March 24, 2020

Update from Kim:

This is going to come a quite the shock: Shannon is Covid-19 Negative!!

What does that mean for Shannon? Nothing. It was never an issue for her. We knew she would be negative, she wasn't exposed to it ever. For her doctors and nurses, it means they don't have all the the restrictions put on them that are required with her isolation. No more hazmat gear and standing in specific places required of them. No more extra care handling of her medical equipment so they don't become contaminated by Shannon. Now it's just the normal amount of extra careful care- and no one is going to rappel through the windows into the room with tasers ablaze when someone opens the door without full body hazmat armor on :D. But on a serious note:  I'm positive that this past week Shannon was blessed by the over-protective care she received while in isolation. She wasn't introduced to any type of illness from any of her caregivers. So we will focus on the good in the situation.

What does the negative result mean for us? Probably nothing as well. The hospital is under the mercy of the mandates of the CDC/Government regulations about visitors in hospitals right now. Philadelphia is in mandatory lock-down. If you aren't doing one of the approved activities outside your home (seeking medical care, groceries, etc) you can be cited and prosecuted (apparently). We are heartbroken by the situation and for Shannon having to go through this ordeal without her family with her; but we are also so appreciative of the willingness that her nurses continue to show in helping us stay connected to her via phone and FaceTime. Seeing her, and being able to talk to her and watch her respond in some way is a blessing that we would not have had 10 years ago if this was happening. So we are grateful for the time we live in. And- in looking for further good in the otherwise bad situation; no one with symptoms of anything can be at the hospital. So that serves to protect Shannon even more from catching something as seemingly harmless as a cold.

Meanwhile- Shannon is making some improvements, but there are also always set backs.  Yesterday she had her cranial pressure monitor (CPM) removed because they were happy with the pressure on her brain, and her EEG shows no signs of seizures. She was also taken off of her blood pressure medication. Her heart was seemingly responding badly to a medication she was on, since they haven't seen any issues with it since she stopped taking it. We haven't heard back about the echo cardiogram results yet. We were able to FaceTime with her again last night, but she was super sleepy, so I sang a song and let her go back to sleep.

Today she is back on antibiotics with a small fever, and she's struggling to do breathing on her own with less assistance from the ventilator. They are concerned about pneumonia and their ability to remove fluids from her lungs, and she's a few days away from the maximum time they like patients on ventilators. We still play the waiting game on the effects of her spinal injury- but the breathing issue is possibly one of them. Our main concern for her is having her recover the proper function of all her vital organs.

Shannon is a fighter and we are seeing that fight in her! She needs continued prayers, and we are so extremely grateful to all of you who are praying for her. Please pray that Shannon will quickly regain the ability to breath on her own, that she will have the strength to overcome any infections that might be causing her fever, and to be strengthened and comforted during this time of recovery. 

Several of you have been brave and reached out to ask how we are doing. I know it's difficult to know if you should reach out, and what to say if you do. We love and appreciate all of you. If you feel inspired to reach out to us, we probably need it. Texting is fine and we will get back to you when we are able. In general, we are keeping the faith and are living on the peace that we feel knowing that Shannon will return to us healthy. We have hard days and hard times of the day. We are struggling like all of you to adjust to work and school from home, social distancing, and disconnection from the things we enjoy and are used to doing. Physically, we have all that we need (except I'll probably run out of chocolate bars faster than planned ;). Mentally and emotionally, we are taking it one hour at a time during the hard times, and trying to keep our minds busy and get the rest we need. We are feeling the love and support of so many of you. Thank you for your kindness, your love, and especially, your prayers.

Shannon, if able, would be keeping us all laughing during this time, mostly speaking Disney.  In seeing all the machines and gadgets she's currently hooked up to, I'll wager a guess as to what she would add here: (Guess the movie) "Pull the lever Kronk. WRONG LEVER!!" "Why do we even *HAVE* that lever?"..... "Why does she even *have* that lever?"