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Today, March 7, 2008 Shane Passed away to be with the Lord. He did not lose his fight, he won. He won because he is now where we are all heading and hoping to go at our time of passing. I know that it is extremely sad and it has left a lot of us asking “why God?” Why would God take such a special and wonderful Husband, Father, Son, and Friend? I do believe what the Bible says, when it says, Gods ways are above our ways. In life, we are often left not understanding things. But Gods ways are above our ways. God knows what the future holds for the Champlain family. For those of you who were lucky enough to know Shane, I think you would agree. He was a very special Guy! Sometimes people are just so special that God wants them with him full time. I know that Shane helped me and made me want to be better. As a matter of fact, I think this may be what Shanes story truly was.I believe that God looked at Shane before he came to this earth and told him that he would be here just a limited time; however, he was not allowed to tell anyone about this. His mission while he was on this earth was to touch as many people as possible, and to get them to love him. Again, he could not tell anyone this plan and God looked down below at the success that Shane was having and smiled. He then called him home. For lots of people were touched by Shane, including me. Many people fell in love with Shane, including me. He was my friend. He touched me. I know he did the same for many of you. So even though Shane has passed on, it is not a tragedy, it is a success. For he did what he was supposed to do. He touched and loved many of us. We love you Shane!! Please pray for all of Shanes family, Mom, Dad, Shandon, Ethan, and Emily! I will update this page in the next day or so with all the funereal details. Please give to the Champlain family by following the directions on this page.
Sincerely,
Jay
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This web site is dedicated to the Champlain family. Shane, Shandon, Ethan and Emily. The Champlain family attends First Pentecostal Church here in Bakersfield California (www.gbfpc.org).
In October 2006, Shane went on a bike ride with a couple of his buddies. On the last day, he developed a very bad headache. Josh and Travis prayed with him, gave him several Excedrin and they all headed home. By the time they got home, Shane’s was in a lot of pain. On a Monday his mom and dad came down and took him to Sacramento where they live. His headache only got worse. Any movement or light was extremely painful. On that Wednesday, his parent took him to the E.R. They called me that night to say that the hospital had done a scan of his brain and they had found a tumor. The next day, myself and our son arrived at the hospital. The doctors had decided to do surgery the next day, Friday the 20th. The doctors went in and removed 90% of a 2 X 3 inch tumor. A biopsy on the tumor came back that it was cancer. The doctors warned us that, for a short time after the surgery, Shane might have problems with his speech, short term memory, remembering name, thing of that nature. The next morning after his surgery, he had none of those symptoms. By Sunday, he no longer needed any pain medication and on Tuesday, the 24th (our 8th wedding anniversary) they sent Shane home. We stayed about a week at his mom and dad’s then we came home.
A lot of thing started going through our mind. The prognosis, according to the doctors, was not good. We were unsure of what to do. We had been having problems for a while before his surgery. The devil was working us over good, and we were letting him win. Shane was gone most of the time. He had joined a Christian rock band and was either at practice, riding his motorcycle, or golfing. I was bitter and was always angry with him for being gone. We both had let our walk with God get put on the back burner. We were slowly drifting away from Him and before we knew it, here we were. We both decided right then that we were going to make things right. We became more faithful to church, we started actually having a prayer life at home. We got rid of everything that wasn’t right in our home. We found our love for each other again. And with our faith in God, we found the peace that only God can give. We know that He CAN and He WILL heal Shane. To this day, our faith in that has remained strong.
In December, Shane started chemo (in pill form) and radiation. He took the chemo pills daily and had radiation five days a week. The week after he started radiation, our daughter was born. Through December and January, he continued his treatment. At first, it wasn’t much of a problem. But as the treatment progressed, Shane became more and more tired. He didn’t have any energy at all. His hair on the left side started falling out. And at the end of January, he got what we thought was a head cold. After a week of having a constant headache. I took him to the E.R. They did a cat scan and found that the tumor had started to regrow and several cysts had formed. At the beginning of February, they did surgery again. This time, the doctor cauterized the part of the tumor that had started to regrow and put in tubes to drain the cysts. The tube was left in so that if for some reason the cysts started to fill again, they could be drained without surgery. We were then referred to a doctor in UCLA.
