Shannon Sciara Funeral Fund & Autism Support

Hi, my name is Angel Gass and I am setting up this fundraiser for my Aunt Shannon and Uncle Danny in this time of need. I wanted to set up a donation for my Uncle Danny and their three children living at home due to their autism and to help raise money for the sudden and unexpected death of Shannon Sciara on Saturday, October 8th. A life that was taken sooner than it should and will impact their daily greatly. Danny and Shannon Sciara were together for over 35 years and have 5 kids together, Dustin, John Nicholas, Grace, Ethan and Luke.

Grace, Ethan and Luke were all diagnosed with autism as young children and Shannon needed to stay home with them to take care of them, get them to and from therapy and different medical appointments the three of them. Shannon and Danny put their all into making sure they gave these children the best they could to help them grow and navigate this world. Shannon spent countless hours being an advocate for them, researching new treatments and therapies, putting them on special diets, seeing doctors that would try alternative treatments and anything that could possibly help them. Grace is non verbal and she even worked hard to get her a computer program that could help her communicate. Caring for them was more than full time job that she took on full force. Shannon was an advocate in the autism community and helped bring awareness about Autism and had Grace, Ethan and Luke in different activities for autistic children. They are all grown up now but still require full time around the clock care at home that Danny will be taking on by himself now. They have their routines and comforts and it is important for the three of them to not bring disruption to their day to day if possible and Danny is providing all the care by himself now.

But Shannon also had a several health issues herself. In 2019 she ended up with a blood clot in her leg caused from one of her autoimmune diseases and the doctors had to amputate her leg in order to save her life. She also went into renal failure and had to really fight hard to survive. She had a long recovery ahead of her and Danny was forced into early retirement to help care for her and their three kids living at home. Danny himself has also had his own health issues with having a major stroke about 6 years ago. Danny also has some physical health issues with his joints and has made his ability to move as he should a challenge. Danny always put Shannon and the kids first and made sure they were taken care of in spite of his own declining health. I am hoping to raise funds to ease the burden placed on him during this hard time.

Throughout all of this they incurred a lot of medical bills for Shannon and for their three autistic children. As Grace, Ethan and Luke became adults the help they use to receive for their therapy and treatments has stopped and now placed on Danny. They have done their best to manage but it has not been easy these past years on them emotionally, physically or financially. I am hoping we can raise some money so they can give Shannon a burial and service and to also help Danny with expenses for Grace, Ethan and Luke. Change for them can be a challenge and they may require some additional therapy to cope with loosing their mom. I hope it gives him some relief as he has to stay home and take care of them and figure out the next steps for their lives without Shannon. When he had to take early retirement he was not eligible for any social security and their only income was Shannon's disability which Danny and the kids will no longer receive. I am hoping we can raise some money for bills in his time of need so he can focus on Grace, Ethan and Luke and even himself and get some help navigating their new future without their mom.

I will update everyone once we have a service date so if anyone would like to attend. We still have to find a place to have the memorial service and as we gather that information I will post updates.