Melynna December 19th, 2007
It has been several months since I have posted anything about Mary Ann. Honestly no news is good news in this case. Mary Ann is doing great. We had the opportunity to visit her in late October and took our daughters and two of our grandchildren with us. It was their first chance to meet the little girl they have heard so much about — the little girl they have actively supported through prayer and fundraising efforts on her behalf. When we arrived at the Amish school, Mary Ann was outside playing “kick ball” with the other children. From a distance she blended in with all the other little girls. She looked healthy with rosy cheeks, sparkling eyes and lots of energy. The only way you could tell she is a recovering cancer patient was her short hair. When she removed her “kapp” or head covering, her hair was about an inch long. It will be quite a whilte before she is able to pin it up under her kapp.
Right now Mary Ann is concentrating on her school work and her daily mouth exercises. The radiation treatments or “proton therapy” killed the bones and teeth around the tumor. In order to retain movement in her jaw, she is required to stretch her mouth by stacking popsicle sticks between her teeth. At last count she was up to 18. That is quite an improvement from the two or three she began with last summer when she was barely able to eat. Unfortunately “regression” travels at the speed of a freight train and “progress” travels at a snails pace. She NEEDS to exercise at least a couple of times every day for the rest of her life. She will also follow up with MRI’s every three months to make sure the tumor doesn’t start growing again.
Book sales have been rather slow since last July but picked up as the Holiday season drew near. Many thanks to the First Baptist Church of Lexington for allowing me to share “The Story Behind the Book.” Hosting that event has made it possible for us to send her family another check. As of today we have raised a little over $38,000.00 for Mary Ann’s medical care.
God Bless each and every one of you for supporting our efforts and we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Melynna July 22nd, 2007
Mary Ann is gaining ground every day. Her hair is growing back and she now has enough energy to run and play just like any other child who is eight years old.
Mary Ann and her family just returned from her “Wish” trip to Yellowstone National Park. Many thanks to Julie who works for the Indiana Children’s Wish Fund for all her hard work. She spent many hours making arrangements and there were times she wasn’t sure she would be able to fulfull Mary Ann’s dream. Their journey began with a chauffeur driven limousine ride to the train station.
Fourty six hours later they arrived by train in Salt Lake City where they were met by Rex. Rex kindly volunteered his time and talents to act as their personal tour guide and driver (Mary Ann’s family usually travels by horse and buggy) while they toured Wyoming and Yellowstone. The family experienced many “firsts” during the course of their eight day adventure. Besides the limousine and train ride, they also saw their first mountains, geysers, elk, bear, marmots, wolves, and antelope not to mention the rodeo and covered wagon cookout they attended. Mary Ann felt well enough to hike up one of the mountains for a picnic and the view from the top was spectacular. The sign posted on the trail said it would take approximately two hours to make the climb and she was able to make it in two and a half. Pretty amazing when you look back over the past year and recall the number of chemo and radiation treatments she has endured.
Thanks to each and everyone of you for making my “wish” come true by purchasing “A Story of Faith.” To date we have raised a little over $37,000 through book sales and donations for Mary Ann’s medical expenses and we still have a little over 200 books left in inventory for anyone who would like to purchase one.
Melynna May 24th, 2007
It has been almost eleven weeks since Mary Ann received her last chemo treatment and her next follow up MRI is scheduled sometime in June. She continues to grow stronger every day and her hair has begun to grow back. Her family recently received some exciting news. The Indiana Children’s Wish Fund has granted Mary Ann’s wish for her “first” family vacation and the destination she chose for herself and eight family members is Yellowstone National Park. Of course, this turned out to be very challenging for the young woman who is coordinating the trip because Mary Ann’s Amish family still depends on horse and buggy for transportation. If all goes as planned, they will travel by van to Indianapolis, bus to Chicago, train to Salt Lake City and have their own personal tour guide for several days to enjoy and see the sights of Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park. All this sounds extremely exciting and at the same time I know the trip would not be happening if Mary Ann’s cancer, rhabdomyosarcoma, was not life threatening. With that in mind, please continue to pray that the cancer stays in remission.
Melynna May 7th, 2007
To date, we have raised a little over $35,000.00 through book sales and donations for Mary Ann’s medical expenses.
