Michael and Kelley Shinkevich

Let me tell you a story about two dear friends of mine, Mike and Kelley Shinkevich.  What an awesome couple they make.  Loved by everyone who knows them, and they go out of their way for those in need.

In February of this year, the entire bottom half of their house had to be gutted inside due to black mold.  Insurance covered some of the expenses, but not all as usual.  As the repairs on the house were going on, Kelley was diagnosed with breast cancer in March.  Her cancer was so aggressive, she required a double mastectomy in April.  To make matters worse, Mike was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer in May. 

Needless to say, after several radiation and chemo treatments for both of them, everything was looking up.  Fast forward to October and Mike gets sick.  He has to be admitted to ICU, IV antibiotics and steroids were administered due to his airway constricting.  Medications didn’t work as doctors expected and they did a tracheotomy and biopsy at same time.  He got through surgery ok however had an arterial bleed in his neck and he almost passed away.  October 22nd, Mike was told the cancer was back, and he would require surgery to remove his larynx and lymph nodes in hopes of a surgical cure.  The surgery took place October 24th, a complete laryngectomy and neck dissection was performed.  A 4cm tumor on the larynx, left thyroid was removed as well as 63 lymph nodes in his neck. His thyroid was positive for cancer as well as 4 lymph nodes.  In November, still in ICU, his neck got infected and needed to have another surgical procedure to drain it.  He has been going back and forth with some wins and some loses. 

November 7th Kelley had her last chemo treatment.  It’s always a milestone to ring that bell after your last treatment.  Kelley didn’t ring the bell yet as she’s waiting to celebrate with Mike as they were intended to do.  Kelley is still in her recovery and has one more surgery ahead of her which had to be put  on hold  due to the 24 hour a day care that she is providing to Mike now that he is home starting the long recovery process of healing, learning an alternative way to communicate and physical therapy. They continue to stand by each other and support each other through all of this.

Mike and Kelley are self-employed.  The business is still going in his absence, but it’s challenging.  They are both hard working and would never ask for a handout.  However, I believe GoFundMe was created for circumstances such as these.  Any donation would be greatly appreciated to help offset all the medical expenses insurance is not covering as well as their everyday expenses.

Thank you and God bless. 

Here is a little video.  https://splice.gopro.com/v?id=PmPWXo