Mayson Conley, now 16, arrived in this world two and a half months early.

“He loves anything fast, side by side, four wheeling, scooters, electric bikes, basketball,” said his mother, Melody Salter.

Mayson loves the outdoors and is handy with his hands. He builds jumping ramps and even built his own computer and, like many young people today, he’s a gamer.

“He loves the lake, but he can’t go anymore,” said Salter. “The ECP treatment (extracorporeal photopheresis) and chemotherapy makes him at extremely high risk for sunburn and skin cancer and infections.”

Salter told the Chronicle Mayson is a fighter and has been fighting ever since he was born prematurely. On Oct. 22, 2016, Mayson was diagnosed with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), a rare autoimmune disorder. On Feb. 18, 2020, he was diagnosed with myelofibrosis, an even rarer form of bone marrow cancer. It’s especially rare in young people.

Mayson is at Phoenix Children's Hospital. Salter stays in Phoenix at the Ronald McDonald House to be with her son.

“I’m here by myself in Phoenix with him 24/7,” said Salter. “We are in the hospital for clinic 3-5 days a week Monday-Friday for a minimum of 4-8 hours a visit, sometimes longer, and we could be admitted at any time for something as mild as a fever, virus or infection. Those are things that require his immunosuppressed body to be admitted for [sic] immediately.

“That is just the hospital scheduled care. I then have to care for him in a nurse capacity for an additional six hours a day while he’s hooked up to his outpatient IV pump that administers medication and required training to be able to do so outpatient. He’s on a very strict schedule for medication and his blood sugar monitoring.”

Community members and businesses have stepped up to help, including Redd’s ACE Hardware in Page. Manager Dwayne Cassidy told the Chronicle, “On August 2, 3 and 4, our store held its annual Children's Miracle Network Hospital fundraiser. In connection with that ACE lead initiative, our staff at the store wanted to assist a local child and raise funds directly for them. We prepared and sold hamburgers and elotes and ‘sold’ them for a donation to Mayson Salter, who is in treatment for a very rare type of bone cancer in Phoenix with Phoenix Children's Hospital. Our store's owner, Mr. Dallin Redd, pledged to match whatever donation we raised dollar for dollar. During the event the ACE team raised $1,260 in donations for Mayson. This was matched by Mr. Redd, bringing the total to $2,520. When I called Mr. Redd to let him know how much we had raised together for the Salter family, he said he would write a check for $5,000 in honor of the Page ACE store team.”

Salter said many in the community have helped her family and she appreciates them all, including “Dustin Sargent- Salter, Trystan Conley, John Salter, Lisa Byrd, Gone West Family Restaurant, Ace Hardware, Dallas & Dwayne and ALL staff, The Americans MC, Kip Bennett, Kat Arnette, The Gun Club, Sandra Gavin, Rose Schoppman, Linda Mondragon, The Bowl, Rikki King, and Jay Hartley at Gooda’s Finely Smoked Cheese.”