Melynna May 3rd, 2007
Mary Ann saw the local doctor yesterday afternoon — not her cancer doctor. She has what appears to be a fungus in her ear. It is usually only found in adults who are suffering with diabetes. Her ear was irrigated and the doctor perscibed ear drops that should balance the ph level in her ear and take care of this problem. She could immediately tell a difference.
Mary Ann’s cancer began on the inside of her cheek. Her parents were informed she might have problems with her ears, teeth, etc. — due to the massive doses of radiation she received. However, they were not told specifics and definitely wanted to have her ear checked when she began to experience the pain.
The local doctor also thought it was unnecessary to have an MRI at this time so she is scheduled to have her chemo port removed tomorrow afternoon.
Thank you for your prayers.
Melynna May 1st, 2007
We are experiencing some anxious moments right now. Mary Ann’s original cancer site was inside her cheek. A few days ago she began to have some discomfort with her ear. (She has been off chemotherapy for less than eight weeks.) The pain was bad enough today that her mother had to resort to her prescription pain meds. The radiologist was contacted and he immediately scheduled an MRI for Friday morning the 4th of May. Please pray for Mary Ann, her family.
Melynna April 24th, 2007
The only news video still available on line can be found at:
www.newsok.com/video —- go to Dec. 6 — “A Little Faith” - Children’s Book
http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6317842
For a written transcript of the NBC coverage that was released nationwide
go to: www.kfor.com — COMMUNITY — Great State — “A Story of Faith”
Melynna April 23rd, 2007
Mary Ann is a seven-year-old cancer patient from northern Indiana. She was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma on June 6, 2006. The cancer is located on her cheek and she has recently completed her radiation and chemotherapy treatments. We do not have the final results of her recent MRI but will hopefully receive them next week when she goes in to have her port removed.
Preliminary reports show at least a portion of the tumor remains and we are praying there are no live cancer cells.
I visited with Mary Ann’s mother this afternoon to see how she was feeling. What I heard would warm any mothers’ heart. Mary Ann has always loved to sing and usually drove her older sisters to distraction singing the same song over and over and over again. Last spring her singing ceased long before her parents knew she had a cancerous growth in her mouth. Today, for the first time in months and months, her mother, Esther, heard her singing in the adjoining room. Esther told me it was a joy to hear her little voice raised in song once more; evidence she is beginning to feel much better than she has in a long time.
Melynna April 23rd, 2007
If you are just now visiting Mary Ann’s website for the very first time. Please take a minute, save our address and visit us again in a couple of days. We have updated the website with “The Story Behind the Book.” The webmaster should have everything completed and online in a couple of days. We have now raised $35,000.00 for her medical care and we have less than 300 of the original 3000 books printed in inventory. Thank you and God Bless — Melynna Hewitt
Melynna April 10th, 2007
The last week in March, we were contacted by WCNC news out of Charlotte, North Carolina, the base Newschannel Feed for NBC news. They called to say they were offering the television story done by Channel 4’s Galen Culver out of Oklahoma City to all their NBC affiliated stations across the nation. That story began to air on Tuesday, April 3rd. To date we have heard from people in Canada, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, Minnsesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Indiana, and Illinois. Mary Ann’s story continues to spread across the nation as more people are committing to pray for her recovery. We long to hear the doctor’s say, “tumor free.” For those of you who have purchased her book, I want to say, “Thank You.” Your purchase has helped to ease some of her family’s financial burden.
The news coverage we have received has been such a blessing and continues to boost the sales of Mary Ann’s Book. There are two separate interviews in video form and one in written form. They can be viewed or read by following these instructions.
CBS news: www.newsok.com — NEWS 9 — videos — Dec. 6 — “A Little Faith - Children’s Book”
NBC news: www.ksdk.com — video stories — April 3 — Amish Girl’s Battle with Cancer Becomes Children’s Book
NBC news: www.kfor.com — Community — Great State — “A Story of Faith”
Also the NBC affiliate located in Dallas, Texas has provided us with a newslink. Thank you so much.
NBC news: www.nbci.com — newslinks — April 3 — “A Story of Faith”