Today marks the 1 year anniversary of the Think Positive for Shane.
You will all remember our difficult journey this time last year. Shane had sceptic shock resulting from complications of chemotherapy. It was such a surreal ordeal for us. Firstly, Shane had no awareness that something was happening, fortunately for him, he was already in hospital under the supervision of the best team of nurses around. The end result was a trip to Intensive Care.
That was a whole new world. We were very accustomed to the routines and expectations of the ward 5C. ICU was a completely new ball game. We had no idea what to expect, and what was to come.
For four days Shane battled extremely high temperatures (40+ degrees), heart rates constantly above 120bpm, blood pressure dropping to 70/40, a phenomenal amount of medications and NO Sleep! On the fourth day, he had an episode of psychotic behaviour causing him to be sedated.
This was such a difficult time. I remember the phone call on the day it happened, the mad rush to the hospital, the nurse telling me I cant go in, and the Doctor coming out to meet me in the company of the social worker. Its never good news when they're with a social worker. This was immediately followed by the phone call to Simon, Shane's dad. It nearly breaks my heart in two when I remember that call. I can only hope I will never in my life have to make such a call again.
8 Days we waited. Shane continued his internal battle, but no change.
ICU doctors told me no change was no good. Haematologists said no change will be made until those little neutrophil cells came back. This made things very confusing.
Meanwhile, our good friend Angy contacted me and asked if we were interested in holding a Positive Thinking event for Shane where everyone at a designated time would send their positive thoughts and prayers. A facebook page was started, and it took off rapidly. Messages of good will came from all around the world. People shared storeys and photos and love and so much positive energy. This page kept me strong.
On this particular day, I went into ICU with some questions prepared. At this stage we didn't know what caused Shane's psychosis, and each morning the Doctors would turn down his sedation to see how he would waken. Each day, no success. I had to ask about the risk of permanent brain damage. A combination of high temperatures and chemo straight to the cerebrospinal fluid could easily cause cellular damage, and we just weren't getting any results. It was getting to a stage where the person lying in the bed no longer seemed like Shane. He had lost all his hair and with a lack of communication or personality, its hard to remember that this person was really him at all.
We held the Think Positive for Shane event at 8pm. It was a Thursday. Simon, Nancy and myself were right beside him. We held our hands on his and closed our eyes. The feeling in the room was so electric. It really felt as though we were funnelling all the energy dedicated to Shane through us and into him.
Then he moved his hand to on top of ours.
Such as small gesture, but it was nothing short of a miracle.
When all seemed hopeless to me, such a remarkable situation arose. The very next day, despite still being sedated, Shane was awake!
He even winked at me.
I am so grateful to everyone who contributed to this moment. I believe that without this event, we may have had a very different result. The power stemming from the collective consciousness was astronomical, miraculous and unbelievable. It is truly amazing what we can achieve when we all work together.
As we return to the daily grind, it is important that we remember remarkable moments like these. That people need positive energy to thrive more than they need food or water.
So, remember to share the love!
Peace
xx
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