Through It All: A Survivor's Memoir

By Melanie Scott-Bennett

As a healthy young adult living out her dreams, Melanie’s picture-perfect life was thrown into a tailspin when she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. When all signs pointed to “game over”, she experienced a miracle that defied the odds. In this poignant memoir, Melanie chronicles her incredible journey navigating the complex effects of cancer and the experiences that helped her make it through it ALL. This uplifting story of faith, hope and love is sure to leave you encouraged and inspired to persevere despite the obstacles.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 22, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664211650

Melanie Scott-Bennett

Melanie Scott-Bennett travels the world sharing her powerful testimony and has served as a keynote speaker and panelist for cancer support groups, churches and conferences. She strives to motivate everyone to soar above obstacles, never give up, and take action to not only survive, but to thrive. She believes strongly in giving back and is a philanthropist supporting various charities including Leukemia Lymphoma Society, St. Jude and Black Girls Who Code. Melanie currently resides in Silver Spring, MD where she is Legal Counsel for a global company, and she is happily married to Dr. Duane Bennett.

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Copyright © 2021 Melanie Scott-Bennett.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,

graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by

any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author

except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher

make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book

and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

844-714-3454

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in

this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views

expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

For information contact: www.melstrong.com

Book and Cover design by Melanie Scott-Bennett

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®.

Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994,

1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New

International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by

Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-1164-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-1166-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-1165-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020921805

WestBow Press rev. date: 01/15/2021

This book is

dedicated to

the unknown mother and child who saved my life.

Acknowledgements

A special thanks to my loving husband, my wonderful parents, my

amazing siblings, my awesome family and friends, my phenomenal medical

team, and to the countless people who took the time to write me a card,

visit me, pray for me, and love and support me through the toughest

battle of my life. I would not have made it through this without you.

- Mel-Strong

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Chapter 1 - SURPRISE!

Chapter 2 - CATCH YOUR BREATH

Chapter 3 - ALL THINGS

Chapter 4 - EMBRACE THE JOURNEY

Chapter 5 - THE TRUST FALL

Chapter 6 - LET GO, LET GOD

Chapter 7 - A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN

Chapter 8 - RE-BIRTH

Chapter 9 - MIRACLES

Chapter 10 - DARKNESS CAN’T LIVE HERE

Chapter 11 - QUITTING IS NOT AN OPTION

Chapter 12 - METAMORPHOSIS

TWO DONORS’ HEARTFELT STORIES

APPENDIX

CHAPTER 1

Surprise!

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Beloved, I pray that you may prosper

in ALL things and be in health,

just as your soul prospers.

– 3 JOHN 1:2 NKJV –

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My plane skidded onto the tarmac with all the expected grace and ease of three hundred and fifty tons of metal as the flight attendant announced, Welcome to Indianapolis, where the local time is approximately 9:15 p.m. Please keep your seatbelts fastened until we arrive at the terminal gate. I peeked out the window wondering if I had brought a jacket thick enough for the mid-November weather in Indy, a far cry from the warm, sunny climate of Orlando, where I currently called home.

After deplaning, I collected my luggage, headed outdoors and was immediately struck by the late autumn, early winter breeze. I definitely should’ve brought a thicker jacket. Ignoring my goosebumps, I focused on the reason for the trip – seeing my love. Duane and I had been dating for one year and the entirety of our relationship was long distance as he was completing his Periodontal residency at Indiana University School of Dentistry. Before Duane, I swore I would never be in a long-distance relationship. Now, here I was jet setting across the country for love.

I was jarred back to the present as my older sister, Lynna, raced into the terminal drive marked Arrivals, cut off two or three cars, and came to a screeching halt at the curb in front of me. Twin! she yelled as she leapt out of the car to give me an enormous hug. Lynna and I are Irish twins, being born almost exactly one year apart. Because we were so close in age, we did everything together and our mother regularly dressed us alike. Naturally, people thought we were twins so that’s what we called each other. I apologized to the terrified-looking bystanders as Lynna hauled my luggage into the trunk and skidded off to my parents’ home.

Lynna was the mastermind behind Duane and I meeting. Lynna and my Dad, a part of a small community of African American dentists in Indy, took Duane under their wing when he started his residency at IU. I was living and working in Chicago at the time when Lynna called and said, Oh my goodness Melanie, you have to meet this new resident. He’s just as sarcastic as you are! As soon as he started talking, I told him he must meet my sister. You guys will either love each other or hate each other. I was completely uninterested. Lynna tried to hook me up with various guys over the years, but she and I have very different taste in men. So, her efforts always irked me. I had vowed long ago to never do a Lynna hook-up, as I called them. Yet, fate had another plan.

