Help Kelly Knighton - Cancer Sucks!
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First, screw cancer—it sucks!
Second, if you know Kelly Knighton, then you also know he's a genuine badass of a human being. Fact, not opinion, so continue reading...

December 15th: Kelly has a routine physical, the works: blood, "turn and cough,"... everything! He never hears anything back on his lab results.
December 19th: It's Monday. Kelly goes to work, as usual, with no signs or symptoms. During his first service call, around 9:00 AM, he starts to feel a slight pain in his leg. It gets worse throughout the day. He finishes the day out in significant pain.
December 20th: Kelly goes to work again, in worse pain, all day Tuesday.
December 21st: Kelly attempts to suffer through yet another day in pain—badass like I said—until he can't take it any longer. He calls his physician and schedules a same-day appointment. As he waits to see his doctor a nurse comes out with his lab results. She says the only concern is that he's vitamin D deficient—seems like a good sign. Kelly tells his doctor he thinks he may have pulled a muscle, but ibuprofen does nothing for the pain. His doctor immediately rules out the pulled muscle theory and says it's likely blood clots or an infection. He has more blood drawn then off to Ogden Clinic for an ultrasound of his leg. Later he receives a call from his doctor's office, with the good news that his ultrasound is negative for blood clots but his blood work is now showing that he's anemic—sounds odd. He calls Heidi and tells her the good news. A pharmacist Heidi works with overhears their conversation and asks if she may take a look at Kelly's lab results. She immediately notices that his white blood cell and platelet counts are extremely low—leukemia levels low. They contact Kelly's doctor and insist upon a CRP test and MRI of his leg. His doctor runs the CRP test but is not able to schedule an MRI for weeks—they can't wait weeks. Kelly heads to the ER for an MRI. While awaiting the results they draw a bunch more blood for additional tests and cultures. The ER admits Kelly to the hospital to undergo surgery for a severe infection in his leg. He is also informed that his blood tests are showing signs of leukemia. The surgeon plans to perform a bone marrow biopsy during his surgery.
December 22nd: Kelly undergoes surgery on his right thigh to clean out the massive infection—this is extremely invasive and will take a long time to recover from. The surgeon does not perform the bone marrow biopsy—not sure why. A PICC line is installed to receive IV antibiotics and an echocardiogram is performed to ensure the infection hasn't spread to his heart.
December 25th: Christmas day. Kelly is still recovering in the hospital. He watches his kids open Christmas presents via FaceTime—thank you Apple. On Christmas evening, he is discharged and sent home with instructions to continue taking three doses of IV antibiotics per day.
December 29th: Kelly's has his first appointment with an oncologist. The oncologist performs a bone marrow biopsy.
January 4th: Kelly meets with the oncologist and orthopedic surgeon for follow-ups. Bad news; he is diagnosed with hairy cell leukemia. The oncologist says it's treatable with chemotherapy but he has to be cleared by his orthopedic surgeon of the infection before any chemo treatments can be started. The oncologist orders a CT scan of his chest, abdomen, and pelvis because hairy cell leukemia can also affect the spleen and lymph nodes.
January 16th: Kelly has a CT scan to check for additional areas affected by hairy cell leukemia (still awaiting the results).
January 18th: Kelly has a follow-up appointment with the orthopedic surgeon to determine if he can be finished with the antibiotics—once cleared he will move forward with chemotherapy.
Kelly hasn't been able to work since December 21st and doesn't know when he'll be able to get back to it. Chemo is the pits and will certainly delay his getting back to work even further. The oncologist says it could be a 3 to 6-month cycle and then they'll do another bone marrow biopsy to check the progress.
More updates to follow...
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If you don't know Kelly, he and his wife, Heidi, have 3 daughters together. He is one of the best people I know—kind, loving, and always witty. He is 36 years old and earns a living as a Service and Repair Plumber. The Knighton family does have medical insurance but it's just average. Medical bills are already stacking up and many more will follow. Worse than the medical bills are the missed weeks, and future months, of work.

If you are able, please consider a donation to help a deserving family through this rough spot in their lives. They'll certainly pay-it-forward when he recovers.
