Let Shane support Shauna in her recovery and rehab

The past two weeks have been an excruciating roller coaster of health nightmares for Shauna, and I(Holli) want to get them some breathing room so Shane can stay at the hospital full-time and support Shauna in her recovery. I've detailed their story below:

If you know Shane and Shauna, you know they are never apart. From their 16 years of marriage, they’ve never been apart for more than 2 days. They also rarely get sick and Shane has never even had to take Shauna to a doctor. So just before Christmas when Shauna had a sore throat, she put herself to bed to rest and recover. The next two weeks would be an excruciating journey you thought only could happen in medical TV Dramas, and definitely not happen to healthy, 37-year-old moms.

Friday, December 22nd: Shauna’s sore throat had turned into an ear infection. Shauna’s head was pounding and her ear was draining. During the night, she began throwing up from the pain. Her right forearm started to swell and get tight. It’s 10 pm when Shane and Shauna make their way to a standalone Emergency Room.

Upon arrival, they admit her, but realize they were out of their league and needed to get her to a hospital. They move Shauna by ambulance to a full hospital, while the swelling is spreading up to her shoulder and into her chest. They arrive to the ICU with 10+ frantic doctors trying to figure it out and decide if they can handle her unknown, but worsening, condition. They decide she needs a Trauma 1 Care Center and relocate her by Helicopter to ORMC, Orlando Regional Medical Center.

Saturday, December 23: 10:30 am Shauna is taken in for emergency surgery. The doctors tell Shane they don’t know what exactly it is, but they have a couple of ideas, and need to get in there to figure it out. Shane is left in the hallway, with all those unknowns and clasping onto Shauna’s discarded Snorwhal PJ Pants like Linus from Charlie Brown. You can only imagine all of the scenarios Shane played out while he was waiting. He’d later learn that upon administering anethesia, Shauna died on the table. They were able to revive her after 3 minutes. They do the surgery and discover Necrotizing Fasciatis– aka Flesh Eating Disease.

Necrotizing Fasciatis: there are 2 steps to stop it. Cut out all of the affected flesh via Debridement procedures. Then, blast it with penicillin.

After surgery, Shauna is septic. They decide to put her on a ventilator and feeding tube, and keep her sedated. For the next 9 days, Shane sat by her side (Not sleeping, cause you’re not allowed to sleep in Trauma ICU rooms), only leaving while they changed her dressings. They aren’t sure what the survival prediction is and Shane said “It felt like we were just going minute by minute.” This is the longest they have every gone not talking to each other in their 16 years of marriage. I can’t even fathom what would be running through my mind at this point.

Sunday, December 24: Shauna is taken in for another Debridement.

Tuesday, December 26: Shauna is taken in for another Debridement, each time removing more skin, more flesh, down to the muscle, all while Shauna is still unconscious and Shane isn’t able to sleep on site.

The ORMC is usually a 2 hour drive with traffic from their home where their son is being cared for by Shauna’s mom and stepdad, Mark. The 4 hour round trip isn’t feasible on a daily basis, though Shane has traded off with Shauna's mom 3 times to see J and get some rest. Shane needed to prioritize being by Shauna and supporting her.

Monday, January 1: Shauna is taken in for yet another debridement. The doctors decide she’s stable enough to bring her off of the ventilator. As you can imagine, Shane has been protecting their young son and he hasn’t been able to talk to his mom since before Christmas. Shauna’s voice is weak, and she’s not yet aware of the severity of her surgeries. They change her dressings and take pictures 2x/day which is excruciating because the dressings stick to the exposed muscle.

Tuesday, January 2nd: Debridement. The doctors begin using synthetic skin to start covering her forearm wounds. Shane mentioned it, “Starts to feel like day by day, rather than minute by minute.”

Wednesday, January 3rd: J, their son, has still not seen or even talked to his mom yet. Shane has visited home 3 times and said, “he’s being well loved by Shauna’s mom and Mark.”

Thursday, January 4th: Another Debridement and the addition of a wound vac to keep the area clean and hopefully speed up the healing process. Shauna’s 6th surgery in the past 2 weeks, with many more to come. After 12 days in the Trauma ICU, a Stepdown room is offered to Shane and Shauna, meaning that Shane will actually be allowed to stay and sleep in the same room as Shauna, while they begin the next phase of recovery: skin grafts and physical therapy.

What the future looks like:

While right now it looks like Shauna is stable, she is facing months of recovery in the hospital. Those upcoming weeks and months will include physical therapy and skin grafts. Her left arm is weak. She can sit/stand only with assistance.

On Shauna’s right arm and chest, where everything has happened, the muscles are still there, but need to be built back up. Some mobility will be lost but as of right now, they are not sure how much. On top of the functional rehab, there is the cosmetic and surface rebuilding that will have to take place through grafts and reconstruction.

Why a Go Fund Me?

Shane and Shauna have shut down their primary source of income, their eBay business. Shane has The Studio Challenge that will keep rolling to support his creative, coaching outlet and give him a sense of community. But right now, Shane’s #1 priority is to “Be here and take care of her.” With that in mind, we wanted to create a little breathing room for their next few month’s of expenses. If you are in a position to donate, it would be going to an incredible family who I know would be so grateful. If you are not in a position to donate, please share their story. Shane has influenced countless lives throughout his coaching career via music teachers and their students, and I know we can join together to lift them in this tumultuous time.