The next morning, I stared down at five different outfits strewn across my bed. Duane was scheduled to fly back in from a family wedding and had planned activities for the entire day without revealing any of the details. I don’t handle surprises or suspense well, because my type-A personality likes to know what’s going on at all times. Nevertheless, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and just roll with it.

Duane’s only instruction had been to wear something nice, which could mean a million different things. By the time Duane arrived at my parent’s house, all the contents of my suitcase were scattered across my bed and I had gone through at least ten wardrobe changes.

Duane entered the house hurriedly, rushing past me towards the living room where my purse and coat were perched.

Well, hello to you, too! I barked sarcastically as I grabbed my stuff.

Oh, sorry babe. We just have to hurry. The movie starts in fifteen minutes.

Oh, cool. What movie? I asked while locking the front door.

"Flight," he replied, still trying to hurry me along.

I just saw that the other night, but I don’t mind seeing it again, I blurted out.

Duane turned around from walking towards the car with a look of surprise. You already saw it?

Yeah, but I don’t mind seeing it again, I said. I could tell he wasn’t keen on the idea and felt bad for saying anything at all. I didn’t want to ruin his plans, so I quickly tried to recover. Why don’t we rent a movie and watch it at your place instead?

He shook his head in disagreement as he ushered me back into the house, muttering something about his apartment being a mess.

I can help you straighten up, I offered. I’m sure it can’t be that messy.

No! he stated a little too emphatically.

That’s not a good idea. Umm, let me just think for a moment, he countered.

Duane, who is usually very calm and collected, was being evasive and somewhat fidgety. I knew the day was supposed to be a surprise, but why wasn’t he open to any of my suggestions?

We can rent a movie and watch it here at my parent’s house, I offered. Surely, he couldn’t deny this plausible solution. He adamantly rejected that as well. Now I was certain that something was up.

He kept looking down at his phone and my detective brain fired up. What was he not telling me? I peppered Duane with questions and he effectively ducked and dodged all of them.

Well, we need to find something to do for the next two or three hours before our dinner reservations, he said, trying to change the subject. Let’s go to the sports bar where the Michigan vs. Ohio State game is playing.

At that moment, I realized that I may have set my expectations for an elaborate and exhilarating surprise date a little too high. Duane is a die-hard, emotionally sick during a loss sports fan, and two-time alumnus of the University of Michigan. Had he been checking the score of the game? In my head, Duane was officially fired from date planning.

When we got to the bar, Duane left out to take a call. I sat there in the midst of a sea of blue and gold jerseys feeling overdressed and a little peeved. I text Lynna to see if she had any insight into Duane’s strange behavior. She immediately called me and started babbling on about how Duane was such a great guy and to relax. Perhaps I was being paranoid or overreacting. I quickly rushed off the phone as I saw Duane approaching the table. He seemed to be upbeat and more relaxed than before. So, I shook off my concerns and attempted to enjoy the rest of the day.

When we arrived for our dinner reservations later that evening, the restaurant was surprisingly empty for a weekend. As we headed to our table, Duane leaned in and whispered, There’s a special surprise coming at a certain time. My antennas immediately went up. A surprise? What could it possibly be?

We settled in at a table for two at the far end of the restaurant. Duane sat across from me with a playful smirk plastered on his face as I pummeled him with questions and pleaded for hints. I enjoy suspense in movies – not so much in real life.

The traditional Greek meal was not bad, and the evening was lively, with servers lighting skillets on fire and people yelling Opa! Every time a new commotion would arise I would ask Was that it? only to be met with a laugh and a Nope. Then, about halfway through the meal, Greek music started blaring loudly through a set of speakers near the center of the restaurant and Duane started clapping his hands with a grin reaching from ear to ear and blurted, Here we go! I turned and looked towards the source of the music as a belly dancer emerged from behind a curtain.

I turned back to Duane who was laughing uncontrollably and snapping pictures of my reaction with his phone. Wait, was this the surprise? Duane’s humor and playful nature are two of the things I love most about him and also two of the things that drive me insane.

The belly dancer began maneuvering her way over to our table encouraging me to get up and dance with her as Duane continued to laugh and prodded me, Yeah, yeah. Go. I politely declined and gave Duane the side eye. It was time to end the Duane date day takeover. Friends and family would be arriving shortly to my parent’s house for a game night, so it was the perfect exit strategy.

I think we should go ahead and start wrapping up and head to my parent’s house, I offered.

You didn’t like the surprise? he asked, then flew into another fit of laughter.

I looked at him with a blank stare. I was expecting something, but certainly not that. And he knew it.

"You have to admit