In March at UCLA they did an MRI and put Shane on chemo (pill form again). He took the pills for five days of a concentrated dose an was off for twenty three days. In May, they did another MRI with positive results so they continued the same treatment. In July he had another MRI which showed the tumor had started groaning again and there was quite a bit of swelling. They changed Shane’s treatment. He was now taking an I.V. chemo once a month and another drug to keep the tumor from forming new blood vessels every two weeks. The MRI in August showed no significant changes in the tumor but the swelling was almost completely gone. They kept the treatments going because it was working. We were soooo excited. In September he had another MRI. This time, the results showed the tumor had grown even more than July’s. We were all pretty upset. They told us that they wanted to do surgery AGAIN. Shane had some things planned for September and we asked if the surgery needed to be done immediately. They said that it wouldn’t be a problem to hold off, and just so that he wasn’t completely off treatment for a month, they put him on yet another chemo (in pill form again). So, on Wednesday, October 10th, he goes in for yet another MRI and with those results, we will know what action needs to be taken.
While all of this was happening, just after his second surgery. Shane felt called to preach. He has been studying the P.A.S.T.O.R.S. course. He has been writing songs for a CD he will be recording soon. And even though we have all been on an emotional rollercoaster, God has given us strength. We are remaining true to Him. We have good days and we have bad days. But, we try to keep in mind God’s promise that He will never put more on us than we can bear. Shane’s favorite scripture is Hebrews 11:1 “NOW faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” We appreciate all of you who have prayed with us and for us. Your prayers are felt every day. Our deepest gratitude those who have helped us in other ways. It has never ceased to amaze us, the support that our church, friends and family have shown us through this trial. We love each and every one of you.
On Oct. 10th we went in for another MRI. Those results showed a little more growth. So, Shane decided to definitely go ahead with the surgery. Since they say they should be able to remove most, if now all of the bulk of the tumor, there isn’t any reason now to do it. On the Oct. 31st we went to UCLA Harbor, where the surgery will be done, and met with the doctors there. The surgery is scheduled for Nov. 13th. On Nov. 2nd we went back to LA for a cardiac evaluation. He had to do that so he could take part in a study of a new drug, lapatonib. On Nov. 6th he will start the trial drug (it is in phase 2 of the trial). When they remove the tumor, they will do a biopsy on it to see if the drug is getting into the tumor. If it is, how much and how effective it is, and they will continue Shane on it. If it isn’t getting to the tumor, they won’t continue drug and we will try a different treatment.
On November 13th, Shane went into surgery at about 9pm. The doctor came in about 1:30am and told us that they had finished. The were able to remove 90% of the tumor. The other 10% was left because it had attached itself to some of the blood vessels in the brain. He came through the surgery just fine and I was able to see him about 10am on Nov. 14th. When I saw him he was having trouble speaking. The doctor told us that he was talking fine at 6am so they were going to do an MRI to see what was causing the problem with his speech. The MRI showed that he had a minor stroke. We are now waiting for the swelling to go down and the doctors think there won’t be much permanent damage. For now we are praying and believing that all will be fine. He already is doing much better than yesterday and we anticipate he will only get better with time and healing. Keep us in your prayers. We look forward to having more victory reports in future updates.
Shane continued to improve during his stay at UCLA Harbor. We had visits from several friends and family while we were there. It was good to see all of you who were able to come. It raised both of our spirits. I want to think Bro. and Sis. Frost for all they did for us. Staying with us those first few days meant more to us than we can say. Shane was released from the hospital on the 19th. After he got home he was extremely tired. He was unable to stay awake for very long. On the 21st I took him to the ER. They ran some tests and his sodium level was very low. The surgeon from UCLA wanted to transfer him back to Harbor hospital or at the least have him admitted here in Bakersfield. If his sodium level went any lower he was running the risk of having a seizure. Shane refused, he was tired of hospitals, (can you blame him, I can’t). He signed out against medical advise. On Thursday (Thanksgiving) we were at my Granny’s. He slept all day, got up to eat, then went back to bed. We were all concerned that he still couldn’t stay awake. We all spoke with him, he agreed to go back to the Er. First, we had Bro. Raymond come in to pray with all of us for Shane. The tests results in the ER showed his sodium level was up from the day before. They sent him home, and we went, as scheduled, to see Dr. Cloughesy on Wed. the 28th. Shane was supposed to restart the trial drug he started before his surgery. He got his stitches out but there was some fluid build up outside of the cranial cavity. They did a Cat Scan and decided to wait a week to start. On Tue. the 4th we went back up and all was fine and he is starting the trial drug tomorrow, the 5th. He is a little upset about that because the drug breaks his face out. But they have given us some medication for that. Well, that’s all for now. God Bless
Through most of December, Shane did very well. He was recovering alot of his speech and was feeling pretty good. Emilee’s 1st birthday was December 16th. We had a big party. She was so cute eating her cake and opening her presents. For Christmas this year we went to Sacramento. We were able to visit with all of Shane’s family. Grandma Champlain even did Dance Dance Revolution. That was truly a KODAK MOMENT. Shane stayed with his parents a few more days while I came back home with the kids to pack for our trip to Texas. Emilee started taking a few steps. She just refuses to do more than that. Right around Christmas, Shane started getting tired and his speech wasn’t getting any better, especially when he was tired.
