Kennedy Couple Has Reason To Be Thankful
By PATRICK L. FANELLI
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11/23/2006 - KENNEDY — As friends and families around the country celebrate the holiday, one Kennedy couple might be at the top of the list of those who have reasons to give thanks.
John Merkle beat the odds. He defied his diagnosis.
He lived to see another holiday season — and for that, he’s grateful.
‘‘The drugs worked,’’ said Merkle, who owns and operates the Renaissance Christmas Farm on Route 62 in Kennedy with his wife, Carol Donegan. ‘‘As long as I stick to the medicine, stick to the regime, there’s no telling how long I can go on.’’
It’s been a year since he and his wife, both of whom share a profound love for the holiday season, first opened the Christmas store in the farmhouse behind their home.
Two weeks later, Merkle was diagnosed with bone cancer and kidney failure, and was told he had anywhere from six to 12 months left to live.
For Merkle, the prospect of never seeing another Christmas was a difficult one to bare.
‘‘I love what I do,’’ Merkle said in February as the cancer ravaged his body, literally dissolving his bones. ‘‘I just don’t want to give it up.’’
???
Thanks to a cancer specialist at WCA Hospital and a medical drug with a notorious reputation, Merkle will almost certainly see another Christmas — and maybe many more to come.
‘‘We ran across an oncologist who didn’t believe the odds,’’ Merkle said. ‘‘He started me on non-traditional medicine that got control of the bone cancer.’’
‘‘Jamestown has a very good medical system,’’ Ms. Donegan added.
Dr. Jarius Ibabao of WCA Hospital’s Jones Hill campus put Merkle on Thalidomide — the infamous drug that caused thousands of children to be born with serious deformities when it was sold as a sleep aid and a drug to treat morning sickness during the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Though Thalidomide proved terrifying and tragic early in its history, it has since been used to treat a number of illnesses and ailments, including cancer and leprosy. For Merkle, the same drug that caused widespread panic, fear and suffering four decades ago stabilized his condition.
The cancer certainly took its toll. Merkle lost six inches in height and more than 60 pounds since he was diagnosed, and he was clear — he can’t win this battle and will eventually die from it.
But the transformation is noticeable upon first glance. He has more energy, he no longer requires a cane to get around and he has even started to gain weight, according to Ms. Donegan.
‘‘Considering how far I’ve gotten since last year, I’m not complaining,’’ Merkle said. ‘‘If I could get another one year or five years, I’m a happy camper.’’
???
Things have started to get a little easier around the store. After Merkle was diagnosed, he underwent radiation treatments and chemotherapy five times a week, forcing he and his wife to dramatically cut back hours. They would often return home from the hospital and find fresh tire tracks in the snow — the dreaded mark of a lost customer.
Merkle still must undergo dialysis treatments three times a week, and is too weakened from that to drive to the hospital himself, but it’s much easier than it was before the medicine got control of the cancer.
‘‘This past year — it’s been a little bit, let’s say, in left field,’’ Ms. Donegan said.
Their plans haven’t changed. Though progress has been slow since Merkle was diagnosed, they still intend to expand the store to the other structures adjacent to the farmhouse and have 70,000 Christmas trees in the ground within 10 years.
‘‘The store and the trees will come to maturity at the same time,’’ Ms. Donegan said. ‘‘We’re a little behind on planting. We got 300 trees in instead of the 3,000 that we planned because we were never here.’’
They have nearly 7,500 saplings growing on the 93 acres they bought in 2003 when they first moved to Kennedy and left their native Florida and former occupations in the sound and lighting industry at Walt Disney World behind.
‘‘They’ll go south. In Florida, one of the big things for high school (fund-raisers) is selling Christmas trees,’’ Ms. Donegan said, joking of swapping the trees for cartons of oranges and grapefruit — which themselves are hot fund-raising items among schools in Western New York.
???
According to Ms. Donegan, store hours have been much more constant since Merkle began to recover. She said they are opening their doors for Black Friday — the ‘‘biggest decorating day’’ of the year. Beyond that, hours of operation will be Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The store features both Christmas decorations and gifts — everything from hand-knit stockings, ornaments, lights and Department 54 items to stuffed animals and snowmen ordained with Bills and Sabres logos.
Merkle and Ms. Donegan do their best to stand out among a dizzying flurry of holiday enticement in November and December, but the store is an all-year operation — and the Christmas atmosphere they have created in Kennedy lives on long after the holiday season is only a distant memory.
That was their dream when they moved to Western New York a few short years ago — as Merkle said, a scenario where Christmas could happen ‘‘365 days a year.’’ Though they are thankful they are making that dream a reality, there is something much simpler they have for which to give thanks.
‘‘I’m just thankful I have a husband that’s still walking around,’’ Ms. Donegan said.
‘‘Yeah, she has a husband that’s glad he’s walking around, too,’’ Merkle added.
