THANKS TO YOU the Milgrim’s home is now safe!

THANK YOU!!!! Your donations and volunteer help allowed us to make the Milgrim’s home a safe place for Kelby to continue his journey to heal completely from colon cancer.

To support Kelby & Melody personally as they continue to recover hand in hand, a separate gofundme has been set up. Donations can be made at this link: https://gofund.me/60c034e3

ADDITIONAL NEEDS: As a result of Kelby’s extended cancer battle, lost wages and the additional time Melody took off work to care for her hubby, they have personal and home care needs. 

HOW IS KELBY DOING IN HIS CANCER BATTLE?

After 8 rounds of chemo, an 8-hour liver resection surgery, 2 additional surgeries to address the colon cancer, asymptomatic covid, 4 paracentesis procedures and 1 thoracentesis surgery, at his weakest point Kelby’s weight dropped to a mere 140 lbs and simply consuming enough nutrients to heal became a major part of his battle.

At this point he’s bulked up to 153lbs (with 15 more lbs to go) and has begun to regain strength but resting is still a major part of the daily game plan. He returned to the classroom and his students on July 30, a bit tired and still pushing to overcome pain but happy to be moving forward. He requests continued prayers.

Soon Kelby will have a PET scan to determine what’s happening with the cancer in his colon. If it’s still there he will have surgery to remove a section of his colon. If nothing lights up then it’s just a matter of monitoring his body every few months with a PET scan (for up to five years).

Your prayers, encouragement and support have been so greatly appreciated!


SPECIAL THANKS TO: Les Billings, Natalia. Glenn, Paulita and Julianna Thomas, Tammie Moore, Christina Ochoa, Nita & Tiana Kauffman, Marja, The Beckers, The VanHoffwagons, Frank & Levi, Ben Harris, John Lynch, Monica and everyone who made donations to the campaign to help make the Milgrim's home safe. 

 

GREAT NEWS!!

HERE'S WHAT WE ACCOMPLISHED  WITH YOUR HELP:

HOLY COW! Before Kelby was diagnosed and began his journey to recover from cancer he attempted to trim one of the enormous trees on his property himself. Unfortunately the branch knocked him to the ground and crushed the back end of his pick-up, leaving a dent approximately 8” deep. Somehow Kelby survived the incident without major injuries. Sadly, the tree later dropped another heavy branch and totaled his wife, Melody’s vehicle.

CITED BY THE CITY: It occurred to me the Milgrim’s might need help, but it wasn’t until the City of Phoenix cited their property for “dead limbs” and sent notice requiring  them to have the issue resolved that I decided to take a look.

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!! Unfortunately, due to Kelby’s slowly declining health (they didn’t realize he had colon cancer until it was very progressed and debilitating to the point nearly half his liver was removed) combined with a broken irrigation system and several years of drought, approximately 20 trees are in desperate condition.

HOW BAD IS IT? I was shocked to realize the magnitude of the issue. Their front/back yards were designed by a Master Gardener who LOVED trees.

One enormous cottonwood split into 3 sections, hitting block walls and falling into 2 neighboring yards and across the Milgrim property. One trunk currently rests, suspended 7’ above ground in the center of another tree it split on the way down.

Another tree’s dead limbs reach vertically 30-feet straight into the sky. There is no way for an untrained individual to make the needed cuts without risking their life in the process. Thankfully none of the tree branches have crushed the Milgrim’s roof or home yet.

The back and side yard are a fire hazard due to the volume of dead limbs, plant matter and debris.

HOW CAN I HELP? The donation goal has been met for this project. Thank you!

WHAT’S THE PLAN? We signed a contract with “SavaTree”. They’ll have two crews plus a crane onsite all day August 19 to remove all dead trees and the large, dead limbs front & back, lift debris from the yard using the crane and fill a dumpster. (NOTE: This is an amazing rate. As a landscape designer, I’ve worked with Roy at “SavaTree” in the past. When I explained the Milgrim’s life of service as teachers, Kelby’s efforts which provided hundreds of face shields for Mayo hospital First Responders in the wake of the Covid outbreak, Kelby’s ongoing cancer battle and their desperate need due to having missed so much work over the past year, SavaTree gave us an estimate that is probably $4.5K below standard pricing for a job of this magnitude.)

• VOLUNTEERS DID ALL THIS:
• DONE! Saturday, July 17 (6am-noon) We need help to move small dead branches, trash and debris into Phx bulk trash.
• DONE! Friday, July 30 & Saturday, July 31 (6am-noon) After bulk pickup we need strong help to load up additional tree limbs and two old broken jacuzzis into a dumpster.
• DONE!!Friday, August 20 & Saturday, August 21 (6am-noon) We need volunteers to help move piles of cut large branches into a 20 yard dumpster for pick-up.

HAS WORK BEGUN? Yes! A small team of volunteers spent 7 days on the Milgrim property to clear debris, branches and make the side gate accessible, the back and front yards were cleared of debris, SavaTree made the professional cuts and removed dead trees and limbs, and a Landscape Crew arrived the following day to put on the finishing touches and make the front yard a clean and safe place to come home to.

WHAT WILL VOLUNTEERS DO? Done! Carry limbs & debris to trash bins, rake leaf litter, and crack jokes as needed for fun. Please bring gloves, rake/tools and a water bottle. IF you have experience trimming small tree branches, please let us know. We’ll need additional help trimming smaller trees on Friday, Aug 20th. **TAKE HOME tree trunks or branches for personal use? Please use the contact button or text Kristi asap to make arrangements.**THANK YOU!!

WHEN CAN I VOLUNTEER?

• Done!
• Use the contact button to send your name & the date you’re available to volunteer. Drinks & snacks provided. Thank you!

 

FUNDING GOALS: Met!

$5500 SavaTree Arborists* Funded! (50% deposit made to secure the date. THANK YOU!!!!!)

$460 20-yard Dumpster Funded! (Dumpster has been delivered and is half full THANK YOU!!!)

$60 Extra ton waste fee Funded!

$960 Additional labor (Sm tree/Irrigation) Funded!

$0-$349 (GoFundMe fees/you can select $0) Funded by an additional donation of $210 from Esther Clack and Sheldon Muecke. THANK YOU!!!!!

$6980 - $7329 = Total funding needed Fully Funded.

THANK YOU!!!!!