Kelly's Fight

My name is Amie and I created this fundraiser to help my fiancé, Kelly Colbert. Kelly is a kind and gentle man, who loves his job; being responsible and meeting his financial obligations; taking care of his family; listening and playing music; donating food, clothing and toiletries to blessing boxes to help the community—and more.

But he can’t do many of those things now.

At the end of July, Kelly was diagnosed with stage 3 pancreatic cancer and told the large cancerous mass was pressing dangerously against an artery. He immediately began chemo to shrink the mass to enable surgery to remove it, plus prevent the cancer from metastasizing.

Days before Thanksgiving, Kelly’s oncologist gave him the news: Thankfully, the cancer had not spread. But the mass had grown. So, Kelly will begin radiation treatments, in addition to the chemo, after the holiday.

While undergoing treatment, Kelly has been unable to work in the manufacturing industry he has loved for nearly 30 years. The stress over his loss of income prevents Kelly from being able to focus 100% on his health. Though he receives disability payments at two-thirds his salary, it is not enough for normal expenses or to pay medical expenses that are not covered by insurance, a much-needed oil change in his car, or to help with our household expenses, since I am also disabled and on limited income.

This is Kelly’s second emotionally and financially draining fight against cancer—the first one was with his son, Charles.

In 1997, Kelly’s 18-month old son, Charles, was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma (soft tissue cancer). Kelly and his family were at first devastated by the diagnosis and nervous about the effect of such harsh treatment on a toddler. But after bouts of radiation, surgery, and chemo, the cancer went into remission. Kelly was relieved, hopeful and excited for the future.

But when Charles was eight, cancer came back.

This time it was osteosarcoma (bone cancer).

This time, Kelly learned Charles had Li-Fraumeni Syndrome (LFS)—a rare genetic condition that gives those with it a 90% chance of developing cancer in their lifetime. This was also when Kelly learned that he, too, had LFS.

After another round of chemo, radiation and surgery, Kelly prayed his son’s cancer would go into remission. But Charles was diagnosed as terminal. Kelly and his family were devastated. Charles, who had been out-of-state receiving treatment, returned home to be with them.

Kelly, who was working two jobs, took turns with his mom and grandma in caring for Charles, after work and oftentimes taking off from work.

Three months before Charles’s 13th birthday, Charles lost his battle with cancer. Kelly and his family were heart-broken by the loss of a son and grandson. Kelly has never gotten over Charles’ death and the loss has never gotten easier.

Today, Kelly’s fight against cancer brings back memories of what his son went through—but also gives him the strength to fight as hard as Charles fought.

Though he is unable to work, Kelly tries to be productive. He sets small daily goals and I help doing things, like making calls to schedule appointments or return collectors’ calls. Kelly putters around the house doing things like cleaning the carpet, organizing things or making music. On good days, he tires easily and tackles his goals in between naps. On bad days, where the pain and fatigue are more frequent, his goals are barely touched. Instead, he remains in bed all day, eating little and getting up only to use the bathroom.

Kelly has a great network of friends and family for emotional support. But because he is not working, and I have limited income, it has become difficult to makes ends meet.

Any donation would be a blessing and much appreciated. People who know Kelly, know he doesn’t put his personal business out there and finds it hard to ask for help. He often talks about how grateful he is for any help he gets so he can keep his mind off this battle and focus on his healing.

Thank you and God bless.