April 2, 2020

Update by Kim

Today began with a text message to me from Shannon's phone. It woke me up, and in my half awake stupor, I wasn't sure I read the name right. All the message said was "Mom". I looked up and saw her name at the top of my phone, and then saw my last message to her. That sobered me, woke me up completely.

Sunday March 15th, at 6:25 am, Shannon sent me a text message. It was a desperate plea to call her and help her with her ears hurting. She thought she might have an ear infection, and the change in altitude on the drive was putting a lot of pressure on her ears and she couldn't clear them. Her head hurt as well. I saw the message and responded at 6:58am. "Stop and get antihistamine (something for sinus congestion) and some motrin. You were probably sleeping through some major changes in altitude and didn't clear your ears". At 9:02am, when Shannon still hadn't responded, I typed out our usual banter when one of us doesn't respond, which is what I was looking at this morning when I saw the text from her:  "Are you alive?"

At 7:02 am on the 15th, I had sent a text to Austin telling him to let Shannon know I had responded to her message. I didn't know who was driving, and figured they would see it at some point. At 11:50am I called Austin to try to warn him how much the toll on the PA turnpike would be ($35+) if he took it from the western border of PA to our exit without an EZ pass. He might consider dropping down into MD to avoid the turnpike. It would cost him an hour drive. He didn't answer. So I texted him the info. He called me back right afterward, and told me they were at the hospital because they were in an accident.

This all came back to me when I saw the text from Shannon this morning, and a sense of panic with it. I responded to her text with "Yes" and she typed very slowly "Can I just call you?" I said "Yes" and Facetimed her. I was so relieved when I saw her face, and that she was okay. I was so impressed when she nodded in response when I asked if she had texted me herself. She was alone in her room. She was scared. She was tired. She wanted to come home. This is when it's so hard- this separation because of the pandemic. This is when we all hurt physically. I had to tell her she can't come home, she has things she has to learn to do before we can care for her here. She cried. Someone walked into the room. And then Shannon did what Shannon does. She stopped crying. She put on a smile. She was wearing her brave face. I asked if she needed to go, and she nodded. We hung up. I didn't hear from her until late afternoon.

When she called again, she was all smiles! Her recreational therapist (this girl has so. many. people.) was with her again. She is fantastic! Shannon was all proud of herself and showing off that she gets to eat ice chips! She told us through her RT that she did electrical stimulation on her legs today to keep the muscles healthy. She liked it. She breathed for 2 hours without her ventilator today. She did 3 hours of other therapy, and now she was just hanging out in her room with her new friend. Lancer teased her about things, mostly to embarrass her in front of her friend- the way Shannon is used to him teasing. She kept looking at her RT and mouthing "this is my family- they are so weird" and rolling her eyes. She chatted with her younger siblings, we showed her some things we've been doing, Jake played the piano for her - a medley of all the songs he knows. She also showed us her cool scars that she's getting from where her stitches were on her arms from lacerations. She has a pretty awesome looking scar next to her right eye. She will wear them all with pride! Her biggest current concern is that her hair was shaved on one side for a procedure they had to do when she was in the SICU. I told her that now she gets to have a hairstyle I wouldn't have ever let her have when she was a teen.

We talked for about 30 mins or so. She was happy and it brought me such a sense of peace and happiness knowing that even when her mornings start out hard, she has support and is getting through this. We are getting better at lip reading and she is getting better at lip speaking ;) By the time she can talk again, I'll have mastered it. Probably a day too late.

Shannon's spinal cord and brain are our major concerns right now, as well as her ability to breath on her own. Part of her brain injury is do to impact, part is probably from when she flatlined on the operating table with her spine surgery. She has to relearn so many things and we don't know yet what her life going forward will look like. Because her spinal cord was partially severed, she might have permanent paralysis. She might not. She may have to use a ventilator for a long period of time, even after she is home with us. She might not. It all depends on Shannon working hard, her body's ability to heal, and our Father in Heaven's plan for Shannon. We still need prayers. Lots of prayers.

Please pray for Shannon to continue to progress with her breathing, for her brain to continue to heal, for her to stay strong and work hard to regain her past physical abilities, and for her spinal cord to be healed. Pray that she will have the comfort and peace she needs in the long lonely hours, and that she will feel the love of her family, friends, and Savior Jesus Christ. It all sounds like we need a huge miracle. And we do. But looking back at the last two weeks, knowing that Shannon should not have even survived a single one of her injuries, let alone all of them-- I'm inclined to believe in just that.

In spite of all that Shannon is going through, she still has her classic sense of humor, sass, and sarcasm. This is what she'd be quoting after the teasing conversation we had today:

Ursela: You’ve got it sweetcakes. No more talking, singing, ZIP!!

Ariel: But without my voice, how can I?

Ursela: You’ll have your looks. Your pretty face. And don’t underestimate the importance of “BODY LANGUAGE”

The Little Mermaid.