Continuation of pictures from the beginning....

 Here's a sample of her painted toes.  Boy did she love to show those off.  This is on the 14th of June.

No one could pack the ice packs around her head the way she wanted after the surgery to replace the bone.  One was good enough, two wasn't good enough, seldom were 3 ice packs good enough, she needed FOUR!  And, after we would arrange them around her head, she would rearrange them.  You can see that the eyes got all bruised and swollen from the surgery but nothing like the first.  She has been eating her -- well, drinking sort of, it is a thick smoothie of sorts.  She still has her feeding tube.  June 15th.

Another view of how much Shannon enjoyed her Dad being with her at the hospital.  Her scar is
very well already.

"I have to eat this?  Are you kidding??"  She did not like to eat.  We had to count every ounce of all she ate and drank trying to get enough calories in her to feel comfortable taking her home.  She always felt like she had eaten a ton more than she had.

You would think that she would be excited for a burger and fries but she wasn't.  It had taken a long time to get to this point and she still wasn't wanting to eat much of anything.  But she sure wanted to go home.   This is June 26th.  We went home on July 1st.  7 weeks after the accident.                                                                                                                                             

4 days before going home.  You didn't find too many times that she was happy like this.  All she wanted was to go home. 

 

July 21st.  Don't take my picture!

We got home and picture became somewhat extinct.  Shan hated having her picture taken once we got home.  I have no idea what changed things but pictures were hard to get!












This picture is July 15th when friends were over.  She wasn't happy about her picture being taken here either.  But look how long her hair has gotten.  She is heavy into therapies at this point and hating it all!!

What a fun day this was.  On August 2nd, Shannon's 17th birthday we invited everyone over to celebrate her life.  These are two of her good friends.  

Rollerblading!!  That was one of the biggest goals when she came home.  She wanted to roller blade and thought we were terrible for not letting her.  I believe this picture was close to the end of August.  She did roller blade several times but it was much more difficult than we had thought.  The biggest challenge was her energy level.  But she was excited to be on roller blades again. 

 

 We all know how much Shannon missed her long long hair.  We thought we would do extenions but as we learned how damaging it can be to the hair, it didn't sound like the best option.  We finally went with a wig.  She really seemed to like it.  Some people did and some didn't but she was happy for a time and that was what counted in our minds.  She's wearing her volunteer shirt from the American Fork hospital where she volunteered once a week for the first semester back to school.

 Look how long her hair is here at Thanksgiving time.  Isn't it so cute!!  This is her sweet sister, Kate.  They have been best of friends.

 Goofing off with Grandmother's jewelry.  But look again, how long her hair is and how cute she is.  At this point, she has proven that she can still pull a 4.0 although it takes a LOT more work. 

 This is Shannon's new friend, Tiffani.  Tiffani had a tramatic brain injury in August and through the Lord's intervention, the two of them were connected.  They have become great friends and it has been so good for Shannon to have someone who knows how it really feels. 

 Hair has always been an issue.  This picture she is having fun showing how long her hair is getting.  She loves to do crazy things with her hair the same as she did when her hair was long.  She knows it isn't my favorite so she sticks out her tongue to tell me its her way! :)

Christmas.  Dec. 23rd.  Shannon got her glasses by this time.  It made a huge difference.  Her balance improved some but most of all, it became easier to read and do homework.  It still takes a long time to process all she needs to remember.

I think that is all I will post for now.  It takes you from that first horrible day to close to where she is at today.  Shan has posted some picture of herself recently especially on facebook.  I will ask her to transfer a few of those to the blog.  She is really gorgeous when she went to preference.  This is the end of this posting but perhaps I will return and give my thoughts on where she is.  As I mentioned, this blog has become Shannon's and its important that she has contact with those that read it.  Please post back to her so she knows you are there.  It means a great deal to her.  If you can't post, then email her or send her a note on facebook.

We haven't posted an email address because we don't want unsolicited emails.  But I think at this point that it would only be from those who really want to reach us and continue to follow Shannon's story.  If you would like to reach us, email me at pmbalp@aol.com.  I don't check that email often for it is for mostly business stuff but I do check it.  You are welcome to use it to even contact Shannon if you want to reach her.  She is especially anxious to connect with other teenagers that are dealing with brain injuries.
Pheobe