On Monday, December 8th around 12:30 A.M., Shelley suffered a stroke. However, it took 40 hours for us to finally get that diagnosis.

She went to the ER as soon as her left side went numb, along with having slurred speech and trouble walking, and was sent home after they ran tests and could not find anything wrong except slight anemia.

Hours later, her daughter woke up to her choking on her own vomit. From then on, she could no longer walk or stand on her own and would get sick every time she moved.

She went back to the ER about 12 hours after the initial visit and was finally admitted at 8 P.M. on Monday, December 8th, even though they still could not figure out what was wrong after many tests and scans. She was admitted thanks to the advocacy of her children & sisters. She ended up having to be sedated and intubated the following morning.

She was airlifted to Virginia Mason on Tuesday, December 9th. Once there, a neurologist said that Shelley had suffered a stroke and currently has a blood clot in her brain.

From the moment Shelley started developing symptoms, she believed that she was having a stroke. She & her children told her doctors & time & time again they were told that she was not. She was let down by her providers almost every step along the way, until she was released to Virginia Mason.

Her children & sisters asked the doctors over & over to please do one more scan of her brain. They asked if something could now be visible that wasn’t before, and were told no.

As soon as she got to Virginia Mason, they said what we had feared all along. It was a stroke, and now it had happened almost 2 days prior.

She is going to need extensive rehabilitation and therapy. That’s where you come in!!

To know Shelley is to love her. She is a mom, sister, daughter, aunt, & friend. She is the most generous and big-hearted person. She loves others fiercely. She is the first to be there in others' time of need, and now she needs you.

Any donation, big or small, goes straight to her hospital bills and rehab. We are also asking for any and all prayers that can be sent her way.

any & all updates on Shelley’s progress will be located here.

UPDATE 12/9 11:15 P.M.

The doctors believe that they got all of the blood clot!! We are now waiting to see how much damage was done. That range could be very broad and very bad. We know that there was at least partial damage to her brain stem.

UPDATE 12/10 10:30 A.M.

Shelley is moving very poorly. Her doctor is worried about locked-in syndrome. He is not completely out of hope, but says she needs to improve significantly in the next couple days for there to be much optimism. There is a chance she would have to live the rest of her life on a feeding tube & vent.

UPDATE 12/10 6:00 P.M.

Shelley is still intubated, sedated, & on a ventilator. The goal right now is giving her body as much rest as possible. She tries to open her eyes when prompted, and was able to slightly move her right hand. We are celebrating every small victory!!

UPDATE 12/11 12:30 P.M

Shelley has been more alert today. She seems stronger and is able to open her eyes for longer periods of time. She can see & hear us and will react to what we are saying. Movement is still minimal, but we are very hopeful.

UPDATE 12/11 9:30 P.M.

Shelley is still fighting, and she’s fighting HARD. She is surrounded by love, both in & out of her hospital room. Here are some specific prayer requests we are asking for:

UPDATE 12/12 6:00 A.M.

Shelley’s neuro check went well this morning. She was able to open her eyes multiple times on command! She had some left hand movement along with some small feet movements! She was able to move her tongue a little 3 times, so they will do a respiratory test to set if she can get her tube out. These are all small victories! Please continue praying.

UPDATE 12/12 12:00 P.M.

Shelley had a very good morning! The doctors put in a central line to administer medication. This is mainly so they don’t have to keep poking her with new IVs. It is a more long term solution. Please continue your prayers. They are working.

UPDATE 12/12 6:00 P.M.

Shelley had a great day!! She was able to answer some yes & no questions by blinking and moving her head. She knows her name and where she lives. She’s in there!! Now it’s just working on getting her out. We need continued prayers for her strength & her ability to move on command.

UPDATE 12/13 10:00 A.M

The doctors are giving Shelley another liter of blood. They don’t think she is making any because her iron is so low. She is responsive, but it getting some answers to yes or no questions wrong. She is moving her tongue more & they are sitting her up to try to reduce more swelling.

