While most of the 2009 graduates from Fort Walton Beach High School have been moving into dorm rooms and deciding on a major, Holly Burke has been fighting for her life.

The Log first spoke to the Destin resident in June when she graduated against great odds and was voted prom queen by her classmates. About six months earlier, she had been diagnosed with clear cell sarcoma, an aggressive form of cancer, which typically strikes younger people through tumors in the soft connective tissues.

After getting the diagnosis, the Burke family moved into Target House in Memphis so that Holly could receive treatments at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital five days a week.

“It’s kinda like a job,” Holly said.

As often happens when a loved one is sick, life has completely changed for the Burke family. Carol, Holly’s mom, had to quit her job managing a condo cleaning service to be with Holly in Memphis. With no income coming in and bills piling up, Carol has been engaged in her own financial struggle.

“One day I realized, oh my gosh, I’m going to lose my home,” Carol said.

Thankfully, Carols fears were put to rest by Rick Scali, owner of Easy Street Pet Friendly Vacation Rentals. When Scali first heard about Holly’s illness, he called Carol and asked how he could help. He started out small.

“When I offered to help, the first thing she asked me to do was fix their porch swing because she said Holly loves to sit out there,” Scali said. “After that, the more I thought about Holly and the circumstances, I was hooked.”

Scali offered to take on management of the Burke home, renting it to vacationers to bring in some income for Carol. His first order of business was to make the home ready for renters and give it some curb appeal. Scali has done repair work, brought in extra TVs, built a gazebo and put a white picket fence around the side yard to make the place pet friendly, absorbing all the labor costs himself.

In addition, Scali said he has made it a priority to find renters for the cute, cottage-style home in the Crystal Beach area, sending mass e-mails to everyone who has ever rented from him. The final touch was giving the home a name.

Soon, a sign on the fence will read Holly by the Sea.

“It makes me feel really good that he is watching over us,” Carol said. “He’s been very protective.”

“Carol’s got more than enough on her mind, this is the least I can do,” Scali said.

Holly by the Sea has already had several renters, but is now vacant again and ready for someone to move in. Scali said he will continue to do all he can to market the home, approaching Snowbirds as they flock to the Emerald Coast.

With a financial crisis averted, the Burkes can focus on what’s important, saving Holly’s life. They need to focus on that fight now more than ever, as doctors just told Holly she might only have another four to six months left.

“Even though I’ve kinda had a rough time recently with the diagnosis, I try and not let it get me down,” Holly said. “The doctors don’t really know.”

Holly hasn’t given up hope, but she has started to think about doing the things she has always wanted to do.

“She says she’s not ready to go,” Carol said. “She wants to tell people about God, and she wants to get married.”
And that dream is about to come true.

On Nov. 7, Holly will marry her boyfriend of two years in a ceremony on a plantation in Greenville, S.C.

“We’ve been talking about it for awhile now, and we just decided to go for it,” Holly said. “It’s been kinda a roller coaster ride from there.”

Everything from the dresses to the food is being planned and taken care of for Holly, but she said she still gets to pick out what she likes. When the Log spoke to her last week, she was gearing up for a limo ride to look at wedding dresses.

Regardless of what doctors say, Holly can’t know what will happen in four to six months. But she can count on walking down the aisle with the man she loves in November.

For now, that is enough certainty for her.

“The diagnosis has just opened my eyes a little more to make sure that I do live everyday to the fullest and make sure I do the things I want to do,” Holly said. “I just put my faith in God, and that’s how I get through”