Hi, I’m Shannon! I’m currently thriving in a fulfilling leadership career, but I felt the urge to create a platform to pay it forward – sharing my wild life and the lessons I’ve learned along the way. I discovered my voice through writing personal essays inspired by these lively experiences. As a wife, a proud mom of boys, a passionate traveler, and an advocate for proactive living, I’ve created this space to share uplifting stories about resilience, prevention, advocacy, and the joy of moving forward!
Follow my journey in 2026 as I take charge of my health with a proactive decision: a prophylactic mastectomy. Read my first blog post on the reasons behind my choice, the timing of the procedure, and what’s next on this path.
I live in Central Pennsylvania with my amazing husband, Glenn. Together, we make up a blended family with four boys between us. My sons are 16 and 20; both are deaf and have cochlear implants, and we know sign language. My oldest stepson is an architect in D.C., while the younger is an industrial designer in Philly. My oldest son is a sophomore at the University of Alabama, and we have fully embraced everything Roll Tide! My youngest son is a sophomore in high school and is eagerly awaiting his next chapter in life, as we are already touring colleges! Overall, it’s the best blend of boys, though we do have two Ethans, which tends to be a tad confusing for everyone.
Though I would be remiss if I didn’t mention our two furbunnies, Cinnabun and Eeyore; they are house rabbits who are utterly spoiled!
We cherish adventures as a family, exploring everything from concerts to travel, journeying from coast to coast and across continents.
It’s no surprise that I’ve expedited my timeline. I do zero or 100% – rarely anything in-between. I wish I had more patience sometimes, but in this situation, there is no going backwards. So, I figure I may as well run toward the finish line. And when I really sit with the “no going backwards”…
If you heard me say, “I’m excited for surgery,” you’d probably stop mid-sentence and question everything you thought you knew about me. Maybe even check for a pulse. Because the old me? Wanted nothing to do with hospitals, IVs, or anything remotely surgical. Heck, I think I may have even self-cured my needle phobia (kidding).…
There’s a moment when your mind gets ahead of your reality. When the what-ifs start to take over, and suddenly everything feels bigger, scarier, heavier than it actually is. Your mind starts filling in the blanks – and more often than not, it gets the story wrong. That’s where the monsters live. And the moral…
Today was my first post-op visit. Thankfully we didn’t need to leave the house at 4am! It was an odd feeling being driven back to the hospital. The last time I was there I was wrapped in what felt like bubble wrap from head to toe and floating on the perfect pain pill cocktail so…
This chapter of my story might actually be a love story, not my recovery – but in all honestly, he’s been part of my recovery since the day we met, just in a different context. And by now you know I like to hold onto the positive things in life – flipping the scary and…
…well, every little thing was indeed all right. But my oh my – waking up from general anesthesia is tough. It is this sticky fog you try to break free from, and just when things start drifting into place the quicksand of the drugs pulls you back under again. It feels like that dance is…
Johns Hopkins is world renowned and packed with groundbreaking resources. But at the end of the day, it is still a city hospital. Buildings stretch across multiple blocks, connected by bridges and corridors that cross over busy Baltimore streets. It feels like a labyrinth of medical care woven right into the fabric of the city.…
Control what I can control. Because I am, admittedly, a bit of a control person. So here are the things I can control. I am visualizing walking into the hospital on Wednesday and saying, “Let’s go.” Or something much wittier. I am far better with clever humor in the moment, so I am confident something…
As surgery approaches, I find myself thinking about another medical office. Another moment that altered everything. Nearly twenty years ago, I was fifteen months into motherhood and fully confident I was crushing it. My son loved Celine Dion lullabies. Or so I thought. Turns out, I was the only one enjoying those. If Spotify had…
Today’s blog post is about gratitude. Because one thing I do in life is take something that feels negative or scary and flip it. I look for the piece I can grab and hold onto that is good. There is almost always something. Even though I have been focused on surgery and fear and countdowns,…
I picked up my virtual pen and paper when I hit the 30 day surgery countdown. But I could not get my words to make sense. Two weeks ago, I had all my post-mastectomy supplies happily sitting in my Amazon cart. It was like my brain and my heart were in conflict. Logically, I knew…
The author reflects on her experiences with breast cancer, shaped by the losses of her mother and grandmother. After a decade of fear and anxiety, she decides to undergo a prophylactic mastectomy to reduce her high risk. Emphasizing a proactive approach, she aims to reshape her identity and share her journey.
MY LIFE MOTTOS:
- Live life big (this one is a given)
- Try not to stress – it always works out just as it should
- Lead by example
- Be silly at any age – joy is contagious
- Take all the pictures of your loved ones – even when they don’t want to
- Grow your circle – the more connections you have, the more enriched your life will be
- Be kind – always
- Say please and thank you and hold doors open for strangers
- Smile – be the person that exudes happiness
- Give back to the community with time or money, or both when you can
- Live simply so you can travel often
- Tell those you love, “I love you” as often as you can
LIVE LIFE BIG 