Robert, the husband of Melanie Ham, has confirmed that she died from cancer just days before her 16th anniversary.
Los Angeles-based mother-of-2, 36, has more than 811,000 YouTube followers for her DIY, sewing and crochet tutorials. Some of her videos have reached over 5,000,000 views.
In 2019 she revealed doctors had found a mass in her kidney, and she went on to be diagnosed with a type of sarcoma called epithelioid angiomyolipoma.
Robert shared the sad news about Melanie’s death to his Instagram followers earlier in the month.
Melanie Ham (36), a popular YouTuber from Los Angeles has passed away from cancer just days before Robert announced her marriage.
He shared a photo of his wife being held by him in hospital.
‘If you’ve been following our journey I’m sure you were, like us, hopeful she could defeat this insidious disease.
‘Over the past few months things have been progressively getting worse and we’re thankful that we made it to this point through the holidays and tried to make every moment count.
“We have 9 days left to celebrate our 16-year anniversary.”
He added: “My family and doctors and nurses and Melanie did everything they could to save today but that was not the right path.”
For her DIY, sewing and crochet tutorials, the 36-year old gained more than 811,000 YouTube followers. Some of her videos have gotten millions of hits.
Melanie revealed last year that she had relocated with her family to a new house (pictured), and said her health has been difficult.
“Let’s reassure everyone rooting to us Melanie fought like the warrior queen.
“Despite the grief that my family feels today, I want to honor an extraordinary woman and her life.
“She was a passionate friend, loved deeply, made beautiful things, gave abundantly, and was my closest friend until the very end.
He said, “She was an exceptional woman and God also has another beautiful angel.”
“She is now able to walk and sing and dance as well as perform other tasks that her body was unable to do over the past few months.
“She relied upon her faith in Jesus to get through the final days, and I know she will be there for me always.”
Father-of-two asked for prayers to support his “beautiful and strong” children.
He shared a photo of his wife being held by him in hospital. It was one of the most vulnerable moments he captured.
Melanie’s videos about sewing and knitting helped her gain over 800,000 YouTube subscribers.
Her most popular video was “Easy beginner to crochet blanket tutorial”, which she uploaded seven years ago. It now has nearly 6 million hits.
Meanwhile her DIY Face Mask with Elastic in 10 minutes – Sewing Tutorial has close to 3,500,000 views.
But Melanie shared her health issues with followers in August 2020, explaining how she had ‘tough news’ after finding a mass in her stomach in 2019.
She stated, “Over these last few weeks we have found that the mass is back.”
“I will have abdominal surgery Monday in order to gain as much weight as possible prior to starting a mtor therapy.”
She continued to document her cancer treatment online, and in her final health update shared on her blog in October, confessed it had been ‘a struggle.’
Melanie shared her first health concerns with the followers in August 2020. She explained how it was difficult for her to accept the news (pictured at hospital).
Her cancer was very advanced and she revealed to her that it had spread in June.
She received rounds of chemotherapy and learned that the disease had not stopped.
She posted: ‘We’re always trying to stay optimistic that this will be the treatment that works, but the truth is there is no clear path on how to battle this, so we’re just gonna keep fighting.’
Fans flooded her post with supportive comments after her husband reported her death.
Robert stated that she was “an extraordinary woman”, and that God has another beautiful angel.
A post was shared by the father of two on his Instagram account, in which he said that his wife had “loved passionately, made beautiful things and was his best friend until the very end”.
One wrote: ‘Oh Robert… I don’t have any words. I’m just so brokenhearted for y’all. Melanie was a wonderful, gentle, and kind soul.
I will keep you and your children in my thoughts.
Another commented: ‘I am so, so sorry to learn of Melanie’s passing. It was something I was hoping for and it is a sad news.
I met Melanie via the internet and her smile and kindness always brightened up any room that she entered. Robert, I send my deepest condolences. I am so, so sorry.’
An additional comment was added: “Send your loved ones love and light.” It is a lovely, yet bittersweet post.
“Your wife is beautiful.” I pray for you, your wife and all of you.