Support of TeamPen
Donation protected
The friends of Guy, Shannon, Pen & Joey have created this GoFundMe page to allow people both near and far to support the family. We know everyone has done so much already and Guy, Shannon, Pen & Joey are so appreciative of all the generous support provided to date (and continuing to be provided!), but we are putting up this page because of the continued and repeated requests from members of TeamPen for more ways to help.
If you would like to, you can make a donation here which will be used for various expenses such as medical costs not covered by insurance, groceries, laundry/housecleaning, and hopefully some much needed time to relax and spend some downtime together (the family has already planned a trip to relax and rejuvenate after the chemo is over and Pen is feeling better, so this could also go towards some special activities for them).
The family will also be making a donation to Children's Hospital in Pen's honor.
TeamPen has shown itself to be an incredible village, and we are so grateful to everyone for all they have done so far.
xo,
Friends of Guy, Shannon, Pen & Joey
(And for those of you new to Pen's story, we have included Shannon's initial email below for some background.)
Shannon's Email on Dec 24, 2018
Hello to our beloved family and friends,
First, thanks to everyone for all the love and support, it truly has meant a great deal to us. We cannot begin to express our gratitude for our village.
We thought it made sense to update everyone since we have been unable to connect to you all individually. Some of you know all of this, some only know bits and pieces, so we’re putting it all down to help answer your questions.
On Thursday evening (the 19th), we were at a friend’s house for dinner, when Rebecca Beroukhim (fellow Driscoll mom and cardiologist) said, Pen looks anemic, you should take her to the doctors. She followed up with text later that evening and I knew her alarm bells were going off. The next morning, we went to our own pediatrician. She examined Pen and told me to take her to Children’s Hospitals emergency room because she felt a large mass in her abdomen and another near her neck. The look on her face told me all that I needed to know.
Pen and I left for the emergency room and Guy met us there. We had a really long day of poking and prodding. By the end of the day they determined that Pen was very anemic. Red blood counts should be between 10 and 13, and she was at a 6. It was determined that Pen’s spleen was enlarged (the mass that the pediatrician felt), which seemed to make sense because her spleen was trying to process out all of the anemic blood. They admitted us to the Pediatric Unit. That night, Pen was given some blood to bring her levels up and was feeling quite a bit better. But the doctors were puzzled as to why she became anemic in the first place. They decided to do an ultrasound and found a concerning mass in her gastrointestinal region. Now we were getting really, really, worried. On Saturday, they did a CT Scan to get a more detailed picture, and that scan revealed lymphoma. Today, December 24th, Pen had a biopsy and we are awaiting details on what kind of lymphoma it is, what the treatment plan will look like, and our timeline.
When I told Pen she has cancer, she had her usual million questions. When she felt satisfied with my answers, she said, “I can do this. I just don’t want Joey to worry. I want her to have fun.” Pen’s calm nature and, less face it, stubborn will to find the truth, is what will propel her through this. She has always been, and remains my inspiration.
How are we feeling? Pen is her normal self. She has moments of frustration with her IV line and with wanting to be home. She inspires me with her steadiness, as she always has. We overheard her tell her friend who asked if the hospital did anything for Christmas, “Yeah, I think they are pretty big on that here. They want kids to be happy.”
Josephine is making the most of some extra play dates and sleepovers (Thank you Ana, Paddy, Jasmin and Violet and Leslie, Jim, Campbell, Callum). I feel more like a schizophrenic: mama bear personality, almost a mania of endorphin-like type A mom, and overwhelmed emotional Shannon who just wants to feel in control and make this easy for Pen and Joey.
If any of you see Zippy and Zara’s mom Rebecca, please hug her and thank her. It was her willingness to speak up that got us on the right track. We are forever indebted to her.
Our dear friend Heather Walsh has agreed to be the point person to control all the information and answer questions on how to help, etc. Her email is [email redacted]. We will be passing on your emails to Heather, and you will see a request to join the TeamPen Google Group. Once you are in, you can check in on our progress or see what we might need day to day. We love you all and know we can get through this with you holding us up.
As Dolly always says: “If you want the rainbow, you’be gotta put up with the rain.” I guess this is our rain:)
We Love you!
