Jim DeMell

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. In March 2017, while ministering in South Africa Jim contracted malaria. He was extremely ill. After returning to ND, he followed up with his doctor. They realized through many tests that his blood work had been "off" since 2011 and that he had Smoldering Multiple Myeloma (a precursor to Multiple Myeloma). In consultation with Mayo, his health has been monitored but not treated. 


This fall, during normal activity, Jim fractured two ribs and a vertebrae. After more testing, they found lesions (holes caused by tumors) on his skull, arms and legs. He was then diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. It is a blood cancer; incurable, but treatable through chemotherapy and stem cell transplants. 


Before Thanksgiving, he had a procedure to "cement" the vertebrae. But has not experienced the pain relief we were hoping for. 


We leave this weekend with our daughter Ruth to drive to Little Rock, ARK for treatment at UAMS. We plan to be there for 3-5 weeks at the treatment center for Multiple Myeloma (MM) at the University of Arkansas. This will likely be the first of several trips. 


We will use this site to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement and most of all your prayers. Thank you for visiting.