GALION, Ohio — The support shown to the Wheeler family over the past week has left them in awe.
“The community has just been amazing,” said Tom Wheeler, the father of 12-year-old Melanie who was recently diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
Wednesday evening, members of the community flocked to Heise Park to welcome Melanie home after she was released from Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus. She is a sixth-grader at Galion Middle School who is active in volleyball, dance and cheerleading.
Many people have posted on the #Mel Strong Facebook page to send encouraging messages Melanie’s way and ask how they can be of assistance.
“Galion City Schools…They’re just awesome,” Tom said. “Her principal and guidance counselor visited her at the hospital, and that amazed her.”
This heartfelt response by the community came after it was discovered that Melanie was diagnosed with Stage 1 intradural extramedullary filum terminale myxopapillary ependymoma. Some information can be found here.
One evening after returning home from dance practice, Melanie told her parents that she felt pain in her buttocks, which later shifted to her back, Tom said. By morning, she was vomiting, so her parents took her to the emergency room.
The doctors thought she pulled a muscle and had swollen tonsils, Tom said. Melanie was prescribed medication and sent home.
Days later, the vomiting stopped, but the back pain increased, Tom said.
“The pain started to localize more toward her spine,” he said.
The Wheelers decided to go to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where the doctors performed an MRI scan on Melanie.
The MRI showed a tumor on her spine, so Melanie was taken into surgery, “and they got 100 percent of that tumor out,” Tom said.
After conducting more MRI scans, the doctors determined that she has one more tumor in her spine and two in her brain.
“That’s what we’re up against right now,” Tom said.
He described the cancer as chronic and slow-growing.
“We’re not fighting for Melanie’s life with this cancer; we’re fighting for Melanie’s quality of life,” he said.
That being said, there’s no rush for Melanie to undergo treatment like radiation therapy, which could cause more damage than the disease itself, Tom said.
“Right now, the tumors in her brain aren’t hurting her, so the consensus is that we don’t cause more damage,” he said.
The idea is to allow for more time for her brain to develop while closely monitoring the tumors to ensure they aren’t creating issues to her health before seeking treatment.
“She’s going to end up with treatment,” he said. “It’s just a matter of how big a time span between now and then that we can get.”
Physically, she’s doing well, Tom said, and is currently in the process of recuperating from the spinal surgery.
She’s also managed to maintain a positive attitude through it all.
“She’s handled it like Melanie would handle it,” Tom said, which is his way of saying she’s handling it very well.
“She doesn’t even seem to have any fear,” he said.
“Since the first night in the ER, she said, ‘There’s only one option.'” And that means facing this fight head on.
Tom said they hope to turn this situation into a positive and raise awareness about pediatric cancer.
He added that continued support and prayers are appreciated.
To learn more about Melanie’s condition and how to help provide assistance to the family, visit the #Mel Strong Facebook page.
