While Melodie Woods Recovered From Cancer Surgery, Her Husband Wesley Died

While still recovering from the massive cancer surgery that doctors once feared would take her voice, along with most of her tongue, Melodie Woods, 68, faced a second, devastating blow: the death of her husband, Wesley Woods, 68.

Wesley Woods, who had been living with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and required round-the-clock care, was taken to the hospital in respiratory failure while Melodie was still hospitalized. He was placed on hospice and died this Thursday afternoon at 3:32 p.m., with Melodie at his side, holding his hand.

“I feel overwhelmed, and sometimes I’m very, very sad,” Melodie Woods told The Citizen. “Yeah, I feel numb.”

The two had known each other nearly their entire lives. They had been a couple for 17 years and married for 10 years, a relationship that endured years of illness and caregiving.

The loss comes amid a medical and logistical crisis the Woods family has been navigating for months: Melodie’s diagnosis of Stage 4 salivary gland cancer and Wesley’s steady decline from PSP, a rare neurological disease that left him unable to speak, unable to balance himself, and unable to care for himself.

From one hospital to another

Melodie entered the hospital in mid-January for major cancer surgery — a hospitalization that kept her away from home for several weeks.

By Monday, Wesley’s caretakers called 911 after his breathing worsened at home. He was taken by ambulance to Piedmont Fayette, where doctors began treating him for respiratory distress. Melodie approved the call to hospice from her own hospital bed.

As doctors at Emory worked to get Melodie strong enough to be discharged, she said the emotional weight of what was unfolding with Wesley manifested physically.

“What happened was Tuesday, they were trying to get me ready to leave the hospital,” she said. “They had to give me fluid to get me strong enough to be able to leave because I was not strong enough.”

She said the dread of what she knew was happening made her ill.

“Tuesday morning, I was vomiting from the anticipation,” she said. “Because I knew what was going on with Wesley.”

Once she was stabilized enough to travel, Melodie went immediately to Wesley’s side.

“I left straight from Emory, and my daughter … took me straight to Piedmont Fayette,” she said.

“Everything was shutting down”

According to family members and caregivers, Wesley had been declining for weeks before his hospitalization. He had slowly stopped eating and drinking, a progression they recognized as part of his disease, perhaps exacerbated by missing the love of his life.

By Saturday, Melissa White said, he had stopped wanting to get out of bed.

“He had refused his medicine for a couple of days. He refused eating, he refused drinking,” White said. “By Saturday, he had stopped wanting to get up out of the bed.”

Earlier breathing episodes had sometimes improved with repositioning, but on Monday morning, she said, he could not recover.

“That morning, he just couldn’t catch his breath, and his breathing was more laborious than it had been,” White said. “We tried to stand him up, and he couldn’t stand up.”

At the emergency room, doctors told the family Wesley was in respiratory failure and at risk for cardiac arrest.

“It was just like everything was shutting down,” White said.

Wesley was placed on BiPAP and remained on it until Melodie arrived the following day.

Though he could not speak, Melodie believes he knew she was there.

“His eyes were open,” she said. “And I felt like he made eye contact with me.”

Hospital staff told the family he could hear them. Melodie held Wesley’s hand.

Melodie arrived Tuesday. Wesley died Thursday at 3:32 p.m., while she was still holding his hand. 

Grief layered over recovery

In the days after his death, Melodie described grief as disorienting — layered over exhaustion, pain, and the reality of recovering from surgery while managing medications and nutrition through a feeding tube.

“And then sometimes you go to sleep… I can’t sleep,” she said. “And then when I woke up, I had forgotten what happened.”

Because of her own medical needs, she said she could not remain by Wesley’s side in the hospital continuously.

“I had to come home because I have to do my PEG feeding and take my medicine through my feeding tube,” she said.

Remembering Wesley

As the family begins making arrangements, Melodie said she wants people to remember who Wesley was long before illness defined him.

“Impeccable manners,” she said. “Impeccable respect for other people.”

She described him as having an infectious, magnetic personality — someone people “adored,” and someone who “would do anything for anybody.”

To illustrate that, she shared a story friends still tell decades later.

As a young man, a friend who worked for his father was required to work on his birthday and didn’t have nice clothes or a way to celebrate. Wesley — always sharply dressed and driving a new black Cutlass — stepped in.

Wesley offered to do the pressure-washing job himself, handed his friend the keys to his car, told him to choose clothes from his closet, and sent him off to enjoy the day.

“That boy is a grown man, still a friend,” Melodie said. “And he still tells that story.”

Wesley Woods was born May 31, 1957, in Savannah and graduated from Savannah Christian Preparatory School in 1975.

He spent 38 years with Georgia Power, working in management roles at power plants and becoming a go-to resource for training and operations, his family said.

He loved the coast and salt water — surfing, fishing, and crabbing — and he loved animals, especially the family’s three schnauzers.

Uncertain days ahead

Wesley’s death comes as Melodie prepares for the next phase of her own cancer treatment. She is expected to begin daily radiation in the coming weeks, five days a week for six weeks, with chemotherapy one day a week during that period.

With Wesley gone, Melodie’s household income will drop, even as her expenses increase. She is trying to secure a place to stay near the hospital in Atlanta during treatment and will continue to need caregiving support as she recovers.

In the midst of grief, she and her daughter emphasized gratitude for the support that has come from the community — including cards, messages from strangers, and practical help at home.

“I want to thank the community for their continued support,” Melodie Woods said. “I still need support. I’m going to continue to need support, but I am so thankful for the community and everything that they have done for me and continue to do for me.”As of the time of publication, the GoFundMe established to support the Woods family had raised $109,731 through more than 1,000 donations, with individual gifts ranging from $5 to $4,500. The family said the fund remains critical as Melodie faces ongoing treatment costs and new expenses following Wesley’s death. Those wishing to help can find the GoFundMe at https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-wesley-melodie-woods-health-journey