From Steve, Melissa’s husband:

Our Story.

In 2020, our family got the news no one wants to hear. During the height of the COVID scare, my wife, Melissa, developed a mild but persistent cough which would soon be diagnosed as stage-IV lung cancer. Melissa’s lung cancer is a type that is treatable but not curable. Over the following five years, we have lived through the ups and downs of what that means. Endless CT and MRI scans. Laser brain surgery. Multiple brain and spine radiation treatments to kill off areas of metastasis. The side effects of chemotherapies and the “joy” of dealing with health insurance companies that fight us at every stage of new treatment.

Through all of this, Melissa continued to work full time for Hilton. We moved from Baltimore, Maryland to Columbus Ohio in summer of 2023 so she could accept a dream promotion to Director of Group Sales at Hilton Columbus Downtown, where she has a fabulous team of co-workers. Melissa has fought through the side effects and exhaustion that chemotherapy brings, continuing to work full time, because she loved her job and team. She continues to be treated at The James Cancer Hospital and we live by their motto – Keep Making Plans.

In May of this year, as has happened a few times in her ongoing treatment, we discovered that Melissa’s cancer was progressing again, and we’d need to come up with a new chemo plan. While working with her oncology team to develop that plan, Melissa’s cancer caused some issues with her blood platelet counts, which caused a blood clot to develop in her heart, which ultimately led to a debilitating stroke late on the evening of May 22nd. She spent 24 days at The James hospital recovering and getting her cancer back under control with some heavy chemotherapy, then spent 12 days in in-patient rehabilitation working on physical, speech and occupational therapy. She returned home after a combined 36 days in the hospital and rehab and continues out-patient rehab.

Unfortunately, the stroke has made it impossible for Melissa to return to work at this time. Each stroke is unique, and each recovery is unique. We hope that someday Melissa might return to work but the future is unclear in that regard. As a family, we have lost about 60% of our income. I (Steve) am an Army Veteran and high school science teacher in Columbus and now bring in the sole income for the family.

Our goal with this GoFundMe is to raise enough money to refinance our mortgage and make sure Melissa can remain comfortably in our Grove City house. We may also need to make some modifications to the house to support her level of disability. We thank all our friends, family and co-workers for their generous support through this ordeal.