Austin Kemmerlin needs our help and prayers

Dr. Austin Kemmerlin is an incredible human being. We from The Joint Chiropractic clinics in the Upstate of South Carolina are incredibly blessed that we get to not only know him but say that he is part of OUR team and family. We knew we would like him immediately because he was eager to care for our patients and to learn everything. He started working with us in August of 2021 and not long after was diagnosed with malignant melanoma on his ear. The news was devastating, but Dr. Austin took lemons and made lemonade. He made it through surgery and treatments all while maintaining his position as an integral part of our team. Then in the fall of 2023 metastatic changes were found in some lymph nodes and he was ready to kick cancer’s butt again. He started his cancer treatments with a positive outlook and as he said in an update to his friends and family his plan is to “treat to beat!” He was doing well with his treatments and started experiencing some significant side effects from the cancer drugs which slowed him down, yet he remained positive and self aware. Just before Christmas he had another biopsy finding out that he needed to change his course of treatment as the one he was on currently was ineffective, yet he remained positive. At the beginning of this year (2024) Dr. Austin had to have surgery to remove the lower third of a parotid gland and multiple lymph nodes and began radiation therapy a few weeks later. The radiation and surgery recovery were tough because this was much more involved than previous treatment and he suffered multiple complications from surgery and painful side effects from his radiation therapy. Then his hair started coming out but Austin was having some good days and was ready to shave it off, survey says he looks pretty cool with his head shaved. He moved onto the next round of treatment, chemotherapy, in March and going into April then he contracted the flu. Dr. Austin still maintained his positivity but admitted that the urge to stay positive was becoming less and less which is natural when struggling for months on end with a re-occurrence of a cancer you thought you had beat. In his last update, about a week ago, he informed us all that the treatments had caused him to develop an immune related Crohn’s disease that he could potentially have to manage for the rest of his life. The oncologist paused his chemotherapy and started infusions to treat this new disease development as well as getting him set up with a GI doctor. He is also starting physical therapy for his shoulder due to his spinal accessory nerve being bruised as a complication to the lymph node removal surgery back in January. The damage to that nerve has caused muscular atrophy to the point that he cannot lift even the covers on his bed. This is NOT where his story ends however because remember I told you about Dr. Austin and his positive attitude and self awareness. The lack of progress since reoccurrence of his malignant melanoma has really done a number on his mental health and he will soon be starting palliative care therapy for mental health. Naturally, a cancer diagnosis of ANY kind can be detrimental to a person’s outlook on their life but Dr. Austin always manages to pull through his own suffering to show gratitude and grace to those he comes in contact with. His heart’s desire, obviously, is to be healed but he also so strongly desires to be back at The Joint Chiropractic caring for the patients that he loves and that love him. The patients ask daily how Dr. Austin is doing and want him to come back too. Not only that, but WE miss him! We miss him in the clinic because he has such a fun and energetic personality. He is an incredibly hard worker and his heart is always to treat people as he would want to be treated. He has always gone ABOVE and BEYOND for his patients and his fellow employees who now call him friend. Dr. Austin is battling through the depression that comes with receiving the worst kind of news on repeat for 6 months in a row but he is BATTLING. Help us help him WIN this fight against malignant melanoma and depression by showing him just how valuable he is not just as a part of our team but as a human being. FUN FACTS ABOUT DR. AUSTIN: -Has 2 beautiful, large, fluffy children…I mean Saint Bernards, Bernie and Nelson ;) -Grew up in the Nascar heart of South Carolina -Loves coffee…not just any coffee but good ole salt of the earth gas station coffee -Beer connoisseur, dude knows a good microbrew and can definitely recommend a solid brewery for your travels -Foodie…say less -LOVES hockey – Go Avs!!! -Loves musical theater and really just music and theater in general -He.Is.Hilarious -FUN should be his middle name