Melissa Christina Kennedy

Melissa was born at the St. Rita's Hospital on November 11, 1988. She has 1 brother, Michael, and lived with both her parents, Bobby and Mary Kennedy. In school she was on the student council, and in different sports. At home she loved talking on the phone, painting, and boys. Also she liked having a clean space so she was always going with the Windex, and eating Chinese food. Hanging out with her friends and family was a major part of her life. Melissa also LOVED dragonflies!!! And she played the guitar. (Well she tried)

May 11, 2001, her life changed. Melissa was diagnosed with Rhabdomeyer Sarcoma, a type of rare tumorous cancer. At first she was very scared, but through all the rough times she kept her sense of humor and strength. After three months of very intense chemotherapy and hard times her tumor was 90% gone. This was around the time we met because we were both going through chemo treatment and had the same pediatrician and oncologists. We became very close over the next few months. She was someone you could always talk to about anything for hours. We would talk about our problems, treatments, or just funny stories about our day. She had a great amount of strength. But sadly the day she had come back from her "Wish Trip" in Disney Land, a few months after she thought she was finally rid of the horrible tumor yet another lump was felt on the other side of her hip. Everyone was devastated. Although she was scared, she dealt with it and made decisions NO fourteen- year old should have to make, or even think about. But Melissa knew she had, and would make it through. When she was officially rediagnosed, she was given the choices of several different types of treatments. Melissa had chosen a type of chemo treatment so that she would be able to hang out with her friends and family and to be as normal as anyone her age was going through could be. But Melissa also chose a treatment that hopefully would be strong enough to get rid of the tumor, because she didn't want to give up. She was STRONG!!!!!

Melissa became even more familiar with her nurses and her pediatrician, Dr. Andrew Lynk (but she liked to call him "muffin"!) her second time around. She was "refreshingly honest", as Dr. Pyesmany would say. Melissa would tell you what she was thinking and if she wanted to be alone, everyone would know. But she was never rude about it. During it all, she found time and was involved in "The Children's Wish Foundation Parade" as an "Ambassador", a children's cancer survivor support group, and helped raise money for other great causes. And no matter what, she always managed to find time for her friends, movies, and the sleepovers.

Melissa found out around March, that the cancer was spreading and there was no guarantee of any chemo to stop it. So she went to taking chemo pills to slow it down. After about a month she stopped these pills since they weren't effective either and tried natural pills since there wasn't much they could do, other than think positive and pray.

Melissa was so positive and full of faith, she wasn't afraid of the fact that they weren't sure how long she had to live. She had told someone " Whatever happens, happens and that's the way it was meant to be." Melissa was still making plans for the future.

She got to do things that normally; at her age she would never get to do. She got a tattoo of a chinese symbol meaning, friendship, had her belly-button pierced, and her mom even took her down to the parking lot and gave her driving lessons, even though she was only fourteen.

Both her and I were supposed to return to a camp for people with cancer, that we had gone to the year before. Dr. Lynk had come over to sign the papers, but a few days later she went to the hospital because she was finding it hard to breathe. Melissa had very little energy. I had actually called that night, not knowing she was feeling so down. But she was feeling so tired she couldn't talk or come to the phone. Melissa went to the hospital that night and found her cancer was spreading even more throughout her lungs. In the hospital, the nurses gave her everything they could give her to make her comfortable, but it wasn't working. Melissa was still finding it hard to breathe, her and both her parents agreed it would be better for her not to be struggling anymore. So the doctors put her under sedation. She wouldn't allow her friends to come and see her in the hospital because she didn't want them to see her this way. Melissa wanted her friends to remember her as smiling and laughing. Sadly, a few days later, on "Mother's Day" Melissa passed away.

Although Melissa is gone, I still remember her as though she is still really here. The way we could laugh about things only we could understand, or all the things we had in common. And even just going to the mall we were so excited to get out of the house to get together. Though we both had different friends, when we got together we had so much fun, and we could talk about anything for ever because we were both just trying to be as normal as we could get, while going through what we were both going through. Melissa was a role model for many, and her laughter, courage, positive thinking, strength, honesty, and definitely her determination, is something that will never be forgotten.

Forever my friend, I miss you Melissa.

Love Brittiany