Supporting Shana’s Family

Our beloved sister Shana passed away on September 11, 2021.

On August 14, 2021, Shana suffered a catastrophic heart failure. The doctors and nurses at the local hospital in Idaho performed an open heart surgery that connected her heart directly to a machine. She was then flown to the regional cardiac center in Portland.  

After several days, Shana was able to be removed from this machine, but her heart was still being assisted by two smaller internal machines. Several days later her sternum was closed and shortly after she was removed from her ventilator. Once her ventilator was removed, Shana was with us again. 

For a single glorious week, Shana was returned to us. Shana’s husband, Jeff and her father, Rob were able to visit with her in person, and the rest of the immediate family were able to FaceTime. We were filled with relief and confident in her recovery. Shana was herself, whip smart and radiantly beautiful. 

After several days of lucidity, Shana began to experience delirium. Over a period of days, the delirium intensified. On the night of Wednesday, September 8th, Shana experienced severe abdominal pain. The following day she was sedated, re-intubated, and her gallbladder was drained. By Friday, September 10th, Shana’s heart was struggling to maintain adequate blood pressure. Our immediate family flew to Portland to be with Shana. We held Shana, we held each other. We prayed, sang and told stories. We gave Shana as much comfort as we could, and just before 6:25 pm, on Saturday, September 11th, Shana left us and went to be with God.

Shana is survived by her husband Jeff and their three beautiful children: Jake, age 12 (who has autism) and twins Naomi and Levi, age 5. They live on a remote farm in northern Idaho with two big dogs and eleven chickens.

The expenses Jeff and the kids now face are enormous. Medical bills, funeral costs, and lost income from these grueling and heartbreaking events.

Together, our donations will ease the burden that this crisis has imposed on the family. Let’s leverage the power of social media. Please contribute what you can (no amount is too small) and not only pass this message on to your community, but also prioritize this message as you do so. Everyone’s feed is crowded with notifications. This is real and this is happening right now, so if you can, please take a moment to share this message and give it its due priority.

When we decided to set up a GoFundMe page, we originally thought it would be to help Shana’s family get through her recovery. Now, the focus has shifted to help them get through life without their wife and mom. 

Shana wasn’t eligible for life insurance because she had pre-existing conditions. Every donation will help. 

Thank you with all our hearts.