Thank you,
Travis & Carly Cable
Second, if you know Kelly Knighton, then you also know he's a genuine badass of a human being. Fact, not opinion, so continue reading...
December 15th: Kelly has a routine physical, the works: blood, "turn and cough,"... everything! He never hears anything back on his lab results.
December 19th: It's Monday. Kelly goes to work, as usual, with no signs or symptoms. During his first service call, around 9:00 AM, he starts to feel a slight pain in his leg. It gets worse throughout the day. He finishes the day out in significant pain.
December 20th: Kelly goes to work again, in worse pain, all day Tuesday.
December 21st: Kelly attempts to suffer through yet another day in pain—badass like I said—until he can't take it any longer. He calls his physician and schedules a same-day appointment. As he waits to see his doctor a nurse comes out with his lab results. She says the only concern is that he's vitamin D deficient—seems like a good sign. Kelly tells his doctor he thinks he may have pulled a muscle, but ibuprofen does nothing for the pain. His doctor immediately rules out the pulled muscle theory and says it's likely blood clots or an infection. He has more blood drawn then off to Ogden Clinic for an ultrasound of his leg. Later he receives a call from his doctor's office, with the good news that his ultrasound is negative for blood clots but his blood work is now showing that he's anemic—sounds odd. He calls Heidi and tells her the good news. A pharmacist Heidi works with overhears their conversation and asks if she may take a look at Kelly's lab results. She immediately notices that his white blood cell and platelet counts are extremely low—leukemia levels low. They contact Kelly's doctor and insist upon a CRP test and MRI of his leg. His doctor runs the CRP test but is not able to schedule an MRI for weeks—they can't wait weeks. Kelly heads to the ER for an MRI. While awaiting the results they draw a bunch more blood for additional tests and cultures. The ER admits Kelly to the hospital to undergo surgery for a severe infection in his leg. He is also informed that his blood tests are showing signs of leukemia. The surgeon plans to perform a bone marrow biopsy during his surgery.
December 22nd: Kelly undergoes surgery on his right thigh to clean out the massive infection—this is extremely invasive and will take a long time to recover from. The surgeon does not perform the bone marrow biopsy—not sure why. A PICC line is installed to receive IV antibiotics and an echocardiogram is performed to ensure the infection hasn't spread to his heart.
December 25th: Christmas day. Kelly is still recovering in the hospital. He watches his kids open Christmas presents via FaceTime—thank you Apple. On Christmas evening, he is discharged and sent home with instructions to continue taking three doses of IV antibiotics per day.
December 29th: Kelly's has his first appointment with an oncologist. The oncologist performs a bone marrow biopsy.
January 4th: Kelly meets with the oncologist and orthopedic surgeon for follow-ups. Bad news; he is diagnosed with hairy cell leukemia. The oncologist says it's treatable with chemotherapy but he has to be cleared by his orthopedic surgeon of the infection before any chemo treatments can be started. The oncologist orders a CT scan of his chest, abdomen, and pelvis because hairy cell leukemia can also affect the spleen and lymph nodes.
January 16th: Kelly has a CT scan to check for additional areas affected by hairy cell leukemia (still awaiting the results).
January 18th: Kelly has a follow-up appointment with the orthopedic surgeon to determine if he can be finished with the antibiotics—once cleared he will move forward with chemotherapy.
Kelly hasn't been able to work since December 21st and doesn't know when he'll be able to get back to it. Chemo is the pits and will certainly delay his getting back to work even further. The oncologist says it could be a 3 to 6-month cycle and then they'll do another bone marrow biopsy to check the progress.
More updates to follow...
----------
If you don't know Kelly, he and his wife, Heidi, have 3 daughters together. He is one of the best people I know—kind, loving, and always witty. He is 36 years old and earns a living as a Service and Repair Plumber. The Knighton family does have medical insurance but it's just average. Medical bills are already stacking up and many more will follow. Worse than the medical bills are the missed weeks, and future months, of work.
If you are able, please consider a donation to help a deserving family through this rough spot in their lives. They'll certainly pay-it-forward when he recovers.
Thank you,
Travis & Carly Cable
Organizer and beneficiary
Travis Cable
Organizer
Bountiful, UT
Kelly Knighton
Beneficiary
