Hello.
My name is Josh Sanders and I am doing this fundraiser for my wife, Shannon. Shannon is my beautiful wife and the mother of our three young children. She does her best every single day to provide for our children and give them everything they need. Anyone who knows her, knows Shannon isn’t someone to let people know she doesn’t feel good, or needs help. She will put a mask on, and act like there is nothing wrong with her, just so she can see smiles on our children’s faces.
In February 2024, she began experiencing what we thought were complications with a medication she was taking. She immediately stopped taking the medication, but her symptoms did not get better. They in fact, got worse. She began to rapidly loose weight and she was unable to keep anything down. Shannon began experiencing chills, rashes, and constant debilitating pain throughout her body. The vomiting got worse, and she was unable to eat for days at a time. It got to the point where she would become so weak she could not get out of bed. Test after test, doctor after doctor—no one could find anything wrong. All the results were coming back as “normal”. Shannon was not going to take that for an answer. She is a stubborn, outspoken woman who doesn’t take no for an answer. She was determined to figure out what was going on in her body. She went from being a perfectly healthy 39 year old, to one who couldn’t even leave the house because of the pain she was in. Her body was deteriorating from the inside out.
Finally, 7 months after her symptoms began, she was given some answers. After a positive ANA test, she was told she had an autoimmune disease(s). The 40lb weight loss, vomiting bile, weakness, pain, swelling….was all contributed to an autoimmune disease. This was a whole new world for my wife. She had never been told she had an autoimmune disease–because it was never triggered. Something triggered it, and while the doctors have an idea of what triggered her disease(s), I will not disclose that at this time until we have more information. This is where it really got bad. Shannon was not hit with just one autoimmune disease, she was hit with three.
In January of 2025, Shannon was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis. Her rheumatologist wasn’t stopping there. He was very concerned with her liver enzymes, and the fact that she was still barely eating and constantly vomiting up bile. After a few trips to UT Southwestern in Dallas to visit with the hepatologist there, she had a liver biopsy.
Shannon was given the news that she “knew” she would hear, but didn’t want to.
She also has autoimmune hepatitis (of the liver). It did not stop there. Once she talked to the hepatologist again, she was told her biopsy also showed she has hepatic vein thrombosis, which is the restriction of blood flow from the liver to the heart.
Her next appointment is for an echocardiogram and to meet with her cardiologist in Dallas. They will then discuss results and what they think the next steps for her care will be.
Shannon researched care for her diseases and reached out the The Mayo Clinic. She did this all on her own–no help or referrals from any of her other doctors. After two long weeks of waiting to hear from them, She was accepted as a patient at their clinic in Arizona The hospital is supposed to be one of the best hospitals in the country for autoimmune diseases, and it is a blessing she was accepted. Her autoimmune hepatitis/heart combination is rare, and for her to be in the care of the doctors at the Mayo Clinic is exactly where she needs to be. Shannon is a big advocator for those with autoimmune diseases, and she is very vocal about what these things can to do someone. She has reached out to several people with autoimmune diseases as well, and hopes to build a community where people can speak freely about their diseases and what they have been through.
All of Shannon’s care team is located outside of Midland. Shannon travels constantly from Midland to Lubbock and Dallas, several times a month to meet with her doctors.
We leave at the beginning of July for Arizona. I will be traveling with her to The Mayo Clinic, and will not be working during that time. We do not know how long Shannon will be in Phoenix. We have been told anything from 5-7 days, to several weeks or longer. It all depends on what the doctors see when she gets to Arizona. We will not be receiving any financial assistance for her trip to Arizona. We will have to pay for hotels, food, medical, ect all on our own, but we have to do what we have to do in order to get her the help she needs. Shannon has had to quit her job. There is no way for her to have a “normal” job and perform every day tasks in the condition she is in, and the constant doctors appointments she has to go to. It amazes me every single day how she manages to put her pain and sickness aside as much as she can, and take care of things at home, along with our three kids.
This fundraiser is for her. I know she is the “organizer”, but that is only because I did not know how to get it started. If you can help with anything, we greatly appreciate it. Anything donated will go to help pay for her medication, medical bills and stay at the Mayo Clinic. If you can’t donate money, we just ask for you to pray. Please pray for Shannon. Pray she gets the the help she so desperately needs and deserves. She is loved. She is cherished. We want her here with us.
Please reach out to me personally with any questions.
Thank you.
-Josh Sanders.
