Kickin’ It For Kelly
September 30, 2014
By Annie Dunbar
Chemotherapy, radiation, and treatment are terms not often implemented in an eight year old’s vocabulary. For Kelly Melton of Science Hill, Ky., the vocabulary lesson came early.
In November 2012, Kelly was taken to the doctor after having an earache. What presumably was a common sickness turned out to be much more than the Melton family could have imagined. Kelly was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at the age of six.
“Leukemia is a form of cancer of the blood,” said Dr. Vlad Radulescu, a pediatric hematologist at the University of Kentucky. “The young blood cells in the bone marrow that are supposed to mature in white cells, red cells or platelets start dividing in an unchecked manner, take over the whole bone marrow and eventually infiltrate other organs.”
Roughly two-thirds of Dr. Radulescu’s patients are under the age of 10 and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, referred to as A.L.L., is the most common type of leukemia in children. A.L.L. has an “overall cure rate, in industrialized countries, between 80 and 90 percent,” Dr. Radulescu said.
However, the process of curing this disease is lengthy, with roughly two and half to three years of chemotherapy, and sometimes involves radiation to the head.
For the past two years, Kelly and the Melton family have been battling this disease.
When he goes into the Children’s Hospital for treatment, Kelly will spend roughly 50 nights in the hospital and is not allowed to go outside. To bring positivity into such a negative situation, Kelly’s family and supporters created the ‘Kickin’ It 4 Kelly’ motto after a conversation he had with his father, Harrison Melton.
According to the Kickin’ it 4 Kelly website, Melton couldn’t help but break down watching his son battle this disease. Kelly told him, “Don’t worry, Dad. I’m going to kick this, and if I don’t, I’m going to go to heaven and be with Jesus, so don’t worry about it.”
The motto expanded and reached athletes at UK. While shedding light on pediatric cancer, these athletes have made it a priority to give Kelly an escape from the grim walls of the Children’s Hospital and an opportunity to truly enjoy his childhood.
“We have gone and seen kids a lot and usually it doesn’t end up (that) you keep going back and back to the same kid,” said UK kicker Max Strong. “But as soon as we had gone in and met Kelly, it was like we had known him our entire lives. He was like our best friend as soon as we walked in the room.”
Landon Foster, who is the punter for the UK football team, had a similar reaction after meeting Kelly.
“The first time you meet him, you can’t not hang out with him,” Foster said. “He’s electrifying, energetic, he just brightens up your day. He’s just a lot of fun. It brings back memories and gives you a chance to be a kid again.”
Recently, Strong, Foster, UK Dance Team member Sarah Davis and NBA player Nerlens Noel have been the front runners for a ‘Kickin’ It 4 Kelly’ fundraiser. According to Foster, the family’s insurance dropped them after the first month of chemotherapy, leaving the Meltons with more than $100,000 in medical bills.
“We started talking to his family about finances, and that was the first time I had ever spoken to them about that,” Strong said.
“That hit us hard, realizing how much debt they were in and how much the medical bills were piling up. We thought that with the people we know, the connections we have, we can help this kid out. He’s done so much for us. His family has done so much for us letting us become a part of his life that it just seemed like the only choice to do something for them and give back to them.”
In addition to raising money, one aspect of the fundraiser is to send Kelly to The Ellen DeGeneres Show because of their similar energetic personalities.
“We haven’t even talked to Kelly about Ellen,” Strong said. “Obviously most people have heard of Ellen or have seen one of her shows. She’s just so charismatic and energetic too, so we just feel like if Ellen got to meet Kelly, she would love him. They would have so much fun out there talking on stage and she could get his real personality to come out. That’s what we want, we want people to see Kelly for who he really is.”
The group has sent out campus-wide emails to help spread the word about the fundraiser, which has accumulated $13,744 in funds for Kelly’s medical bills; the goal is to raise $100,000. The fundraiser also created a #KellyToEllenShow that has been pushed on social media to put the cause on a national platform.
Foster and Strong described Kelly as energetic, enthusiastic and positive. But a characteristic that Strong emphasized is how caring and compassionate Kelly is; if a bystander asks, he has a lineup of stories to share.
Strong said that Kelly has a mission every time he comes to Lexington for treatment.
“He’ll use his allowance money from that week to go buy candy so he can make sure all of the nurses at the hospital get candy,” Strong said.
Strong also shared a personal story about Kelly’s compassionate personality. In May, when a toy cart was making its way around the Children’s Hospital, Kelly’s initial thought was to pick a toy for the person who he knew had the closest birthday.
It just happened to be Strong.
Kelly gave up his toy for the week and picked out a box of Legos for Strong. Even though Kelly wouldn’t see him for a couple of months and Legos were his favorite, Kelly kept the box of Legos, unopened, just for Strong.
“You would think that a kid in his circumstances, it would be hard for him to worry about other people before himself, obviously he’s got stuff to worry about, his treatment, what’s going on,” Strong said. “But he doesn’t think about that at all — he just wants you to be happy when he’s spending time with you. He wants to make sure that whatever you’re doing, you’re enjoying also. He puts people before himself.”
Foster and Strong have made it their prerogative to become a fun outlet for Kelly from treatment through Nerf gun wars, building with Legos and trips to wildlife preserves. While many focus on how these athletes are affecting Kelly, Foster believes Kelly has affected his life more than he has affected Kelly’s.
“He’s really the one who’s changed us and our outlook on life,” Foster said. “He’s always been the happy child, the happy go-getter, always enjoying every minute of life.”
To donate to the Kickin’ It 4 Kelly fundraiser, click here.