Susan Shaughnessy 1978-2008

It is with a very heavy heart that I post today.

Our very dear friend, Susan Shaughnessy, passed from this life on November 17, 2008. She died peacefully in her sleep surrounded by family and friends on Monday evening.

Funeral arrangements are currently being decided upon. Services will most likely be held at the end of this week in St. Louis, and we have been told that a memorial mass will be offered for Susan in Washington D.C. sometime in December.

Susan's family wishes to extend their thanks for all thoughts and prayers that have come their way in this time of need. Your outpouring of support and love is greatly appreciated.

We have a few photos from our wedding that we will be putting together tonight sometime, and hopefully we will have it up on our site tomorrow. Check back again later.

If anyone is ready for life eternal, it is Susan. God is getting quite the angel.

You will be missed, Susan.

Exciting news

As some of you know and for those of you that do not know yet, we are pleased to announce that we are expecting our 2nd child on March 2, 2009. Sorry for the delay, it's amazing how much attention Gillian takes away from informing people of important developments like this (yeah, that's right, I'm blaming it on an innocent little girl). We will post sonogram pictures just as soon as we can (hopefully tonight). But....no promises since it took us 4 months to post that Michelle is pregnant :)

Halloween Costume

No one saw this coming did they? Gillian was a dog for Halloween. Her very first trick-or-treating experience is captured on film below....Shaun and (Dr.) Lisa (note the shirt...) were first on our list. We also visited Jason and Sara, Margie and Dan, and Megan.

Pre-game photo opportunity with Mommy.
All fired up for candy!!!

Mom? Dad? Are you SURE this is gonna work?You tell me, who's more excited?

Pumpkin carving

In the happenings of last week, I fell a little behind in posting pictures, so here are some from our pumpkin carving endeavor. In the beginning Gillian didn't quite know what to think...then she decided she would help...
Uh, Gillian....why don't you pull the seeds out not put them back in.
Finally got it figured out but quite obviously Gillian thinks the inside of a pumpkin feels precisely the way that I do -- disgusting.

The latest on Susan

We received this email on Friday, so I apologize for the latency. Please continue to keep Susan in your prayers. The email...

Mr. and Mrs. Shaughnessy had a family meeting with two of Susan's doctors yesterday (a critical care doctor and a neurologist), who went over some more details about Susan's condition.

The doctors showed them the MRI and explained that there is extensive inflammation in the brain and the brain stem. The intravenous delivery of steroids will be discontinued after seven days, then steroids will be given in decreasing oral doses for two weeks.

Susan had another MRI late last night. The doctors did not see any increase in brain swelling. They did see some new areas of inflammation, but these could have appeared before the steroid treatment was initiated. She also started her second round of plasmaphoresis today and will receive her third round on Sunday.

Susan's brothers are now in town to visit.

One of Susan's doctors walked into her room and said she felt something special happening in the room, that she could feel God's presence and had gotten goosebumps when she walked in. The nurse accompanying her pointed out all the holy images friends have brought to keep in Susan's room. It turns out the doctor is Catholic and had offered her prayers for Susan today!

As you can tell by the email, all of the prayers and good vibes are making their way to Washington D.C. -- so keep it up!

Update on Susan's condition

As of late last night, here is the latest on Susan (so the "tomorrow" references below are actually occurring today sometime):

Today the doctor's started Susan on a second regimen to treat the ADEM (acute disseminated encephalomyelitis - the condition in which her immune system is attacking the brain and causing her symptoms).

The new treatment is plasmaphoresis/plasma exchange, which is a little bit like kidney dialysis for the blood. The blood is removed from the body, the red blood cells are removed and returned to the body, while the remaining fluid (plasma) which contains the antibodies attacking the brain is discarded and replaced with new plasma. Susan began one round of this treatment today and will receive four more treatments over the coming days.

Tomorrow Susan will undergo another MRI to determine whether the steroid treatment is having any effect on the inflammation.

Also, the results of her 24-hour EEG (electroencephalogram - monitoring of the brain waves) showed that she is not having any seizures. While she is still on the ventilator, her own breathing has gotten somewhat stronger.

Added prayers will never hurt, so please pass this along to any prayer chains you might have, or say a special intention as often as possible.

Thanks, and I will keep this blog updated as things change. If you are interested in putting a face with the name, Don has updated his blog with a picture of Susan.

Update on Susan - as of late yesterday

First of all, thank you all very much for your prayers. We received an email from one of Susan's roommates late yesterday afternoon, and I wanted to share with you. We have not heard much beyond what I have put in quotes below, but please keep praying.

I wanted to give everyone a short update on Susan as of this morning. Two of her doctors, a neurologist and an infectious disease specialist, spoke with her parents about her status. The tests for bacterial infection have come back negative. They currently believe that Susan did have a viral infection which is now gone but she is suffering from certain post-infection effects. In short, the doctors believe that Susan's body produced antibodies against a viral protein which happens to be similar to a protein produced by her brain. So her immune system is treating that protein as if it were viral, causing inflammation in the brain. She is currently receiving steroids to try and counteract these symptoms. The exact virus is yet unknown, the doctors are still waiting for those results.

Michelle's class made cards for Susan and her family yesterday and we are mailing those cards to Washington D.C. so that her family may read the words of encouragement. If you wish to send something, even just a note of prayer, contact me and I will give you the address to which you may send your items.

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST

We found out this morning that a dear friend of ours, Susan Shaughnessy is currently in a coma in Washington D.C. We would like to ask that you pray for her recovery and for her family. I have pasted some of the text from the email that Michelle received below. Some of you may recall that Susan was in our wedding. Her and her family have been close friends of the Youngmans for many, many, many years.

Please keep the Shaugnessy family in your prayers, especially Susan. The text from the email....

Dear friends of Susan,

I'm sorry to relay this news over e-mail for those of you who are hearing this for the first time. I am a housemate of Susan's. She is currently in the hospital and in need of your prayers.

She wasn't feeling well last week and had flu-like symptoms. This Sunday afternoon she was admitted to the hospital and is in the neuroscience intensive care unit in a coma. The cause of her illness is still unknown, she is undergoing a battery of tests. Since we don't know the cause there is yet to be a prognosis on her condition.

Her condition is serious and we need to pray for a miracle. Susan has a great love for Pope John Paul II and I would like to ask you to join in praying for his intercession. I've pasted a short prayer below.

O Blessed Trinity
We thank You for having graced the Church with Pope John Paul II and for allowing the tenderness of your Fatherly care, the glory of the cross of Christ, and the splendor of the Holy Spirit, to shine through him. Trusting fully in Your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession of Mary, he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd, and has shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life and is the way of achieving eternal communion with you. Grant us, by his intercession, and according to Your will, the graces we implore, hoping that he will soon be numbered among your saints. Amen

Please, please, please pass this along to whomever might be on your prayer lists, and I will update this blog as I know more.

Fight hard, Susan!

Very first fat lip

A couple weeks ago at the ballpark, Gillian was having a blast running around the picnic table while Mommy chased her. She took turn #3 a little too tight in her lap around the table and went mouth-first right into the bench. The light was a little poor, but you can see her swollen upper lip in the pic.

Playing at the park

As I mentioned in my previous post, playing at the park is now a favorite pasttime of ours. This shot opens with Gillian summoning up the courage to go down the slide, then engaging in a rousing game of peek-a-boo with Mommy, after which she hurtles herself down the slide again. After that, you'll even get to hear one of her patented phrases as she doles out a "hi" to a passing car.

">