On May 12, 2006 Kevin Russell spoke at our annual Cancer Center Staff Retreat on what it means to be a survivor. His ability to look at a terrible situation with a positive attitude and with a great sense of humor enables him to connect with the audience. When Kevin tells his story of his cancer journey he does it with genuine emotion. He talks openly of his fear of having cancer, and how he overcame that fear with the love and support of his family, church and healthcare team. Kevin is one of those speakers that can have you laughing one minute then tugging at your heart the next. Kevin's positive attitude is contagious to all audiences.
Cynthia Edwards, LMSW, OSW-C
Cancer Center Social Worker
Kevin Russell is unlike many cancer survivors. He is vivacious and most positive about why he is in such a predicament at this time in his young life. The Cancer Center/Radiation Oncology staff recently held its annual retreat and Kevin was invited by our planning committee to open the retreat with his testimony. That alone speaks volumes when a staff who treats cancer asks a cancer survivor to encourage them…. Yet, it was quite appropriate. Kevin is thankful for his illness because it has given him more than it took. He is very open about how it has changed his life and increased his trust in God.
I can’t think of anyone that could encourage, enlighten, entertain, and enthuse more than Kevin Russell.
Paula Turner, Director
North Mississippi Medical Center Cancer Center
I have known Kevin Russell for several years now and consider myself blessed to have had him in my life. I first met Kevin when he came through my senior English class at Saltillo High School. Even then Kevin was outgoing and friendly and had a great personality. He was obviously committed to the Lord and was a student with great character and a clean and wholesome lifestyle. He helped me video and document some crisis intervention programs that I was doing for educators and industry and was always a joy to work with and very unselfish in his time and effort commitment to my work. I was honored and surprised at the end of the year when I received an invitation to a Methodist church supper honoring seniors and their guests who were specially invited to be honored as having had a great positive influence on senior students. Kevin invited me as his guest to be honored. I was actually very flattered and remember well getting up at the podium to thank Kevin and to praise him publicly for his character and his walk with Christ.
I was later terribly troubled to learn that Kevin had cancer. I encouraged him and communicated with him often before his treatments started and also after they had started. Some days Kevin was very sick from the treatment and told me on the phone he actually had to stop to rest on the way from his bed to the restroom. It hurt my heart to know the strong young man I knew before the illness had been reduced to such a weak state. Still I was amazed at how strong in spirit Kevin remained and how strong his faith in the Lord remained. He was always so positive. Kevin believed early on that he would be healed and that he would be given the opportunity to use his situation to the good of the Lord and as a tool with which to witness. Actually, Kevin was right!
Kevin did indeed recover with the Lord’s blessing and healing hand and as a result became a powerhouse witness for Jesus Christ and an inspiration to all who hear him speak. He shares his experience with anyone who will listen whether the situation is impromptu or planned. He is always willing to encourage and to share. He came by my classroom one day for a quick visit, and I prevailed upon him to talk to my students while he was there. Kevin shared his experience and his faith in a humorous yet inspirational manner. We laughed with Kevin and at times we were as well moved to tears. One girl in my class that day was especially affected as her mother was at that very time dying with cancer. She really responded to Kevin’s impromptu presentation and stayed in contact with him for weeks afterward for support and inspiration. This young lady did in fact lose her mother, but I believe she was much better able to cope with it because of the hope and positive attitude Kevin was able to share with her.
In short, Kevin is able to take a very serious topic and interject hope and enthusiasm combined with humor in such a way that young and old people alike respond to it with renewed faith and hope of their own. I highly recommend Kevin as an inspirational speaker to any group regardless of age or gender. God has blessed Kevin with healing and with a gift to view cancer in a new and positive light. He inspires others with his energy and his triumph. He is dedicated to God and to his own task of sharing his story in order to help others who have also faced the dismal proposition of fighting cancer. I thank God for answered prayers evident in Kevin’s recovery and for the witness God is receiving through Kevin and for the glory that God brings to Himself through Kevin and his story.
Sincerely,
Mark Davidson
