Stacy’s story
Hi. My name is Marla. I met Stacy by chance. I knew her husband from being out on the road. She met me years after Shawn returned home from being on the road and our friendship has become stronger by the day. We met and the rest was history. Knowing Stacy’s history, I wanted to do anything I could to help her because this year has been a tough one and will continue to be. She is so selfless, so compassionate, a strong ass woman and a kick ass Mom. Anybody that knows her personally, knows this. But, let me give you a little back story. Stacy was told when she was 15 that she had endometriosis and would likely never have kids. In 2004, she was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis, which is a very painful bladder disease. On June 24, 2012, she was diagnosed with Pseudotumor Cerebri or as some know it, Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension. From 2012 to 2014, she had three surgeries to excise endometriosis. Her first one was in 2012, also when she started Nursing school. She knew she needed to find someone who was the best of the best to do this surgery. That’s when she met Dr. Lee at Magee Women’s Hospital. He took her in for surgery the same week he saw her. (Just to look around) In case you aren’t aware, Endometriosis is only diagnosed by having surgery to go in your abdomen and look around. What was supposed to be an exploratory surgery turned into a 6 hour long surgery. She was so full of endometriosis, it was on her bladder, her bowel, her intestines, and all of her female organs. Then in late 2012, she had her 1st Brain Surgery to have a VP Shunt put in to drain excess spinal fluid from her head and it drains into her abdomen. In 2013, she had her 2nd Endometriosis surgery because it had all grown back. She pushed through this, Nursing School, and almost losing her Mom to a near fatal car accident. By the Grace of God, her Mom is still with all of us and she is also a kick ass woman and Mom!!In 2014, she had to undergo her 3rd Endometriosis surgery. Again, pushed through this, graduated Nursing School, obtained her RN license and then in 2015, Stacy’s dream came true and she became pregnant. At 18 weeks, she found out she was having the little girl of her dreams. The child she was told she would never have. Unfortunately, she had gone through a divorce, but is still very close with her daughter’s Dad. In 2018, she was told she had to have a total Hysterectomy due to endometriosis again and was told she would never be able to carry another baby. From 2018 on, at 33 years old, she was a single Mom with a 2.5yo daughter grieving that she could never be a mother again. She still suffered post-partem depression. She never took this for granted because she knew there were women who couldn’t have children and accepted that it was God’s plan. She was blessed to have her daughter. She also started going through Menopause. Shawn had been off the road and was very persistent to win Stacy back. They had dated 16 years prior to 2021 and that’s when Stacy’s walls dropped and her and Shawn started dating again. But, soon after, in July 2021, Stacy’s VP Shunt in her brain malfunctioned, quit working due to being clogged in her head and her abdomen after 9 years and the whole thing needed replaced. She underwent her 2nd Brain surgery. By, June 2022 Shawn and Stacy were married in a magical ceremony and reception. They are soul mates. He stuck by her side through the surgery & recovery. They went on a beautiful honeymoon to Jamaica. Soon after that, Stacy found out she had a large endometrial nodule inside her colon. So in late 2022, she underwent a Bowel Resection surgery and had approx. 5” removed from her colon and the surgeons were able to reconnect her colon to prevent needing a colostomy. Again, Shawn stuck by her side and she recovered. Then, in early 2023, Stacy’s VP shunt failed again. She had to undergo her 3rd Brain surgery. She started gaining weight due to the Hysterectomy and not being able to be on Hormone Replacement Therapy because it increases spinal fluid and intracranial pressure. At this time, due to weight gain, she requested to try HRT. Her Neurosurgeon ok’d it as long as it was the lowest dose. She tried this and unfortunately, in late 2023, six months later, she ended up having to have a 2nd VP shunt placed in her brain. This time on the left. Her 4th Brain surgery. All as a newlywed and raising a little girl. Stacy just couldn’t work from 2021-2024 due to the amount of surgeries and recovery time, but helped her husband as much as she could at his restaurant. In 2024, she started having problems again