Shannon's fam needs your help
Donation protected
On the morning of Sunday, August 10th I found my wife Shannon unconscious on our couch. On Friday she had taken our daughter Grace and our nieces to the beach, because she had promised them all summer and wanted Grace to see the beach for the first time.
Shannon had started some new medication a couple weeks before this, and had been complaining about her allergies. When she returned home from the beach late on Friday she took some allergy medication. The next morning, as I made breakfast for all four of the girls, Shannon took her new medication.
A few hours later she fell asleep on a chair in our living room. We did make fun of her a little because she has done this many times and when awoken always says "I'm not tired". You see, Shannon is a nurse and works odd hours, which sometimes affects her sleeping habits.
When I woke her up, she was groggy. So I told her I would give the girls a ride home because she was in no condition to drive. When I returned home a few hours later I found her lying on the floor, a small brush burn on her forehead.
I was able to wake her up, she told me she was just really tired and had not been sleeping well. She stayed up for a few hours, and then decided to sleep on the couch for the night, saying it was more comfortable for her.
When I came downstairs at 6am, I found her in the same spot on the couch. I tried to wake her for 20 minutes, including putting ammonia under her nose. After calling one of her friends who is also a nurse, I called 911 and our doctor. I will never get the image of Grace patting her mommy on the tummy saying "wake up mommy, wake up" . It broke my heart.
When the ambulance arrived they worked on Shannon for another 20 minutes before rushing her to the hospital. After my mother took Grace I followed. There I watched as the doctors and nurses tried to wake Shannon up. They discovered that besides any problems cause by the drug interaction, she had also aspirated and had fluid in her lungs, which had caused a reduction in oxygen in her body.
They decided quickly they needed to get her to the Hershey Medical Center because they have specialists and specialized equipment for this type of emergency. After several hours Shannon was transported via a Life Flight helicopter to the Hershey Medical Center, which is about 110 miles from our home.
There they placed her on a ECMO machine, which removes blood from her body and super oxygenates it and returns it to her in a effort to allow her lungs and heart to rest. She was also placed on a ventilator. After 5 days they were able to remove the ECMO from Shannon. She had recovered enough strength in her heart and lungs to be able to survive using just the ventilator. Currently Shannon is still unconscious and fighting off several infections that have occurred while in the hospital.
The main reason I have set up this go fund me page is, because of happenstance, we were without medical insurance for a few months. And while I applied for all the help that can be provided financially, we don't know what the bills are going to be like.
Also Shannon, Grace , and I had a rough year overall, with several unexpected bills that have wiped out our savings completely.
And now with just my salary I don't know if we are going to be able to continue paying our rent or most basic bills. Grace still needs to attend daycare so I can work, and Shannon will be incapacitated for what I have been told would be at least months before there was any chance of her recovering enough to go back to work.
I have applied for Shannon to get disability but that takes at least 6 months, and I'm not sure how we are going to make it that long.
I'm really hoping to be able to collect enough to try and keep us treading water until Shannon gets better. And I really hope that that is as soon as possible.
This request is based on a estimate of what we think we will need for about 6 months beyond my own salary salary. It includes daycare, groceries etc that Shannon's income was helping with.
I'm thankful for any support we can get.
Shannon had started some new medication a couple weeks before this, and had been complaining about her allergies. When she returned home from the beach late on Friday she took some allergy medication. The next morning, as I made breakfast for all four of the girls, Shannon took her new medication.
A few hours later she fell asleep on a chair in our living room. We did make fun of her a little because she has done this many times and when awoken always says "I'm not tired". You see, Shannon is a nurse and works odd hours, which sometimes affects her sleeping habits.
When I woke her up, she was groggy. So I told her I would give the girls a ride home because she was in no condition to drive. When I returned home a few hours later I found her lying on the floor, a small brush burn on her forehead.
I was able to wake her up, she told me she was just really tired and had not been sleeping well. She stayed up for a few hours, and then decided to sleep on the couch for the night, saying it was more comfortable for her.
When I came downstairs at 6am, I found her in the same spot on the couch. I tried to wake her for 20 minutes, including putting ammonia under her nose. After calling one of her friends who is also a nurse, I called 911 and our doctor. I will never get the image of Grace patting her mommy on the tummy saying "wake up mommy, wake up" . It broke my heart.
When the ambulance arrived they worked on Shannon for another 20 minutes before rushing her to the hospital. After my mother took Grace I followed. There I watched as the doctors and nurses tried to wake Shannon up. They discovered that besides any problems cause by the drug interaction, she had also aspirated and had fluid in her lungs, which had caused a reduction in oxygen in her body.
They decided quickly they needed to get her to the Hershey Medical Center because they have specialists and specialized equipment for this type of emergency. After several hours Shannon was transported via a Life Flight helicopter to the Hershey Medical Center, which is about 110 miles from our home.
There they placed her on a ECMO machine, which removes blood from her body and super oxygenates it and returns it to her in a effort to allow her lungs and heart to rest. She was also placed on a ventilator. After 5 days they were able to remove the ECMO from Shannon. She had recovered enough strength in her heart and lungs to be able to survive using just the ventilator. Currently Shannon is still unconscious and fighting off several infections that have occurred while in the hospital.
The main reason I have set up this go fund me page is, because of happenstance, we were without medical insurance for a few months. And while I applied for all the help that can be provided financially, we don't know what the bills are going to be like.
Also Shannon, Grace , and I had a rough year overall, with several unexpected bills that have wiped out our savings completely.
And now with just my salary I don't know if we are going to be able to continue paying our rent or most basic bills. Grace still needs to attend daycare so I can work, and Shannon will be incapacitated for what I have been told would be at least months before there was any chance of her recovering enough to go back to work.
I have applied for Shannon to get disability but that takes at least 6 months, and I'm not sure how we are going to make it that long.
I'm really hoping to be able to collect enough to try and keep us treading water until Shannon gets better. And I really hope that that is as soon as possible.
This request is based on a estimate of what we think we will need for about 6 months beyond my own salary salary. It includes daycare, groceries etc that Shannon's income was helping with.
I'm thankful for any support we can get.
Organizer
Kenn Boyle
Organizer
Hanover Township, PA
