Cantrell & Melton Barber Shop

We want to thank you for all of your prayers & concerns over the past few weeks and to let you know,
Thursday, October 23rd the shop will be closed as we honor & celebrate the life of Don Melton. We will reopen Friday, October 24th.

THE SHOP HOURS ARE AS FOLLOWS:
TUES. - FRI.: 7:00AM - 5:00PM
SAT.: 7:30AM - 12:00PM

This is a wonderful read and sure brought tears to my eyes, all of us here at the Barber Shop are so thankful for Brayson and his clean bill of health! God is so good! By the way this is Don's grandson Chris and Kerri's oldest.

September 5th:

Brayson Melton started college at Clemson University this past month. He’s a freshman from Shelby who loves sports and jumped into his new college life by signing up to work as one of the football equipment managers. By looking at Brayson, you’d never guess his past two years.

This 18-year-old has been through the wringer and come out on top.

Brayson was diagnosed in November of 2017 with Medulloblastoma. Brain tumor. Prior to his diagnosis, this Cleveland County teen was a three-sport athlete. Sadly, the surgery to remove the tumor caused a stroke and left him with double vision and unable to walk.

"Brayson went into surgery a much different child than he came out," said his mom Kerri from her job in Shelby. “My husband Chris and I have two other kids at home, and our family was turned completely upside down.”

With perseverance and lots of intensive physical therapy, Brayson is now standing strong – as you see in this picture – and walking again.

He just had an MRI last weekend. Scans came back yesterday.

Kerri was honest about those scans when we first talked last week. She was nervous to have us lift him up and write about him until she got scans back and knew they were clear. Which is fully understandable.

You’re reading this post which means….

…Brayson’s scans were all clear.

They’re clear!

It’s great news.

“We’re exhaling,” Kerri said. “He’s good. We’re all good.”

To get to this point, Brayson had lots of PT. He had to re-teach his body things. He also underwent six weeks of daily radiation, four rounds of high-dose chemo, and four stem cell treatments. (Sidenote: Four stem cell treatments is a whole lot on one person.) Brayson recovered from the last two rounds of transplant as an outpatient – his mom says he’s the first patient at Levine Children's to do so.

“He pushed through and refused to let his situation get the best of him,” she said.

As an extra amazing fact, throughout it all Brayson continued to exercise and maintain a 4.4 GPA. He also had two corrective eye surgeries and now -- 22 months after the original surgery when that tumor was removed – he finally doesn’t see double anymore. He has been back out on the baseball field and as mentioned, is the football manager for Clemson.

“But he is a different child,” Kerri said. “He used to be catcher for his baseball team. After all this he was still on the team and able to get back out there, but not play as much and he wasn’t catcher. But when he would head to the plate to hit, the stands would go nuts. He proved you can persevere and find new paths in life.”

The pride in Kerri’s voice jumps through the phone.

“He has drive,” she says. “He never gave up.”

Brayson has a younger sister named Landry (16) and a younger brother named Brock (11).



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**NOTE**: These 30 September stories highlight REAL kids in our community who battle. The stories are meant to be shared and educate about pediatric cancer, as they have every September since 2013. This year, I also encourage you to comment below with a message. Not to me. Please don’t write me. Write the family. In this case, write Brayson. Consider it like sending a handwritten card, only easier. The families will read your words. Promise. They won’t think you’re a stranger. For many of them, in fact, you’ll represent hope and support. Cancer can feel like an island – let them know you are present. The Good, the Bad and the Always Real. Right? Every post. Every day. Thank you.

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