Tuesday, January 24, 2012

A Big Thanks!!

Tuesday, January 24, 2011
Hi ALL,
        We (Melanie, Kenny and Taya) Would like to first start off thanking all of you for all that you have done for our family! Especially prayers :) We will take all we can get with those :)! We have been so blessed and are so appreciative for that.
           Kenny has been on the B-Raff pills for over a month now and since then he has had 2 checkups. The first one being on the 11th with Kenny's case doctor Dr. Grossman. Before we met with the Doc. Kenny had blood work done. While we were talking to the doc he pulled up his blood work and started to chuckle and said I have got to show you this. Kenny's liver numbers were shot through the roof when we first arrived back in November and according to the graph it's almost back to normal. :)! He said the pills he is taking are working so well on his body! We are so thankful for this little MIRACLE that our Heavenly Father has given us, along with many others he has given us in this trial we are going through. We feel it's because of all the prayers that have been said in Kenny's behalf. Once again we thank you for that! Doctor Grossman said judging by his liver numbers we are probably going to see much different scans (which he is scheduled for new scans on the 7th of February) then when we went in November. Which is a good thing.
          The next appointment he had was on the 18th of this month, to meet with the surgeon doc from when he had the rod put in his leg on the 1st of December.  We don't have much to report from this visit but Doctor Jones said that everything looked like it was healing well which is again another  blessing. He is still going to Physical therapy for it usually 3 times a week. Which he is getting stronger (YEAH)
           Kenny  is feeling really great! Which is AWESOME considering where he was at 2 months ago. His Heals and back are still pretty sore though. We have been very blessed to do some fun things together. Like going to the Utah Jazz home opener and sitting on the 4th ROW right smack in the middle :)! Being blessed with a great Christmas because of wonderful people. Going to Kenny's ol High school b-ball games. (this is a must for him and I sure am grateful that he is feeling well enough to go! ) We sure have been more appreciative for the simple things in life! We sure are blessed.
          Next up--Scans on Feb 7th! I am a little nervous. I am sure as time get's closer I will get a little more each day. I am confident that they will look better then when we first went in. Which is very comforting to me. I happen to finish the Old Testament in December which was a New years goal for me to finish it in a year. (I actully accomplished a NY goal, YEAH for me) But decided to start on the New Testament and in every chapter Jesus has healed someone. I feel that there is a very special reason that I am reading this. I believe that God can do what no man can't! Until then I am going to continue to pray that he will beat this! Which I feel he will. A lot of people have asked me what they can do for us. I would just ask you to pray ( which I know a lot of you are) but I believe there is power in numbers.
We just want to thank all of you again, you will never now the gratitude we have felt in our heart's for each of you and that is because there are not enough word's to describe it!
Love, Melanie Kenny and Taya

Friday, December 9, 2011

We have another update for this blog.  My mom emailed this information and asked me to post it to our blog.  Thank you to everyone for your support....  We love and appreciate you all!!

Email From Mom - (Melanie's Mom & Kenny's Favorite Mother In law - SMILE)
December 9, 2011  Kenny had his last radiation treatment at the Huntsman center Tuesday the 6th.  He went back to the Dr. at the Huntsman center today for his check-up. They did an EKG and his heart looks good.  His blood count is under control but his weight is very low.  He’s lost about 27 lbs. now and weighs 129 - not a lot for a 6 ft basketball player. Last time they were there Melanie and Kenny were told they needed to decide whether he wanted to do a clinical trial or use the new oral drug called B-Raf.  They had prayed about it and asked Heavenly Father which would be best.  They were having a hard time knowing so today when the Dr. made the decision for them they were relieved that they didn’t have to choose.  The clinical trial would have meant many more days in the hospital and many more Dr. visits.  The Dr. today said he wanted to skip the next round of Chemo and go right to the oral medicine B-Raf.  Kenny will take pills every day and keep taking them as long as they are helping him – it could be many months.  Melanie said he will be taking 4 pills twice a day.  Kenny feels like he is a little stronger because it’s a little easier to walk  (with the crutches) but he has 4 small tumors on his back and one is pinching his sciatic nerve on the left side and with his surgery being in the right leg he’s kind of gimpy on both sides. The good news is he hasn’t had any pain pills since last Sunday and the Dr.s feel like the B-Raf will help his appetite come back.  He has to go back to the Dr. in 2 weeks and then in 6 weeks he will go back to see his surgeon.  
They have had home health care professionals come to the house to help him and that has been appreciated.  They removed his leg bandages from the surgery to insert the rod in his femur and he is healing well.  Melanie and Kenny want us to pray that the B-Raf works and that there is soon a cure for Cancer.  They can feel Heavenly Father’s love and everyone’s prayers. 
Melanie expressed to me just how much Kenny wants to be able to raise Taya.  Heavenly Father has blessed us all so much to see how He answers prayers and how the Holy Ghost comforts and teaches us.
Tonight when we got home from work another sweet card with money in it was on the door step for them.  Everyone is so kind and loving.  Mike and I are going to the temple in the morning.  We’ll put his name in again and pray harder for them.  They have seen many small miracles and urge everyone to keep praying for them.  They want everyone to know how much they appreciate the support and prayers.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

So many of you have asked about Melanie and Kenny.... The concern you have had for them has been amazing. We do have a little information to share that will give you an idea of how things are going. We thought about starting a new blog that would allow all of you to follow their story, but decided to use this blog. We will continue to update this blog. Thank you for sharing with us in this journey....... This is an email sent to us from my mom on December 5th....

