Daily Archives: February 18, 2010

UPDATE, 8:45pm:Shortly after I published my update earlier, I got a couple of frantic calls from my mom, as I was at work and in a phone conference. Shayna’s health is rapidly deteriorating, and we thought that she had a mere few hours to live. I said good-bye, that I love her and that she’s my hero.

Ever the fighter, it’s now some 10 hours or so later and she hasn’t given up yet. It’s been a rough day for me, essentially awaiting the phone call to inform me of my sisters death…as much as I love my sister, I want her pain to be over more than anything. She’s put up one hell of a fight for 4+ years.

I have talked with several people that spent time with her today, and all acknowledge that she’s very near the end.

Please pray for an end to her pain and for her to be at peace. Also, help out her family, if you can, by donating to www.shaynaann.com.

UPDATE, 2/18/10, 08:34am:I got a phone call from my mom last night, and she said that they’ve taken Shayna to a Hospice facility of some sort (sorry, I’m not very familiar with Hospice to be honest), in an effort to get her medications regulated. This way they can monitor her around the clock to make sure that the medications are how they need to be. She’s only supposed to be there for a couple of days. Hopefully they get it all worked out and she’s more comfortable after she leaves there.

2/16/10, 2:43pm:This is a hard update to write…and I’ve put it off for a few weeks now. I’ll start it off by pasting my Facebook status from my January 28th update:

“OK, I avoided putting this up last night when I found out, but this is weighing heavily on my mind-my sister is not doing well, she has taken a drastic turn for the worse in the past few days even, just as she turned 32 on Sunday. They have taken her off of Chemo because she is too weak to continue it, and they are looking into Hospice options right now.”

I also said the following, amongst the nearly-60 comments I’d received on the updated status:

“I just want everyone to know that she’s fighting, but this thing is trying desperately to kick her ass…I want to thank everyone for their concern and prayers. I cried a lot last night over this. I only posted this on here because I know that there are a lot of people who actually *know* my sister on my friends list, and several others who care by proxy (I’m talking about you fellow OB Walkers)…Wendy was there at the appointment and says that her read was that Shayna had somewhere between months and a year to live. Shayna’s a fighter though, this thing has spread throughout her body, and she isn’t giving up and going down without a fight…”

All of that transpired about 2 1/2 weeks ago. So, is there any new status? Not really, she’s still not doing well and she’s still fighting it. She’s trying to get all of her affairs in order for when something does happen while she can. She mostly is limited to being home and in the wheelchair, and someone is always there to assist her (friends while Danny is at work).

The only update is that recently, I keep getting told by family and friends that I should come out for a visit before it’s too late, but I don’t know if I can do that for a myriad of reasons. We’ll be there in about 40 days so that Mary and I can have our wedding. I have hope that she’ll hold out at least until then. It’s very rough to be far away, and to hear concerned friends and family members that she may not make it that long.

Shayna’s a fighter, and she’s my hero and I love her, and I know she’s going to do everything she can not to leave those daughters of hers behind until she has to, but I also understand the reality is that it’s going to happen in the near future, barring a miracle, and I’ve accepted that.