Stephanie is a great friend of mine who has been going through a tough time. She is a single mom to three wonderful children. Her middle child Gavin was diagnosed with Melanoma Cancer. Her one and only vehicle is a 1999 Toyota Corolla. At this momentit is not even in operable condition. She just needs some help and just doesn’t know how to ask for it. Right now she is having to borrow a car to get Gavin from Canton to Atlanta, Emory Hospital and back. Here is her story in her words:
In August of 2021 when Gavin was just 17 years old he went to the dermatologist for a mole on his scalp that was bothering him. The dermatologist looked at it and because Gavin was scared to remove it the dr said it was ok to stay and that it didn’t look cancerous. Fast forward to November 2021 the mole had grown and now at times bleeding. We went back to the dermatologist and had it removed on a Monday and by Friday I got the call telling me that my son had melanoma. The dermatologist put us in touch with an oncologist surgeon at Emory Winship Cancer Institute and surgery was scheduled for November 29th. Surgery went great and the mole was removed along with two lymph nodes which were already at a stage 3. After surgery Gavin started immunotherapy medication which consisted of 6 to 8 pills daily. These pills made Gavin tired, sick and depressed he didn’t last long on the medication and told his dr he wanted to stop taking them. For the next two years Gavin had MRI’s and CAT scans every 3 months and scans were great. In November on 2023 our stomachs sank again when we were told that one of the scans showed a swollen lymph node in the same area on his neck as before. After consulting with his oncologist and surgeon it was the decision of all that Gavin would begin IV infusions and have 3 doses 3 weeks apart before surgery. January 30th was his last dose and surgery was scheduled for February 19th. The surgeon explained Gavin would be having a neck dissection and it would be a t-bone cut. February 19th came and surgery went well they removed the lymph nodes in the area and a portion of his muscle that the cancer had spread to. Recovery has gone better than we expected he had pain the first two days but after that didn’t complain of any pain. March 5th the tube will be removed and then he will continue with IV infusions for 1 year. Not only is Gavin dealing with cancer he also has Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an inflammation of the esophagus (the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach), caused by a specific white blood cell – the eosinophil. Nearly three-quarters of affected cases occur in white males. So on March 15th he will have surgery to stretch the esophagus. When the gastrointestinal Dr. took a look in his esophagus he said it was so constricted that the camera tore some of the lining. Gavin will be 20 years old August 21st and it breaks my heart that someone so young is dealing with so much.
Please, if you find it in your heart to donate, any amount would be greatly appreciated.