-Shannon
On behalf of Guy, Penelope, Josephine (Winnie, Sylvia and Arrow too!)
If you would like to, you can make a donation here which will be used for various expenses such as medical costs not covered by insurance, groceries, laundry/housecleaning, and hopefully some much needed time to relax and spend some downtime together (the family has already planned a trip to relax and rejuvenate after the chemo is over and Pen is feeling better, so this could also go towards some special activities for them).
The family will also be making a donation to Children's Hospital in Pen's honor.
TeamPen has shown itself to be an incredible village, and we are so grateful to everyone for all they have done so far.
xo,
Friends of Guy, Shannon, Pen & Joey
(And for those of you new to Pen's story, we have included Shannon's initial email below for some background.)
Shannon's Email on Dec 24, 2018
Hello to our beloved family and friends,
First, thanks to everyone for all the love and support, it truly has meant a great deal to us. We cannot begin to express our gratitude for our village.
We thought it made sense to update everyone since we have been unable to connect to you all individually. Some of you know all of this, some only know bits and pieces, so we’re putting it all down to help answer your questions.
On Thursday evening (the 19th), we were at a friend’s house for dinner, when Rebecca Beroukhim (fellow Driscoll mom and cardiologist) said, Pen looks anemic, you should take her to the doctors. She followed up with text later that evening and I knew her alarm bells were going off. The next morning, we went to our own pediatrician. She examined Pen and told me to take her to Children’s Hospitals emergency room because she felt a large mass in her abdomen and another near her neck. The look on her face told me all that I needed to know.
Pen and I left for the emergency room and Guy met us there. We had a really long day of poking and prodding. By the end of the day they determined that Pen was very anemic. Red blood counts should be between 10 and 13, and she was at a 6. It was determined that Pen’s spleen was enlarged (the mass that the pediatrician felt), which seemed to make sense because her spleen was trying to process out all of the anemic blood. They admitted us to the Pediatric Unit. That night, Pen was given some blood to bring her levels up and was feeling quite a bit better. But the doctors were puzzled as to why she became anemic in the first place. They decided to do an ultrasound and found a concerning mass in her gastrointestinal region. Now we were getting really, really, worried. On Saturday, they did a CT Scan to get a more detailed picture, and that scan revealed lymphoma. Today, December 24th, Pen had a biopsy and we are awaiting details on what kind of lymphoma it is, what the treatment plan will look like, and our timeline.
When I told Pen she has cancer, she had her usual million questions. When she felt satisfied with my answers, she said, “I can do this. I just don’t want Joey to worry. I want her to have fun.” Pen’s calm nature and, less face it, stubborn will to find the truth, is what will propel her through this. She has always been, and remains my inspiration.
How are we feeling? Pen is her normal self. She has moments of frustration with her IV line and with wanting to be home. She inspires me with her steadiness, as she always has. We overheard her tell her friend who asked if the hospital did anything for Christmas, “Yeah, I think they are pretty big on that here. They want kids to be happy.”
Josephine is making the most of some extra play dates and sleepovers (Thank you Ana, Paddy, Jasmin and Violet and Leslie, Jim, Campbell, Callum). I feel more like a schizophrenic: mama bear personality, almost a mania of endorphin-like type A mom, and overwhelmed emotional Shannon who just wants to feel in control and make this easy for Pen and Joey.
If any of you see Zippy and Zara’s mom Rebecca, please hug her and thank her. It was her willingness to speak up that got us on the right track. We are forever indebted to her.
Our dear friend Heather Walsh has agreed to be the point person to control all the information and answer questions on how to help, etc. Her email is [email redacted]. We will be passing on your emails to Heather, and you will see a request to join the TeamPen Google Group. Once you are in, you can check in on our progress or see what we might need day to day. We love you all and know we can get through this with you holding us up.
As Dolly always says: “If you want the rainbow, you’be gotta put up with the rain.” I guess this is our rain:)
We Love you!
-Shannon
On behalf of Guy, Penelope, Josephine (Winnie, Sylvia and Arrow too!)
Fundraising team: TeamPen (2)
Heather Walsh
Organizer
Brookline, MA
Guy McPherson
Beneficiary
Shannon Hedrick
Team member
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