UPDATE 12/13 4:30 P.M

Head CCU doctor said that Shelley needs to get her tube out in the next couple days due to the risk of infection, pneumonia, etc. He isn’t sure that she will be able to breathe without it because it’s holding her airway open. He said that the hope is that it will come out and she can breathe on her own, but he doesn’t really see that happening. If that’s the case, they can either make her comfortable and let her pass on her own, or they can take her into surgery and put in a tracheotomy. If that’s the choice, she will probably never be able to move home because of the level of nursing she will need.

The doctor also does not believe she will ever be able to move again. She has had a decline in her movement over the last 24 hours and at this point they wanted to see vast improvement.

She is conscious & able to communicate for about 10 minutes at a time, and then falls back asleep. They don’t know if that is just due to exhaustion or if that is what the rest of her life will look like.

Because she can communicate, they are going to let her choose what she wants to do about her intubation

Here are the biggest prayers we need right now:

• that Shelley will be able to breathe on her own

• that Jesus will perform a miracle and allow her to move again

• for Shelley to have discernment in her decision, and that we can all accept whatever that may be

UPDATE 12/14 1:00 P.M.

Doctors think that when they remove the tube, it’ll cause damage to her throat, and they might not be able to get it back in. They are going to talk to her again about what choice she wants to make or if she has made a decision. They are going to continue to ask her for at least a couple days, to make sure that they do not catch her on an off day and truly hear her voice.

The prayers above are still our highest priority.

UPDATE 12/15 10:30 A.M.

Doctors did a bubble test on Shelley yesterday. This is a test to see if there are holes between the chambers of her heart. This could have caused a clot to form & caused the stroke. We are still waiting on results.

UPDATE 12/15 2:00 P.M.

They did rounds and told us she had a hole in her heart and that they are going to try to manage her pain better. We met with the palliative care specialist and they are going to talk more to her today and even ask her who she wants to be there for that.

UPDATE 12/16 12:00 P.M.

We are doing our best to let Shelley rest & give her quiet time when she needs. When asked if she wants privacy, she almost always says yes. The palliative care specialist explained to her & us that she will have to live in a 24/7 care facility with highly skilled professionals. There are only two in the state, one in Seattle & one in Puyallup. This is obviously only if she is able to breathe on her own or decides to get a tracheotomy.

UPDATE 12/17 1:00 P.M.

Shelley threw up twice last night, but the doctors think that she just has an upset tummy, and it’s nothing more. Other than that, there is no other news. We are still hoping & praying for a miracle.

UPDATE 12/18 9:00 A.M.

Shelley’s heart rate was in the 40s all night, & she went into AFIB twice, but bounced back. The doctors think it’s because of her pain medication. Her blood pressure has been steady. They did an abdominal ultrasound yesterday to make sure her feeding tube was still placed correctly and it is. They also did one on her legs to check for any blood clots & there weren’t any. She was up for longer periods of time yesterday & spent lots of time with her kids. Please continue your prayers.

UPDATE 12/18 2:00 P.M.

Shelley talked with the doctors again. She isn’t ready to make a decision. They’re going to move forward with a trach and moving her feeding tube to her stomach to give her more time to decide. The tracheotomy will take place tomorrow. This will give her more comfort and a clearer picture of life moving forward. She says she is excited to get the tube out of her mouth.

UPDATE 12/20 11:00 A.M.

It’s trach day! They should perform the procedure in the next hour or so. She will be put under general anesthesia. The procedure itself takes about 20 minutes. In the next couple days, they will move her feeding tube as well. Please pray for a smooth procedure for both Shelley & her doctors.

We were able to see Shelley smile last night as we all sat around telling stories & laughing. Now it’s all of our goal to make her smile again!

UPDATE 12/19 1:30 P.M.

Shelley’s tracheotomy is done! They said everything went well, and she will probably have some pain/discomfort for the next day or so. It'll take a couple hours for the anesthesia to wear off. They do think they found some pneumonia in her left lung, but it will take a couple days to get the test results back.

