By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
Shannon McPherson-Adams unable to receive transplant, but family continues campaign
CANFIELD—Things seemed to be going well for Shannon McPherson-Adams as support for the Match4Shannon campaign led to about 1,000 new stem cell donor registrants, all hoping to find a compatible match in time to stop the rare form of cancer the registered nurse from Canfield is battling. Then, doctors gave her some difficult news.
“When we first found out that the transplant wasn’t going to be an option for Shannon, I was pretty discouraged and frustrated because we’d spent so much energy on increasing the stem cell registry, and we had about 2,000 followers on our Facebook page,” explained Shannon’s husband, Brad Adams. “You could see the joy and the expression on everybody’s face when they were doing these registrations. They sent hope for Shannon at that point.”
In addition to processing the news himself, Brad realized he had to tell the 2,000 people who were eagerly supporting their family online that this wasn’t happening: “How was I supposed to do that?”
Brad wrote a letter and sent it out to Shannon’s followers, letting them know that the stem cell process would not be a possibility and thanking them for helping: “I could see the despair in all the remarks that people were sending back…. It was so sad, and then it was just quiet. I felt like I owed it to them, and to the drive that I had started, to make it something and to give some happiness back to these people that had tried so hard for us.”
Brad began brainstorming ways that he could continue to promote the cause to honour the donors who had already signed up and to spread the impact of Shannon’s story even further. Brad, Shannon, and their two daughters have a history of riding horses together, so riding across the county they live in and the county Shannon works in came as a natural way to say thank you and pay the outpouring of support received forward.
HALDIMAND—Brad Adams, seen during his Ride for the Registry, covering many towns in Haldimand and Norfolk over 10 days.
—Photo by Melanie Steeves.
“Haldimand Norfolk has been our stomping grounds all our lives…. That seemed to be where the majority of interest in the group was from,” said Brad. “I looked at the calendar and the end of our drive was May 15 and I said, ‘You know what? It’s just time to cowboy up. Let’s turn this lemon into lemonade.’”
Shannon loved the idea, but reminded Brad that he had already done more than enough to champion her cause. However, Brad still felt like he had some fight left in him to raise awareness for the final days of the Match4Shannon campaign.
“We started a campaign and we’re not at the finish date yet. From day one we said that it wasn’t just for Shannon. The registry is for any one of the 800 people in Canada that are currently waiting for a stem cell transplant and a donor…. It’s important to continue raising awareness because right now during COVID, the registry is down about 70% because there aren’t physical drives.”
He continued, “I was just going to do it by myself and ride as far as I could each day, and that was going to be it. The more I got thinking about it, the more I realized the good potential here to do some fundraising.”
His ride will cover hundreds of kilometres, stretching from Dunnville to Port Dover along Lake Erie before turning back around and travelling through Hagersville and ending in Caledonia on Saturday, May 15. “The transplant is no longer an option for Shannon, but she is behind this drive to save others that are,” said Brad.
After learning she was not an eligible transplant candidate, doctors attempted to use stem cells made from Shannon’s own blood, leaving her feeling very tired and ill. Brad added, “What I think was the worst for her was losing her hair. Even though we tried to make that as comfortable for her as we could, it was hard for her.”
Doctors have placed Shannon on maintenance drugs for now: “The point of the maintenance drugs is to keep her with us until a cure can be found for her particular cancer, or steps are made in the improvement of the stem cell transplants, and that might be an option again. Right now, she’s actually feeling better with these drugs than she has in quite a while; she’s sleeping well and has a bit more energy.”
Despite the tough hand she has been dealt, Shannon herself is feeling the love she has been sent by so many in her community. She said, “This community blows me away every day with their kindness and generosity. The love and support we receive every day is nothing short of amazing. You have all inspired me to be a better person and I can’t wait to get better and pay it forward.”
She concluded, “I am so blessed.”