Send comments to pfanelli@post-journal.com
John Merkle beat the odds. He defied his diagnosis.
He lived to see another holiday season — and for that, he’s grateful.
‘‘The drugs worked,’’ said Merkle, who owns and operates the Renaissance Christmas Farm on Route 62 in Kennedy with his wife, Carol Donegan. ‘‘As long as I stick to the medicine, stick to the regime, there’s no telling how long I can go on.’’
It’s been a year since he and his wife, both of whom share a profound love for the holiday season, first opened the Christmas store in the farmhouse behind their home.
Two weeks later, Merkle was diagnosed with bone cancer and kidney failure, and was told he had anywhere from six to 12 months left to live.
For Merkle, the prospect of never seeing another Christmas was a difficult one to bare.
‘‘I love what I do,’’ Merkle said in February as the cancer ravaged his body, literally dissolving his bones. ‘‘I just don’t want to give it up.’’
???
Thanks to a cancer specialist at WCA Hospital and a medical drug with a notorious reputation, Merkle will almost certainly see another Christmas — and maybe many more to come.
‘‘We ran across an oncologist who didn’t believe the odds,’’ Merkle said. ‘‘He started me on non-traditional medicine that got control of the bone cancer.’’
‘‘Jamestown has a very good medical system,’’ Ms. Donegan added.
Dr. Jarius Ibabao of WCA Hospital’s Jones Hill campus put Merkle on Thalidomide — the infamous drug that caused thousands of children to be born with serious deformities when it was sold as a sleep aid and a drug to treat morning sickness during the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Though Thalidomide proved terrifying and tragic early in its history, it has since been used to treat a number of illnesses and ailments, including cancer and leprosy. For Merkle, the same drug that caused widespread panic, fear and suffering four decades ago stabilized his condition.
The cancer certainly took its toll. Merkle lost six inches in height and more than 60 pounds since he was diagnosed, and he was clear — he can’t win this battle and will eventually die from it.
But the transformation is noticeable upon first glance. He has more energy, he no longer requires a cane to get around and he has even started to gain weight, according to Ms. Donegan.
‘‘Considering how far I’ve gotten since last year, I’m not complaining,’’ Merkle said. ‘‘If I could get another one year or five years, I’m a happy camper.’’
???
Things have started to get a little easier around the store. After Merkle was diagnosed, he underwent radiation treatments and chemotherapy five times a week, forcing he and his wife to dramatically cut back hours. They would often return home from the hospital and find fresh tire tracks in the snow — the dreaded mark of a lost customer.
Merkle still must undergo dialysis treatments three times a week, and is too weakened from that to drive to the hospital himself, but it’s much easier than it was before the medicine got control of the cancer.
‘‘This past year — it’s been a little bit, let’s say, in left field,’’ Ms. Donegan said.
Their plans haven’t changed. Though progress has been slow since Merkle was diagnosed, they still intend to expand the store to the other structures adjacent to the farmhouse and have 70,000 Christmas trees in the ground within 10 years.
‘‘The store and the trees will come to maturity at the same time,’’ Ms. Donegan said. ‘‘We’re a little behind on planting. We got 300 trees in instead of the 3,000 that we planned because we were never here.’’
They have nearly 7,500 saplings growing on the 93 acres they bought in 2003 when they first moved to Kennedy and left their native Florida and former occupations in the sound and lighting industry at Walt Disney World behind.
‘‘They’ll go south. In Florida, one of the big things for high school (fund-raisers) is selling Christmas trees,’’ Ms. Donegan said, joking of swapping the trees for cartons of oranges and grapefruit — which themselves are hot fund-raising items among schools in Western New York.
???
According to Ms. Donegan, store hours have been much more constant since Merkle began to recover. She said they are opening their doors for Black Friday — the ‘‘biggest decorating day’’ of the year. Beyond that, hours of operation will be Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The store features both Christmas decorations and gifts — everything from hand-knit stockings, ornaments, lights and Department 54 items to stuffed animals and snowmen ordained with Bills and Sabres logos.
Merkle and Ms. Donegan do their best to stand out among a dizzying flurry of holiday enticement in November and December, but the store is an all-year operation — and the Christmas atmosphere they have created in Kennedy lives on long after the holiday season is only a distant memory.
That was their dream when they moved to Western New York a few short years ago — as Merkle said, a scenario where Christmas could happen ‘‘365 days a year.’’ Though they are thankful they are making that dream a reality, there is something much simpler they have for which to give thanks.
‘‘I’m just thankful I have a husband that’s still walking around,’’ Ms. Donegan said.
‘‘Yeah, she has a husband that’s glad he’s walking around, too,’’ Merkle added.
Send comments to pfanelli@post-journal.com
For more information about Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com
(As a side note Rick & Julia McMahon were the acting brokers in helping Carol & John aquire the farm)
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