Help Shannon Beat Lymphoma!

Hi, my name is Cody and I am raising money to help my best friend and beautiful wife, Shannon beat Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

I met my wife in 2021, 3 years after moving from one end of the state to the other in order to be closer to my kids. I knew instantly that she was what I had been searching for the last 3 years, it was her smile that caught my eye and her absolutely amazing personality that made me fall in love. She is one of the most caring and compassionate people I have ever known, and I am lucky that I get to call her wife. Shannon is fierce and protective. She is one of the strongest fighters I know. She always puts others needs before herself. This is why she deserves to be first for a change.

Here is our story.

We got married November 13, 2022. Nine days after we were married, I tested positive for Covid-19; 6 days after that I was admitted to the hospital with accute respiratory failure. I spent the next 25 days in the ICU. I can tell you that I would not be here now if not for her. She is an RN working in hospice and worked in the same building I was being treated in, only 2 floors above me. The first week she spent nearly every hour next to me, making sure that I was breathing and taking care of me at every moment. By every right, she should not have been in that room with me, as the hospital was still in pretty strict Covid restrictions. Only by the grace of God was she there, using her knowledge as a nurse to advocate for me and my life. At the end of that first week, a doctor approached her and informed her that she would have to leave. For the next 3 weeks I was on my own. Every day I could expect to see her face poke in the door as she was leaving work or on her lunch. Every day, probably more that she let on, she would call the into the unit to check on me, making sure I was being taken care of. She went to bat for me when I wasn't able to. I wanted to be home for Christmas, to see my kids who I hadn't seen in almost a month. I was discharged on December 23.

Once I was out of the hopsital, she helped care for me, as is her nature. She was so patient, helping me do simple things I never imagined would be so difficult, like getting up out of my chair or going to the bathroom. This was one of the hardest times either of us have faced, and we were putting our wedding vows to the test. In sickness and in health. Not many people experience that, let alone so soon into their marriage. We would soon see the testing of another part of our vows.

Here comes for richer or for poorer.

In May of 2022, I was laid off. My world was turned upside down. For the last year I have been searching for a job with no luck. Shannon has been a rock, supporting me and encouraging me through this difficult time. Things were relatively normal and seemed to be on the upswing. I was dealing with long-Covid stuff, she was working her butt off, not letting anyone see how difficult it actually was. Little did we know that things would take a massive left turn.

Shannon was diagnosed with Stage II Hodgkin's Lymphoma in September 2022. Who knew we would be revisiting in sickness and in health? She started chemo treatments a couple of weeks later and finished them up about 6 months later. In mid May, she had a follow up PET scan to determine if she was in remission or not. We got the results back on June 27 and the cancer is still there.

The next step is to start a second round of more intensive chemo. This would be a 3-5 day inpatient stay at the hospital every 3 or 4 weeks for 2-4 treatments, followed up by a autologou

s bone marrow transplant. That is essentially a bone marrow transplant using your own bone marrow stem cells. Being the strong and selfless person Shannon is, you might not see how hard this is for her. She's got a pretty good poker face, unless you knew her like I do. Her biggest concern is not how she will feel going through this next stage, not how difficult this might be. She was concerned if she will still be able to work during this. Remember how I said she was a fighter and put others needs before her own?

With the money raised from this I want Shannon, my wife, my best friend, to know that she is taken care of. I want her to know that she can focus on herself and getting through this and kicking cancer's big stupid ass. I want her to know that she won't have to worry about bills getting paid or not while I am still looking for a job while she may not be able to work. I want her to know that we will still have a home and food on the table for the next 6 months. I want her to know how it feels to be put first.

Any support from a dollar to prayers would be greatly appreciated ❤️