Eulogy for Missy

Melissa May Kelsey Shepherd


Melissa May Kelsey Shepherd lovingly referred to as Missy, wonderful mother, wife, daughter and sister passed away on January 16, 2010, due to complications from an automobile accident.

She was born August 15, 1977 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Jenifer L. Hall Kelsey and Roger Lee Kelsey. She married Matthew Dale Shepherd October 18, 1997. In the year 2000 on August 3 they had a daughter Dayna Marie Shepherd. Melissa cherished the time spent with her daughter, Dayna. They enjoyed walking their dogs, doing puzzles, and painting together.

Missy lived all of her life in Kearns, Utah and recently moved to Saint George in October. She attended Western Hills Elementary, Thomas Jefferson Junior High, and Kearns High school, where she was involved in drama club and was in various plays. She also attended Salt Lake Community College.

Missy loved the outdoors, camping, hiking, and fishing. She would always look forward to the week of camping in the mountains with friends and family. She enjoyed scrapbooking and photography and could play a mean game of Canasta.

She loved the gospel and had many church callings which she treasured. She cherished the Young Women that she taught and cared for them deeply. Melissa had a spirit of charity and could not let a day go by without helping someone in one way or another. She has touched many lives with her loving and caring spirit and has changed many hearts.

Melissa is survived by her husband, Matthew Dale Shepherd, her daughter, Dayna Marie Shepherd. Her parents, Roger and Jenifer Kelsey. And by her three brothers, Chester (Christa) Kelsey, Roger L. (Stephanie) Kelsey and Adam (Cindy) Kelsey. And various nieces and nephews.

She will be greatly missed.

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS

Many of you have asked how you could help, where to send flowers, etc. We are comforted by the outpouring of love we have felt from those who knew and loved Melissa. Some of you have known her for years, some for only months. Either way, Melissa was easy to get to know and love.

FLOWERS: The mortuary address is: Redwood Memorial Mortuary, 6500 South Redwood Road, Taylorsville, Utah 84123 The church address is: Western Hills Stake Center, 5480 West 5400 South, Kearns

MEMORIAL FUND: A memorial fund has been set up to assist with expenses. Those who wish to donate can do so at any Mountain America Credit Union. The fund is called the Melissa Shepherd Memorial Fund.

FUNERAL: Saturday, January 23, 11:00 a.m. at Western Hills Stake Center, 5480 West 5400 South, Kearns

VIEWING: Western Hills Stake Center: Friday, January 22, 6-8 p.m., and Saturday, January 23, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

INTERMENT: Redwood Memorial Cemetary, 6500 South Redwood Road, Taylorsville

Return Home

Melissa returned home to her Father in Heaven this afternoon. Her fight is over and she is now at peace. We are very grateful for the sealing blessings of the temple and the knowledge that this is just the end of her mortal journey and we will see her again. We are grateful for all of the prayers on her behalf and hope you will continue to remember Matt and Dayna as they face this temporary yet very difficult separation.
When we know about funeral arrangements, we will post again. Thanks again for your prayers.

Matthew's Status

• Matthew is very strong and Valiant, he needs all of our prayers to get through this though.


• We truely appreciate the prayers and service that so many of you have offered and rendered on Their behalf.


• Every ounce of kindness and help is valuable beyond compare and he does appreciate it all. Thank You! to the wonderful people who have taken time to bring food and comfort to him in the hospital, and to those in Saint George who are doing so much to help keep things on track there.


• Especially to Marianne and John who have gone the extra mile to create this Blog so that all who desire can know the details of what is going on each day as well as the many other things that they have done for Matt and Melissa in the past few months.

Dayna's Status

Dayna is hanging in there. As to be expected she is a little insecure and would like to return to school. Her friends at school sent some cards and she was extremely happy to read them. She has been able to see Melissa a few times and has a positive outlook for her recovery for the most part. She is a great strength to Matt.

Out of Surgery

The plastic surgeon took Melissa into surgery just after 5:00 tonight. He reported to Matt just before 11:00. He did facial reconstruction, repairing fractures in her optic nerve canal, nose, cheek, and jaw. Although it took about an hour and a half more than he anticipated, he said "no worries". He reported that everything went well. Thanks again for all ther prayers on Melissa's behalf today.

Also, a huge thanks to the wonderful, selfless service, given by the Price Hills Ward Relief Society tonight. Thank you for putting away the Christmas decorations and cleaning the apartment. Your love and concern are appreciated more than we can express.

More surgery to come

Today: nothing new. Tomorrow the reconstruction surgery on Melissa's face is scheduled. We want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. We know sometimes it seems that praying is the only thing you can do, but in reality it is the most powerful thing you can do. God does hear and answer prayers and he has been watching over Melissa.

Watch - Wait - Pray

Yup, the waiting is the hardest part. Melissa is still in Critical Condition. Right now the medical professionals are doing everything they can, so basically it's all up to Melissa. The professionals will be able to do more once she wakes up. She is doing o.k. with small improvements here and there. The swelling in her brain is down. Melissa is still hooked up to the temperature control machine. Her lungs look better and they are clearing. The good news today is that they have programmed the oxygen machine so that it is no longer breathing for her. She is still on oxygen, but she has to breathe for herself, and she is!
As for Dayna, she keeps busy. Her glasses were damaged in the accident so she got to get new ones!
Matt says the nurses that are working with Melissa are great and he is happy with the care and attention she is getting.

A Little Better Each Day

Although Melissa is still in a "self-induced" coma, she is looking just a little better every day. The EEG results came in and the spots on the CT Scan were NOT stroke! That's great news! And although the ICP (that's the pressure on the brain) spiked on Saturday, today it was between 2 and 4 all day. (That's good!) They took the pressure gauge off of her head. They also took her off of ibuprofen because it is a blood thinner, and could cause bleeding behind her eyes when they go in to reconstruct her face, which they will probably do next week.
We want to thank everyone who has been praying for Melissa and for Matt and Dayna. We know that God does hear and answer prayers and we feel his love and yours. We are very blessed to have Melissa still with us even though we know she has a long road to recovery ahead of her. We feel very blessed that Dayna and Nico are well. And for those of you who have been asking about Dayna - she has been kept quite distracted even though she is at the hospital each day, she is doing extremely well under the circumstances. - Keep praying for her though :)
It does look as though they are going to make Matt leave the hospital for a few hours at night instead of sleeping in the waiting room. Luckily, his father-in-law has parked his 5th wheel trailer in the parking lot, so Matt has a place to stay really close.

Still Waiting.....

Melissa is still stable but has not awakened. Today her temperature went up to 107, which isn't uncommon, but it is being brought under control. She had an EEG, and they are waiting for the results. She has some irritation and slight bleeding in the lungs. The doctors shared the CT scan results with Matt. The brain is still swollen, and the right side shows the appearance of what could be strokes, but it is impossible to tell. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. Family fast (and anyone else who would like to join us) is Sunday.

Spectrum Article

http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20101050325

Progress so far..

Monday - the day of the accident, Melissa had surgery which removed part of her skull. The trauma team says she may not wake up for a week.
Tuesday - Melissa is monitored and assessed
Wednesday - We are happy for every day that Melissa is alive and continue to pray for her. Melissa is given a feeding tube.
Thursday - Doctors take Melissa off sleeping medication to see if she will wake up. They cannot make a complete assessment until she is awake. Melissa gets a tracheostomy and an IVCC which is supposed to catch any blood clots that may develop.
Friday - Doctors examined her eyes and said they look better although she still isn't responding. Today she had surgery and got her arm all pinned back together. Thanks very much to those in the Price Hills Ward who fasted for Melissa today.