Help Our Autistic Sister Melinda Fight Cancer

Melinda is the heart of our family. If you've had the chance to get to know her or heard any of us speak about her, it’s easy to see why. When I was little maybe about 6 or 7, I remember being so proud of a story I wrote for my class that I called “My Special Sister.” It explained who Melinda was, what autism is, and why I love her so much. As her little sister I felt we have always had an incredibly deep connection. I always felt like I knew how to communicate with her, even if it wasn’t always through words. It doesn’t take much to make Melinda happy. It is the smallest things like singing her favorite Disney songs at the top of her lungs, or watching the same part of a video that’s making her laugh over and over again. I can’t hear “A Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid without hearing her voice singing it in my head. It always makes me smile and sing along. There is also simply nothing my family wouldn’t do for her - whether it’s my parents stockpiling VCRs because she still only watches videocassettes, or scouring every corner of the internet for toys we had as kids because she suddenly had to have back the same doll she’d gotten for her birthday in 1994. She loves a holiday too so we always go all out for her. Christmas and her birthday are her favorite!

In the Fall of 2021 Melinda was diagnosed with colon cancer. She underwent surgery and was a total warrior. She recovered quickly and has been in great spirits ever since. My parents continued to take her to follow-up appointments that all had positive results until recently. Unfortunately, at her last appointment she was diagnosed with advanced stage 4 cancer, the scans showing that it has spread to her abdominal wall. We’ve been told that this is usually incurable and to brace ourselves for what is next. As you can imagine, this has deeply shocked and saddened our family but we are determined to stay strong, positive, and continue to give Melinda the best life we possibly can. With her autism it is hard for her to understand what is happening or to verbalize her pain and needs to us, which we know will be an enormous challenge. As we navigate all of this, our biggest priority is to make sure Melinda is as comfortable as possible. My parents have been her primary caregivers for her entire life, well into their own retirement, and they intend to remain that way and help her live as happily and fully as possible.

A huge part of ensuring her comfort moving forward is working with an alternative treatment clinic in conjunction with her doctors. Our family has done a lot of research and found a clinic that we feel can really help her. They have seen results shrinking or even help curing cancers even more severe than hers so we are hopeful it can at least help her. Sadly, these alternative treatments are not covered by insurance and are incredibly expensive. It was explained to us treatment will be well over $100,000. The bills will quickly pile up for my family, but we want to do what we think is best for her, whatever the cost. That’s why I’ve started this page. We simply cannot afford this alone, even though we desperately want to. Know that if you can help even a little, it will contribute to keeping Melinda strong, happy, and as pain-free as possible - which is all that we want for her.

If you cannot contribute financially, of course we completely understand. All that we ask is that you please keep Melinda in your prayers, help lift her up with a smile and a great big hug (she loves hugs so much!) If you could help share this with even one person, we’d appreciate it more than we can say. We love you so much Melinda, fight this cancer!