Melanoma Cancer Fighter

On January 20, 2014, Kelly got the phone call that she had malignant melanoma, which had been previously misdiagnosed for 8 months as a "bug bite". At the time of this phone call, Kelly was 31 weeks pregnant with our daughter, Ava. She has 2 boys, Garrett and Jaxin, ages 3 and 7. We were just a regular family, doing our normal family things, up until then. Kelly was rushed into a wide excision surgery to remove 7 more inches of skin around the original spot, and also a sentinel lymph node biopsy to see if the melanoma had gotten to her lymph nodes. This was all done when she was 32 weeks pregnant, and she had to be awake with a spinal block, as there was no sure way to monitor the baby during this surgery. After 2 very, very stressful days, we got the phone call that the melanoma had, in fact, traveled to one lymph node. This was devastating for our family. Instead of being able to be excited about the birth of our new child, we had to plan PET/CT scans to see if the cancer had spread beyond the regional lymph nodes, and we had to visit numerous oncologists to see what the plan would be after Ava was born. After a grueling 6 weeks of waiting, Kelly was finally induced (also after amniocentesis to see if Ava's lungs were mature) and delivered a beautiful baby girl on March 13, 2014, at 38 weeks pregnant. Currently, Kelly has had all of her scans done, and they look good. This is good news, but she still needs another major, aggressive surgery to remove all of her lymph nodes in her left groin area. This will take place on April 2, 2014. We are counting on this surgery (and very likely a type of chemotherapy) to keep her cancer free. This surgery does not come without side effects...Kelly will not be able to walk without help for a few weeks, she will have quite a bit of pain, and lymphodema (swelling due to build up of lymph fluid is highly likely). Given the fact that she has been on maternity leave for going on 4 weeks now, and only has 6 weeks, she obviously won't have an income for a while. She does have insurance but has a very high deductible, and having 2 small children, and a new baby, AND also battling cancer is taking it's toll financially. If you can help in ANY way possible, our family would greatly appreciate it. Kelly has always been extremely independent, but once in a while, you need to ask for help. We are doing the best that we can, and Kelly is very strong. We know that we will make it through this, and we do appreciate every bit of help that we get. Thank you so much in advance.

***********UPDATE*********
Kelly had her second surgery to remove 13 more lymph nodes from her left groin on April 2, 2014. This was an excruciatingly painful operation for Kelly. Adam has had to take care of not only Kelly, but also their newborn daughter. It's been 3 weeks, but Kelly can still barely walk, as she has also had to battle a staff infection, having to go into her oncologist's office every day for 5 days for IV antiobiotics. All 3 children are back at home with their Mother, who tries her best to get back to normal...but on Monday, April 28th, a 5 week course of interferon will begin. 5 days per week. This will be EXTREMEMLY rough on kelly's body, and she won't be able to care for her children like she normally would. Thank God she has a fiance and even Garrett and Jaxin's dad to help. But, she still has NO INCOME now. No one prepares for cancer. When it hits, you should never have to worry about money when your main concern is surviving! If you can help in ANY way, please do.We need it, and we certainly appreciate it. God Bless you all.