Hello Everyone, 

This is coming as a personal update from Kessa.

A lot, has transpired in the last few weeks since we have given an update. After my Dad was released from the hospital for a few complications following his surgery he was then admited again after we found several blood clots on his legs. After evaluation it was found that he was experiencing pulmonary embolisim and deep vain thrombosis with a major clot being located near his heart. He proceeded to spend the next week in the hospital being closely monitored, receiving back after bag of heparin (blood thinner) to gain control over the clots. Each day there were many ups and downs and eventually he was deemed stable enough to recover at home.

I have had some accomadations made at work that have allowed me to work from Arizona for the next month. It was getting far too intense for me to be away with so many ups and downs on the daily. I've felt impressed to share what I have been a part of and witnessed in the last couple weeks. 

Every day I have witnessed my Mom care for my Dad, which is not a new experience for me to witness, she has done this several times throughout my life and it is a miracle to witness every time. Only those that have been caretakers can truly understand this experience but as a witness to it, I can tell you it is the purest form of love. It requires dedicated time and attention that no other person can give. It is management of medications, food, bathing, doctors appointments and morale while also going about your regular life activities. I will forever be grateful to my Mom caring so well for my Dad during this time. Dad is still gaining his strength back after surgery and the multiple hospital stays. 

Due to my Dad being hospitalized for blood clots his appointment with the cancer doctor had to be pushed back to September 12. We are all anxiously anticipating this appointment to get additional information but we also know the reality that many more appointments are coming our way as the doctors and our family work to balance a cancer diagnosis, Chron's, several large blood clots and kidney disease. The doctors have mentioned many times that he is a medical puzzle .

Our motto as a family is to take things as they come day-by-day and sometimes those days turn into hour-by-hour. As nice as it would be to plan ahead (believe me, I am a planner, I want to know all the details of everything), we are choosing to trust in God with the timing of every intricate detail while also doing everything in our power to support that plan. 

We are taking in the extra time we have been blessed with, spending many evenings as a family and getting Harry ready to start a mission on September 16!

Thank you for the support, prayers and love being shown to our family during this time, our family is facing many unknowns and with that it can also sometimes be difficult to identify what kind of aid we actually can use, we appreciate your patience while we navigate big emotions and circumstances that we never have. 

Love, Kessa

A lot has transpired over the last week, after receiving the news of the cancer diagnosis. The Merrill family spent the weekend all together before going their separate ways on August 11. Vance was feeling strong enough to attend the temple where Harry went through and made promises with God. It was special to all be in the temple together. 

On Tuesday, August 13 Tina decided to take Vance to the hospital as he was dealing with some complications post surgery. 

A few things that have transpired over the last week:

We got to talk with the nephrologist, oncologist/hematologist and cardiologist.  Vance will need more tests like a PET Scan and a cardiogram (which he has had since being in the hospital this week). 

He will need to heal a lot more from the surgery that took place 2 weeks ago. In the mean time, they have started getting him prepped to do chemo in the future. 

He underwent what they call a “twilight surgery,” not completely sedated and had a port put in under his skin where they will administer chemo when he has healed more from surgery. 

The last week has been a constant puzzle to keep his kidney function up, as well as maintain his magnesium levels as well as manage his pain. 

As of today, he has received clearance to go home and heal and will then have many follow up doctor appointments this week and next before meeting with MD Andersen on August 29. 

As an update on the rest of the family: Tina has been busy advocating for Vance in the hospital while also supporting Harry as he prepares to serve an LDS mission in Guatemala next month. Kinley started a new role managing an Arizona location of Swig. Ridge started his second year of teaching high school ceramics, McKinley started her 4th year of teaching LDS seminary and her second year of her grad program. Kessa was busy this week organizing cookie dough orders to raise money for the family.

We are continually grateful for the support being sent our way! Thank you for the prayers, phone calls, meals and love. May God bless you all!

It is with a heavier heart that we continue to share more painful news. We got a call from Vance’s surgeon regarding the pathology report from his recent surgery when the surgeon let us just let us know that they had found a large mass in his body.

Long story short, Vance has been diagnosed with cancer. 

The large mass they found in his body has revealed a very aggressive cancer named "Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma."

Vance's first appointment with the oncologist is on Aug 29th. We won't know more until then. For now it's going to be continuing the healing for the incision site and keeping his kidney strong and cleaning out his ostomy bag which has now been lovingly and potentially embarrassingly named Roderick (think of Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2) by his kids.

Thank you for the prayers and fasting and love and support. 

Vance Merrill was recently diagnosed with Chron’s disease and has been receiving IV therapies for treatment. Up until July 2024 Vance had not experienced any painful symptoms due to the Chron’s. 

In July 2024, Vance went to the ER 2 times to receive treatment for the pain he was experiencing from Chron’s symptoms. 

After a few weeks of ER visits, on July 31, 2024 Vance Merrill woke up in excruciating abdominal and chest pain unable to speak or move easily. Tina & his youngest son Harry took him to the Banner University hospital in Phoenix, the same location where he had previously received two kidney transplants (1999 & 2017). The team at Banner University quickly sprung into action ordering EKG’s, ultrasounds, blood work and CT scans. It was determined that Vance’s colon was perforated and leaking into his abdomen. The moments after that moved quickly as a surgical team came to meet and discuss what would need to be done. We had been trying to avoid surgery for a long time as the doctors were unsure what Vance’s reaction would be like under anesthesia. The Vance Merrill family quickly gathered and held a family prayer over FaceTime, tender emotions were shared as we were all witnessing our father and husband fight for his life, again. 

Vance was taken to surgery which took 4 1/2 hours; longer than either of his kidney transplants. He now has a large incision down the center of his abdomen, the remaining descending colon being stitched off and the introduction of an ileostomy bag. The result of the surgery was the removal of the ascending large intestine, about half of the small intestine and the removal of 8 liters of septic material. The following days in the hospital were filled with many ups and downs, working with respiratory teams, infectious disease teams, gastroenterologists, nephrologists, surgeons and many more. During those days, many miracles were witnessed and there is a long road of recovery ahead which is involving around the clock care from his wife Tina, family and from many home health doctors. 

After 25 years of intense immunosuppressants and treatment for his chronic kidney disease, Vance's health is rather complicated and needs to be highly monitored.