Hi Family, Wanted to let you know there is some positive news to report. Kenny had the rod inserted inside his femor bone last Thursday and the surgery went well. The Dr.s say the tumors in his liver have started to shrink and his liver is functioning at 100% now. They tested him for a particular gene he has to have to use a new oral medicine the Dr.s feel very positive about and he tested positive. They plan to start that after his next round of Chemo which will begin a week from today. He has one more radiation treatment tomorrow and they said with this new medicine he may not have to have any more radiation. The struggle now is getting nutrition in him. He’s having a hard time keeping any food down. Nothing tastes good because it all has a metallic taste because of the Chemo and he’s lost 15 pounds but he hasn’t lost any hair yet (that I can see). But hopefully that will get better while he rests and heals this week. Their RS President told Melanie they have 30 people signed up to bring in food and the elders Quorum decorated their house with Christmas lights so their ward is taking great care of them. They have wonderful people all around them. I hope all of you are doing well.Much love, Mom/ Wendy
Good Morning Friends.  My heart is heavy today and my eyes are quite tired from the tears we have shed over the past week. Our family has been given a trial that definitely has required a lot of prayer and faith by all of us. My sweet baby sister Melanie and her husband Kenny were told a week ago that he (Kenny) may have cancer on his liver. After spending a couple days at the Huntsman Cancer Center our fears were confirmed after testing shows there is Stage 4 Melanoma Cancer throughout his body. My dear sister is 26 years old and Kenny is 27. Sometimes things sure don't seem fair as I am sure all of you have felt at different times in your lives. They have a sweet daughter Taya who is two years old and the light of Melanie & Kenny's lives. Kenny has been admitted into the Huntsman Cancer Center to undergo high treatments of Chemotherapy. Please remember their family in your prayers. Melanie asked me if it was selfish to pray for a miracle. I told her no! We believe in a God of Miracles, so if all of you will join with us in praying for a miracle, we would be so grateful!!
Many of you know we started Chloee's Cards For Cancer when my mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in the spring. We are asking each of you for help in giving Melanie and Kenny a wonderful Christmas. We are selling Chloee's cards for $5.00 per package of 4 cards. All of the money raised will go directly to their family for Christmas, Medical Bills or whatever they need at this hard time in their lives. If you would like to donate without ordering cards, we would be so GRATEFUL!!! Please help us bring a small miracle to their family during this season as we pray for an even bigger miracle for Kenny!!! To place an order for the cards, please email us at ontheavenuelogan@gmail.com or call us at 435-755-8471. We love and appreciate all of you and thank you in advance for your kindness!!!
For more information about ordering our cards, please see the previous post for pricing and card information.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Chloee's Cards For Cancer Earlier this year my mom was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and that was quite a shock for all of us. I am sure it is for everyone who is told they or someone they love has cancer. Of course the first thing I thought of is "What can I do?" "How can I help her?" Other than checking with her everyday to see how she is feeling, there hasn't been much she has needed. She and my dad have been amazing and I am so grateful for their strength.
(My Mom, Dad & Chloee)
So my daughter Chloee (who just turned 6) and I decided to come up with a way to raise money for Cancer Awareness. My Grandma fought breast cancer a few years ago, my Grandpa and Dad have battled Skin Cancer multiple times, my Father In Law was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer and my sister's husband was  diagnosed with Melanoma cancer not quite a year ago at a very young age. I really think cancer affects all of us in one way or another. So here is our idea......
Chloee's Cards For Cancer -
 My Chloee loves to draw and color. We have taken some of her art work and turned them into cards.... She and I have spent many hours cutting, pasting and enjoying being together. Each packet comes with an assortment of four cards and is $5.00 per packet. We will donate part of each sale to help with Cancer Awareness. These are very simple cards, but made with so much love and hope. Hope for every person who is fighting the battle with cancer right now or loves someone who is. We would love your support in this. To place an order, please give us a call at 435-755-8471 or email us at chloeescardsforcancer@gmail.com ~ We are hoping to ship our cards all over the United States. Wouldn't that be a great thing?! Each set of cards comes wrapped in a cute cellophane bag with a darling "PINK" tag that says "Chloee's Cards For Cancer".
 PLEASE Share this with all of your friends - We would love to raise a HUGE amount for this wonderful cause.