Shane's Fight - Surgery #4

You are about to read the story of one amazing man, my husband Shane Palmer. Shane was born premature on November 29, 1971. In 1975, he was diagnosed with a Wilm’s tumor. Shane’s left kidney was removed and he received chemotherapy, radiation, and cobalt treatments. At 15, Shane was diagnosed with a benign spinal tumor. The tumor was removed and he underwent a spinal fusion, resulting in paraplegia. Shane regained walking, even when doctors deemed it impossible. When I met Shane in August 1999, I knew then that he was the one God had prepared for me and we were engaged four months later. We were engaged for four years, until I finished my undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education. Two years into our relationship, numbness began to creep back into the lower parts of Shane’s legs. When we married on May 17, 2003, Shane was walking with a walker and frequently using his wheelchair for mobility. Shortly after our wedding we resumed visiting Shane’s doctors and discovered that the spinal fusion was unable to support him anymore. The curvature of his spine was worsening and was beginning to affect his bowel and bladder function. We had no choice but to undergo a lengthy 10 ½ hour spinal surgery to break the original fusion and put in a titanium rod for support. We knew that he had a 50/50 chance of being able to walk again. Shane hasn’t been able to walk since. In 2009, all of the scar tissue from Shane’s previous surgeries had adhered to his intestines and was constricting them, resulting in a blockage that required emergency surgery. Seventeen days later Shane’s bowels were still not functioning. They ran several tests and found a blockage that was missed during the first surgery. The surgeon went back in the same thirty-seven staple incision to remove the second blockage. The trauma of this second surgery coupled with the extended use of TPN (bag nutrients) resulted in multiple infections that nearly killed Shane. After a hard fight, we were released forty days later. Shane has minimal tissue on his back due to multiple spinal surgeries and a sore developed while hospitalized. We visited a wound care specialist, but all of the attempts to close the wound were unsuccessful. The doctors said the only option was to remove the spinal rod, which we did. On August 19, 2014, Shane was diagnosed with Stage 2A colon cancer. Shane underwent a 4 hour surgery on August 23, 2014 to remove the cancer and two additional cancerous polyps. Shane has begun the long journey to recovery and beating cancer again. Shane and I have been greatly blessed over the course of our 11 year marriage. We have been through four costly, life-altering surgeries and more than some couples experience in a lifetime together, but it has all been for God’s glory. Following his intestinal surgery, I changed jobs within the education field. We had about $25,000 in medical debt remaining from the previous three surgeries. That’s how much I had built up in retirement and savings. I exhausted both accounts to get us out from under that burden. Shane does not receive government benefits for his disability because he has never paid into the system and I make too much as an educator (according to the government). Shane spent a total of twenty-three days in the hospital for the beginning of this most recent fight. Medical expenses and all that goes along with this battle are adding up quickly. We have no savings left and are asking those that feel led to help us tackle this next round of medical bills. God tells us in His Word to ask when we are in need and we are asking all of those that feel led to donate to do so. We pray that God will bless all who give and pray for us. My husband shines the light of Christ to all who know him and love him. I’m proud to be his wife. Our prayer is that God will be glorified through Shane’s most recent fight and his testimony. May God greatly bless you and your family!