Shannon And Claires cuts for Shania

After the devastating news that shania had this disease called Neur-o-blast-o-ma a childhood cancer of the nervous system, something that we had never heard of before. The doctors told us that they would have to operate to remove the tumour that was attached to the inside of shania's skull, which was putting pressure on one of the main arteries in her brain. This was going to be a very delicate and dangerous surgery for shania. After Karen and I regrouped ourselves from the "every parents worst nightmare news", the doctor , Karen and I told Shania about the operation that she would have to undertake. The very first question that she asked was will they have to cut my hair? And when we told her yes , this was Shania's most devastating news, they where going to have to shave her head. She was so upset that they would have to cut her long beautiful brown hair! The surgeon realizing what her hair meant to her, said that they would try not to shave her head , but that there was no guarantees. After the operation, which seemed like an eternity for Karen and I. Shania was so happy to wake up and find that they didn't indeed end up having to shave her hair off after all !!!!

Shania after her surgery. She was so happy :)

But this was just the start of Shania's journey with cancer. Next she would have to undergo chemotherapy which would cause her to loose her hair gradually. We didn't know how to break this to her all over again! Julie Constantine, Shania's clinic nurse whom she loved dearly, helped us tell her that we would never lie to her and that her hair was going to fall out from the chemo that she was going to have to take. It was so sad to watch her hair fall out in clumps at a time . The only thing that she had to look forward to was that she could get a wig made from the hair that someone had donated. She was so happy the day that she got her wig., it meant so much to her! We just wish that the person that donated there hair could have seen the joy in shania's eyes when she got her hair/wig. We would have loved to been able to thank them for this selfless gift from heart! Shannon was there though, when Shania picked up her wig and she did see that joy in Shania's eyes, she knew what it meant to the big sister that she loved so dearly. Just this winter Shannon on her own, asked if she could donate her hair so that kids with cancer could have a wig like Shania did. Shannon has beautiful naturally highlighted hair. Karen and I knew that some child would be overjoyed with her special gift!

Shania and Shannon at the Hospital For Sick Children

About two months ago a young lady by the name of Claire Flynn e-mailed us, you might remember Claire from Shania's blog, She is the brave 21 year old woman skydiving in Australia with Shania's T-shirt on. She mentioned that she wanted to donate her hair to a child with cancer also and was wondering if she could do a fund raiser at Shania's fun fair to help with her cause at the same time. We thought that this was a great idea and asked Shannon if she would like to do this also. She said that she really wanted to do it for Shania. So if anyone else is interested in donating there hair also, we have checked it out with Lynn Wilson and Pam-Osorio-Kettle at SickKids Foundation and they said that they could set up a web page on there website and do there fund raising through that. Claire is going to Zambia, Africa in June to help build houses with "Habitat for Humanity" We hope that she can send us some pictures of her there doing this most worthy cause. If you would like to donate to "Shannon and Claires Cuts For Shania" here are there web pages at the SickKids Foundation. Claires is : http://my.e2rm.com/personalpage.aspx?registrationID=618280 and Shannons is : http://my.e2rm.com/personalpage.aspx?registrationID=617829





Thank you Claire and Shannon for believing in Shania's cause and giving such a thoughtful gift to these children.

Love,

Shayne & Karen

Lets make a difference together!

We had our last Committee meeting before Shania's huge annual fun fair, which is in less than two weeks away. There is a huge amount of work behind the scenes to set up this fun filled family day, but this is truly a labour of love for Karen and I. We have an incredible group of kind and caring people on Shania's fun fair committee, they take time out of there busy lives to help in Shania's cause. Karen and I would like to thank Anji Sharp, Janine Brauer, Jodi Folkes, Alison Lyon, Michele Ward, Terry Woods, Sandy Kerr, Nitsa Mangos, Robert Graup, Melissa Shorley, Lina Dinardo, Brenda Taylor, Heather Fornear, Adrienne Long, Sherry Coombs, Dana St Louis, Lynn Gomes, Paula Tobias ( Tim and Deb Fittler for Shania's Golf Tournament) from the bottom of our hearts for believing in shania's dream for a cure, which helps these children suffering from this dreadful disease. You cannot imagine what this hope means to these Children and there families. "Hope" is a powerful thing and without it there would be no chance for a cure. There are people that doubt that there will ever be a cure for cancer, but we have seen how committed the people at SickKids Foundation and The Hospital for Sick Children are in finding a cure for this childhood cancer. Everyone has been effected by cancer in one way or another, a spouse, a family member, a friend. To do nothing shouldn't be an option, this would be like turning your back on them and just waiting for the big C to hit you. They are saying that very soon 1 in 2 people will get cancer, this is fact not fiction. I've heard it being called the silent epidemic. But on the positive side of these facts are that we can turn things back around. Shania taught us a life lesson (: she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up :) that we should never forget and that is that anyone can make a difference, young and young at heart! We hope to see you and your friends at Shania's Sunflower of hope Fun Fair, lets make a difference together!

We will always believe in and love you Shania we will we will!
Love Shayne, Karen & Shannon