UPDATE 12/20 4:00 P.M.

Today is Shelley’s first full day with the trach. They moved to the tracheostomy collar. They unhooked her from the ventilator to give her the chance to breathe on her own and now she has a mask on her tracheostomy that mists like a humidifier. She has been doing a great job breathing on her own!! She is taking it easy & listening to a Christmas movie.

UPDATE 12/21 10:00 A.M.

Shelley’s labs all look great, her white blood cell counts are down and antibiotics are working well. She stayed on the trach collar all night and they rolled the ventilator out of the room completely. She’s doing so well that they are going to move her down to floor 16 and off the vent floor!!

UPDATE 12/22 8:30 A.M.

Shelley spent her first night out of the critical care unit last night. They put a waffle mattress under her that inflates with air and helps adjust her position. She is tired this morning because they came to move her every couple of hours last night. Over the last couple days, we have seen her laugh and smile many times, which fills us with a lot of hope. Please continue your prayers. Shelley’s feeding tube surgery is scheduled for 1:00.

UPDATE 12/22 6:00 P.M.

Shelley’s surgery went well, & is in her room resting.

UPDATE 12/23 12:30 P.M.

Shelley will be ready for discharge at the end of the week. There are 6 facilities that she can go to, 5 on western Washington and 1 in Spokane. She will be there for weeks to months. After that, when will be released to 24 hour care to a family member or another facility. We asked Shelley if she heard and understood the nurse and she said yes. A referral has been sent out to all 6 places, and they will let us know who has a bed for her.

UPDATE 12/27 4:00 P.M.

Shelley celebrated Christmas in the hospital with her children. She is still having lots of visitors. We heard back that a facility in Seattle & a facility in Tacoma have a bed for her, so our family will be looking into those if that is what she wants.

UPDATE 12/28 10:00 A.M.

Shelley’s doctor came in this morning and upped her pain meds. They also laid out three options for her:

The doctor said there is no rush to make a decision today or tomorrow, but hopefully by mid-week. Please pray for Shelley to have discernment in her decision, & for us all to accept it.

UPDATE 12/30 1:00 P.M.

Shelley has decided she would like to come home & be put on hospice. We don’t know when she will be brought home yet, but she will be given additional medication for comfort. This is not the outcome any of us had hoped for, but Shelley is pretty much in constant pain, & deserves to be at peace.

We are still figuring out all the details. Thank you for all your love and support. Please pray for Shelley’s soul & that she may find peace & comfort with Jesus. Please pray for her children and they begin the process of saying goodbye to their mom. Please pray for our family as we try to navigate through this grief.

UPDATE 12/31 3:00 P.M.

Shelley is coming home tomorrow. She will get to spend time with her family in the home she raised her children in, which is such a blessing. Her bed & equipment has already been delivered. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts & prayers.

UPDATE 1/13 9:00 A.M.

Shelley is home & is comfortable. She is surrounded by her family & a lot of love. We are no longer taking visitors, but we would like to thank everyone who came and saw Shelley & let her know just how loved she truly is. Hospice guessed she had 5 days left to live when this began & we are on day 13. This just proves how much of a fighter our Shelley is.

UPDATE 1/13 5:00 P.M.

Shelley passed away around 1:30 this afternoon. She is now in paradise with Jesus.

Thank you for all your prayers, donations, & kind words. They truly meant everything to us.

Due to Shelley’s cognitive & physical ability, we are transferring the beneficiary to her sister, Stephanie Bollinger. This way we can have access to the donations to help pay for her bills.

We are still asking for prayers at this time. Miracles happen everyday, and Shelley is worthy of one. We are not giving up hope.

We have officially reached our financial goal, now we need prayers more than anything.

Thank you to everyone who was generous enough to donate. You have no idea how much it means to Shelley and her family. You have given us a great amount of peace in this time of distress & uncertainty.