‘Mel’s Fight’

SPARTA  For Melanie Paige, newly graduated from Sparta Middle School, dancing was her life. So much so, dance is what saved her life. In early March when she was performing a solo dance routine, her life changed in a heartbeat.

“She did a phenomenal job with her solo,” said Michele Russo, Melanie’s mother, “But backstage, she was crying because she was in so much pain after she performed.”

Because of the way Melanie described her pain, the family doctor first thought she possibly had torn her meniscus. Following an MRI, Melanie was sent to see an oncologist and her family received the devastating news — the 13-year-old was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare cancer of the bone.

“Because she was a dancer, they were able to catch it so quickly. This was a complete and total blessing,” said Russo, whose family are parishioners of Our Lady of the Lake here.

Once the diagnosis came in, Melanie began treatments and surgery was performed. Even though there’s a long road ahead for Melanie, she is considered cancer-free following the surgery, which left the teen unable to walk. According to her mother, it may take up to a year for her to be able to walk again.

At this difficult time, Russo never lost faith following her daughter’s cancer diagnosis. In fact, she relied on her faith more than ever. “I am reminded that God has a plan. He must have something great for her. God’s going to bring us through this and I believe he has been here this whole time. Because of him, we found it early, we had the right doctors and everything just came into place. God put this all in our path,” said Russo.

Through this experience of having a child with cancer, Russo has learned a lot about bringing awareness to others about childhood cancer. “A child wakes up with pain and it changes your life,” she said.

Melanie’s family has also witnessed the kindness and support of the community. A GoFundMe page was set up to assist in Melanie’s medical costs.

One group that has reached out to help the family is the St. Kateri Squire Roses here. The Knights of Columbus group in Sparta for young ladies, ages 10 to 18, has contributed more than $2,500 to help Melanie and her family. On the GoFundMe page, the Squire Roses left this message: “With dignity and grace, we stand as one. You are in our prayers, Melanie.”

Amanda Scanlan, a member of the St. Kateri Squire Roses who will begin her freshman year at Pope John High XXIII High School in Sparta in September, knows Melanie through dance as members of the same competition team.

“She really loved dance and she danced every day,” Scanlan said. “When I found out she had bone cancer in her knee, I thought about how I would feel. I know it must be tough.”

Because Scanlan was deeply affected by Melanie’s diagnosis, she asked members of her Squire Rose circle if they could host a fundraiser for Melanie. They sold purple bracelets that said “#melsfight” embossed on them. A local restaurant, Villa Capri 2 here, also donated 10 percent of its sales one Friday in June to assist with medical costs.

Nancy Scanlan, Amanda’s mother, said, “The girls began thinking about different fundraiser ideas. They started collecting donations from the sales of bracelets. Many people didn’t even know Melanie but wanted to help.”

At dance class, Scanlan said about her friend: “We miss such an important member of our dance team. We were so happy when she came on our recital day to watch us perform and support us.”

Across town, at Our Lady of the Lake Church, the parish community has also been keeping Melanie in their prayers. Melanie has been part of the religious education program there since she was in the fourth grade. The parish community sent hundreds of cards to Melanie, which were created by students in the religious education program and Susan Russo, a catechist, led the creation of a prayer quilt for Melanie.

“She’s been in our prayer chain and we are storming heaven for her healing,” said Elizabeth Heldak, director of religious education at OLL. “We pray for her complete recovery and we wish her well.”

Overwhelmed by the support, which included her neighborhood decorated with yellow balloons when Melanie returned after her surgery, Russo said, “The community and our parish have been nothing short of amazing. Everyone has been so kind and so many have offered us prayers and much love for Melanie.”

[To donate, visit: gofundme.com/help-mel-battle-bone-cancer.