with pressure in her head. Her Neurosurgeon told her, if she lost weight, this could help or she would have a 3rd shunt placed in her spine. So she started her weight loss journey. She changed her whole lifestyle and lost 70 lbs within a year. Then in March of 2025, she found out she had to undergo Hip Surgery. She had a Femoroacetabular Impingement of her Left Hip and a completely torn Labrum. Two days before her 40th Birthday, she had the surgery. As she is still recovering from that currently and will be for 4-6 months with therapy and up to a year before her hip is back to normal. Then, suddenly she had an unexpected issue. Almost 13 years to the day of being diagnosed with Pseudotumor Cerebri, she had an incident where her head felt like it was going to explode. After 3 trips to the ER at UPMC Presbyterian, she was admitted. They finally did a spinal tap and her spinal fluid pressure was way too high again. Within 30 minutes, she was being prepped for the OR and undergoing her 5th Brain Surgery on June 24, 2025, exactly 13 years to the day she was diagnosed. Her right VP Shunt failed again. As she is now almost 3 weeks out from that surgery in July 2025, she was told at her follow up appt. she has an underlying condition that does not cause the right ventricle in her brain to collapse and this is why “gunk” builds up and the shunt continues to fail. She was told it’s bound to happen again and again and they don’t know why. The only question is when? It could be next week, next month, or next year. Now, she will be undergoing another surgery July 29th. This is for her Interstitial Cystitis and the demon of Endometriosis again even though she is completely post menopausal. Two female specialists out of Magee Women’s Hospital will be doing an Exploratory surgery of her pelvic region and nerve blocks to her pelvic region because she suffers from severe, chronic pain of her bladder. Throughout 2025, she has had multiple procedures to try and correct the pelvic pain. She has self Catheterized herself with compounded medications, gone through different treatments and this is really the surgery she is looking forward to the most. To stop the pain. She will also be undergoing an MRI of her neck due to Radiculopathy, (a bulging disc pinching a nerve)completing the Physical therapy and still having problems. This could potentially lead to surgery. As she is still in the newlywed stage of her marriage and Shawn has been by her side through everything and will be for this as well. He is an excellent husband. She had to resign from her Nursing Job due to the length of time she would need off work. Although Shawn is working and providing for his family, I feel Stacy is a very independent woman and feels a lot of what she is going through is such a burden to her family. This whole situation bothers her a lot. Everything just keeps spiraling and she is still so grateful to all of her family and friends who have been there through everything. She never asks for much and is never one to take hand outs. After her hip surgery, all she said to people was, “make food” because Shawn works late and she can’t cook dinner for her daughter, and friends did just that. She feels she needs to be contributing to her family like she always has and during this time, she can’t and as someone who has got to know her, she deserves the world after everything she has been through. I remember her telling me one time, she has 27 laparoscopic incisions on her belly and tells everyone they’re stab wounds from a knife fight! She’s always in good spirits and knows there are others who truly do have it worse off than her. It’s the nurse in her. She always thinks about everyone else before herself. She would never want to do this kind of thing, but I’m doing it for her, because she deserves it. 110%. Her and her two Warriors, Shawn and her beautiful daughter who is always her Mommy’s Nurse and has come to call me Aunt Marla.
So, I’m asking, if you can help in the littlest way, this would be a huge blessing to her. Thank you in advance! And please, continue to say prayers for her upcoming surgery and for her recovery of her hip surgery and Brain surgery. Stacy and Shawn are great people and great friends. They have gone from a 2 income family to a 1 income family. Although they have made a lot of changes to manage things, everyone struggles and as I said earlier, they never ask for anything. It’s just a family that has become family to me and feel they deserve the help Stacy wishes she could contribute when she can’t, especially to make life fair for her daughter. XOXO
Me, Stac, and her daughter Lydia 💜