On January 2nd, Shane, Ethen, Emilee and I flew to Texas. My Aunt and Uncle own a ranch just outside of Rock Springs, Texas. Stone Creek Ranch. My grandparent and my cousins Lauren and Jake had driven there a few days earlier. My grandad and my Uncle picked us up at the airport. We had a blast at the ranch. They had three quads and Ethen and Jake pretty much lived on them. Every once in a while Ethen would come in and ask me or Granny if we would like him to take us for a ride. Me and Emilee would get on behind him and he would drive. Emilee would laugh the whole time. Every night deer would come right into the front yard and we would feed them deer corn. One night Ethen stood in the yard very still and a baby deer came within 4 or 5 feet of Ethen and ate right at his feet. I was so exciting. Emilee just went nuts anytime we saw the deer or the cows, but especially the cows. She loved feeding them the cow cakes. She would squeel and just about jump out of your arms trying to get to them. A baby girl cow was born while we were there and Uncle Hampy let Ethen name her. He named here Baby Belle. Emilee started walking more, but only if SHE wanted to . One day, Shane, Ethen and I took the quads out and explored some of the ranch. I was so much fun. Shane got increasingly tired while we were at the ranch. But he still had fun. He even skinned and cleaned a wild pig my Uncle shot. The next morning we had bacon and eggs for breakfast (store bought bacon) and Ethen was on his 2nd piece when he looked up and said “man, this is GOOOOD pig”. We all cracked up.
We flew back home on January 23rd.
Ethens birthday was January 29th. Shane bought him a rifle BB gun. Ethen is already a pretty good shot. He gets that from his dad.
On January 30th Shane went back for yet another MRI. Unfortunately, this one showed even more growth and a lot of swelling. They took him off of the trial drug and prescribed a chemo pill for the tumor and Avastin treatments for the swelling. He takes one dose of the chemo every 6 weeks and Avastin treatments by IV every two weeks. He is doing ok right now. God has been so good. Shane hasn’t had any pain resulting from the tumor or the swelling. We are still believing and expecting a miracle. So please keep praying and having faith, for our God is still a healer.
After our doctor visit on Jan. 30th, Shane went to Sacramento with his parents for two weeks. While he was up there, they took him to the ER twice. Both times the doctor’s said he had quite a bit of swelling that needed to be taken care of quickly. On Monday, Feb. 11th., Shane’s parents brought him home. On Wednesday the 13th. Shane had an appointment ot UCLA for treatment to help with the swelliing. That morning he had a headache so I gave him a Vicodin. He fell asleep on the couch. When it was time to leave, I had a very hard time getting him to stand up. I helped him out to the van. He was stumbling and it was very difficult. He sat down and then started vomiting. I got really scared, until now he had never been sick. I decided to take him to the ER. They did more tests. Bloodwork, chest x-ray, cat scan, then they transferred him to another hospital for an MRI. Early Thursday morning we met with a surgeon. He told us the tumor has spred from just the front all the way to the back of the brain and into the center of the brain. We have two options, one was to have another surgery. They said we could expect to have Shane with us another 6 to 9 months. But, it was likely there would be complications from the surgery. The tumor and the brain are sharing blood vessels. To cut out some tumor would mean cutting the blood vessels of not only the tumor but for the brain. He could have stroke or some other complications. After the last surgery in November and the stroke, Shane was very clear that he didn’t want another surgery. We told the doctors and they seemed to agree it was in Shane’s best interest not to do surgery. But, without surgery, they are only giving Shane about 6 weeks. Shane is home now and hospice has come in to help with his care. We are just going to make the most of the time we have left. If the weather allows, we are having a birthday party for Shane on Saturday. He will be 29.
Our faith has NOT diminished. We gave man his chance, now we can completely put Shane in the Master Physicians hands. God can still work a miracle and heal Shane completely. So, keep praying and believing and see how, in God’s perfect will, He continues to bless us.
I will do my best to keep this website updated. We would like to extend our thanks to Jay Mercer who started this website for Shane. And also to DJM Web Development, Inc. who designed this site. So keep coming back and keep up with the updated because we are expecting God to work a miracle and can’t wait to tell you all when it happens. God Bless.
All donations that are sent must be mailed to the church so that it can be deposited into the foundation. The foundation is a charity and your contribution is tax-free.
Please make checks payable to:
Bethel,
Attention Champlain family
1418 W. Columbus
Bakersfield, CA 93301
Enclose your return address for the charitable contribution receipt; it will be mailed to you immediately.