Shane is having surgery Monday

Shane is having surgery again on Monday. You can view his blog post here and watch his You Tube update.
If you want to send Shane balloons, etc. tomorrow, you can order online tonight and it will get there in time. He will be there Monday night.
Send to:

Shane Killian
Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital
1901 Randolph Rd
Charlotte, NC 28207
7043162000

Thanks, that would mean a lot to him. Later, Jen

Video of Shane and his kids 03/10/07

Here is a video Shane created to update everyone on his condition, as well as the condition of his daughter Aleena and his son Sinclair. Note: For those of you who aren't aware, Sinclair is autistic.You can't see them well, but they are adorable.



Please send some more love to him and his family. Any cards, donations, e-mails, comments and visits would be much appreciated. His email is as well as his paypal account is shane (At sign) shanekillian.org ~Jennifer

Thank you all very much! Jan. 18th Update

Note: This is an e-mail Shane sent out on January 18th, 2007 to those who donated to the family. I apologize for my delay in posting this. ~Jennifer
____________________________

Subject: Thank you all very much!


First of all, thank you all very much for your generosity! You have no
idea how much even your small donations have made a difference.

On my favorite TV show, Babylon 5, the Minbari had a saying: "Words are inadequate for the burden of my heart." I'm all too cognizant about what that means right now. I just can't really think of anything to say that comes even close to explaining what your kindness has meant to me.

So far, the total donations coming in over PayPal have topped $2,700! That's wonderful, but the love and friendship that inspired them means so much more to me than that dollar amount. Again, there just aren't words.

Most of you I only know online. Some of you I've only barely talked with. Many of you I haven't even met face-to-face. I think without exception, you're either Libertarians (and not just ones local to NC), or skeptics I mostly know through the James Randi group. This is a testament to both groups. Let Libertarians never be called "selfish" or "stingy" again, and let the skeptics be a lesson to the world that you
don't have to be religious to be generous!

I think a few people need to be singled out for recognition: my Libertarian friends Jennifer Schulz and Susan Hogarth, who set up a special blog where people could find out where to donate to my PayPal account, skeptic Luke Lyons for creating a "sticky" thread on the JREF Forum telling people where they can donate, and skeptic Rebecca Watson of skepchick.org for helping those who had trouble donating through PayPal.

If you've read this far, then I assume you'd be interested in knowing
how I'm doing. The physical therapy is going *very* well. I'm doing more with my arm and leg, I'm mostly self-sufficient now (although I'm still in a wheelchair), and I'm hopeful that the doctor will give me the go-ahead to start putting some weight on my leg when I see him again on Tuesday. I'm also hopeful that he'll tell Aleena she can get out of her wheelchair; she's doing so much more than I am. You heal quickly at that age. She's so happy and giggly, I can't help but have my spirits up.
(Just now she told me, "You're the best Dad!")

Well, as I said, words are inadequate, but as usual that didn't stop me
from yammering on. So I'll just leave of with one more, thank you! I
love you all!

Shane

E-mail from Shane Dec. 17th:

My sister finagled me some wireless Internet access, so I thought I'd
give you all an update. I'm home now (well, at my mom's, actually),
and have been since last Wednesday. I've already seen an orthopedic
surgeon and a physical therapist. My prognosis is for a full recovery
in 6-9 months.

I still need assistance for pretty much everything, and will for
awhile. That's why I'm here at mom's; there's always someone from my
family here to look after me and Aleena. So far, every day is better
than the one before; I guess that's about all I can ask for now. My
wife's funeral was yesterday, and there was a lot of hectic stuff
trying to get going with the therapy here etc. But now it looks like
most of that is done and I can focus on resting and getting better.

I would like to thank you all for your prayers and well-wishes. I am
truly blessed with many great friends. I'll be back on more as I
recover, so you'll probably start seeing me back to my old self here
before too long. Physically, though, it's going to be months before
I'm out and getting things done. But it's great to finally be able to
tell you myself how I'm doing.

Again, thank you all. I've really had a good outpouring of support,
from my family, from Joey's, from the community, and of course from my fellow liberty activists. It makes the recovery so much easier. Thank
you so much!

Dec. 17th Shane Update

I haven't heard from Shane in a while. So today I called the hospital and verified that yes, he and his daughter had been discharged.

I found his address and looked up his number. I left him a message today. I hope he and his family are doing all right.

I think I am going to send him a card to make sure he got the money for his family that I sent him via paypal. His paypal account is listed under shane (At sign) shanekillian.org

I am sure he has lost a lot of income due to the accident, especially working for himself. I have no idea if he has any sort of disability insurance. While you're out spending money on people who are comfortable, please send some Shane's way. Think of it as your random act of kindness, your thanks to God and the universe that your loved ones are safe and comfortable.
Bless you.

Saturday Update on Shane

I just got off the phone with Shane.

He's not 100% sure they will be able to go home on Monday, it depends on Aleena. Right now she does not have much of an appetite, but the Dr. says that is normal for a little kid.

Aleena's injuries are similar to Shane's. They both have compound fractures, though in different places. Aleena's legs are broken, and Shane's right side is useless, he said. He has to have help to get anywhere.

I asked Shane is there is anything, anything at all that he needs. He says that he has so much support from lots of people, that he doesn't need anything. He said that there is no way that he can ever repay everyone back.

I told him of course we don't expect him to. I don't want him to.

He said that his family, his wife's family, and people at his family's church are all doing a lot, on top of all the well wishes from Libertarians.

They are getting a wheelchair for him and they are building a ramp at his house.

I still think we should take up a collection for him and his kids.

He had been a little out of touch with the LP lately, because he was focusing on his new family. They had a lot of plans, things they were going to do. I told him yes that was understandable.

When we said goodbye, he was waiting for the nurse to come and help him so he could go to Aleena's room and see if he could get her to eat. He also had another phone call coming in on a MI cell phone he is temporarily using. I am so glad to hear he has a strong support network.

Friday Update

Shane says he expects they will be released from the hospital on Monday. Aleena is out of critical care now.

He said he doesn't have much energy to return all of the calls and messages he has received, but really appreciates it.

The direct number to dial at the hospital is 304-388-3266.

Update

Thanks to Sean for speaking with Shane and sharing this info:

[Sean] spoke with Shane on the phone earlier today. He was answering email, which means the address that Jennifer provided last night is working.

That address is: http://www.camc.org/employment/PatientEmail/PatientEmail.asp

He said he wasn't yet up to answering all the notes and calls he has received, but he is extremely grateful for all of the support he is receving. They mean the world to him, so please keep writing.

He has a broken arm and leg and is already seeing a physical therapist. His daughter Aleena is still sedated and will be until they can remove her feeding tube, but her prognosis is hopeful too. His son Sinclair is already out of the hospital.