issue. I then called my doctor’s office again about my chronic diarrhea. My PCP first thought it was being caused by the course of antibiotics that I just completed. I had to inform them that I had the diarrhea before I was ever on the antibiotics. Once I informed them of that my PCP started trying to diagnose my problem. That started a mountain of blood tests and cultures trying to see what was going on and starting me on prescription medication to slow down my diarrhea. Due to my chronic diarrhea I had to miss work, as my diarrhea was chronic (fifteen to sixteen times per day.) When the results of the tests started coming back in, it had my PCP scratching his head as the results weren’t conclusive and the prescription medication didn’t slow down my diarrhea. Upon discussion of my having a family history of colon cancer, my PCP ordered me to have a colonoscopy and to have x rays of my abdomen. One of our local general surgeons preformed the colonoscopy. He believed that I had non-specific Colitis and Irritable Bowel Syndrome Type D. He then prescribed three medications for me with two of them being the same medication that my PCP had previously prescribed that didn’t work. Upon starting the medication again, my stomach and insides started burning like I was on fire inside. I called the surgeon, and they took me off those same medications and turned my care back over to my PCP. All this time, I am still unable to go back to work. My PCP ordered for me to have an ultrasound and a HIDA scan. The ultrasound results just showed fatty liver disease. The HIDA scan results showed that I have low ejection fracture from my gallbladder to my liver. I was then referred to the general surgeon at Carilion Clinic. He said that I was too high risk for him to safely remove my gallbladder, plus I didn’t have any gallstones and just because it was low ejection was no need to take it out. Which I was happy not to have to have surgery. As I am a large person, he referred me to Carilion Clinic’s Medical Weight Loss Clinic for my weight and my chronic diarrhea issues was referred to my PCP again. I had wondered to myself and upon hearing that I was having diarrhea problems, my neighbor reached out to me because she was having the same GI issue. In comparing notes our symptoms were the same and we discovered that we had the same brand of Covid-19 vaccine. I then asked my PCP office if the covid vaccine could have caused these issues. My PCP’s office researched it, and it was found in the case studies that our brand of the Covid-19 vaccine had been known to cause Colitis in the trial members. Most everyone that had colitis from the vaccine, their issues resolved themselves in nine weeks. But unfortunately, my case didn’t resolve itself. I was left with the chronic diarrhea.

By this time, it was June of 2021, and I was still unable to return to work, so I had to resign from my job. My PCP had done all he knew to do, so he referred me to Carilion Clinic’s GI department, and I began to see my first specialist for the next couple of months. She kept me on the one medicine that I was still on to try to slow me down. Which didn’t work correctly either. She ran more blood test and cultures, and she couldn’t come up with a diagnosis either. I asked her could this have been caused by the Covid-19 vaccine and I was immediately dismissed of that question as she couldn’t believe that it was. I had a couple more appointments with my first specialist and more test which were still not providing a clear cause to my problem. She felt like that I needed to be transferred to another specialist for further evaluation. I was then sent to my second specialist.

By this time, it was the first part on 2022, and I was still unable to go back to work. I started seeing my second specialist and she started running even more bloodwork and cultures. She also ordered a second colonoscopy and an upper endoscopy which do to several backlogs, I at still waiting for these tests. She also ordered a capsule endoscopy, where I swallow a camera inside of a capsule and it takes pictures of my GI system. I completed that test in early summer of 2022. That test didn’t show anything profound. I also asked this specialist if this could have been cause by the Covid vaccine that I received, and she also immediately dismissed my question stating that it couldn’t be the vaccine. After this she referred my case over to the doctor that read my capsule endoscopy.

In the fall of 2022, after my own research and regular food allergy testing (which I am not allergic to any foods in general) I asked my PCP if he would check me for Alpha Gal, thinking that could be part of my problem. He ran the test, and I came back positive for Alpha Gal. Alpha Gal is a new discovery, where a person is allergic to a substance that is in mammal meat. I can no longer eat beef, pork, venison, or anything that is mammal meat. My Alpha Gal numbers were so high that I now must keep an EpiPen with me at all times in case I have an allergic reaction to something. Unfortunately, dropping mammal meat from my diet didn’t stop my GI issues.

Also, during the fall of 2022, I was scheduled to start seeing my next specialist. At this appointment I saw a team of two specialists. One was the regular specialist and the other was a doctor that is in a fellowship with the GI department. Upon discussion with both, they thought that it could be dairy, or sugar free foods causing this and suggested coming off both of those food groups as well. I came off dairy and that didn’t change anything. As I am a diabetic, I reached out to my endocrinologist to ask about stopping sugar free foods. She stated that I should avoid the sugar free food with sugar alcohols in them (which I was already not eating,) but the other sugar free items I would be fine still using. I also, asked them if this could be caused by the Covid vaccine and the answer I got from them was, “Well, we can’t say that it is, and we can’t say that it isn’t. You may be the only one it affected that way.” So, basically, they dismissed it to. I left the appointment with the two specialists not knowing any new information and I was very frustrated. I am currently still waiting on my next colonoscopy and upper endoscopy which has finally been scheduled for early 2023.

I am at my wits end waiting for a diagnosis and stressed out not being able to work as I am used to doing. I went to work when I was seventeen and not being able to work now is very depressing.

Any help that you can give will be greatly appreciated and I hope to be able to pay it forward in the future.