Hello, our names are Trevor and Shyanna Shellenberger, we have put this together for our close friends Family as they navigate through this difficult time. This fundraiser supports a family of 7 facing immense financial hardship. Their 18-year-old daughter Cheyenne who lives with cerebral palsy, is currently hospitalized in Omaha, NE. due to post surgical complications. Below are updates from Cheyenne's mother Cathryn Adams explaining what happened. 

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 This whole ordeal started 1.5 years ago when Cheyenne outgrew her wheelchair. In an attempt to make it easier we waited until her chair was 5 years old to start process to get her a new one (that was in July 2024 that it turned 5yrs). Insurance says they will buy a new chair every 5 years. In an attempt to make it easier we waited until her chair was 5 years old to start process to get her a new one (that was in July 2024 that it turned 5yrs). Insurance says they will buy a new chair every 5 years. Due to the too small wheelchair, we have been fighting pressure sores on her bottom .In January she got a really bad one from sitting in her chair to drive to drop Dewayne off with his mom. The decision to do the colostomy was made with wound care, pediatric surgery, and PT in order to try and make healing of the wounds easier and faster. Now here we are a few weeks out of that surgery, she was home and doing fine (staying in her bed or riding in pickup truck in front seat)... then we had to take her to Omaha for her surgery follow up. Which meant she was in her wheelchair. It was during that trip she started to decline again. The pressure from the too small wheelchair caused the start of all this new issue putting too much pressure on her stomach. So now here we are with Cheyenne on life support fighting for her life-AND INSURNACE DENIED HER NEW WHEELCHAIR AGAIN.I don't know where to go from here. Can I sue insurance for this BS?I can't afford a new chair out of pocket. Heck now while Cheyenne is at the hospital I can't work caregiver hours for her so there no income coming in there.

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March 13:She is in septic shock. The helicopter is on way to take her back to Children's Nebraska. She is sedated and intubated and has tubes everywhere.

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UPDATE: She made it to children's. They are prepping her for an emergency xlap to figure out what is leaking into her abdomen.

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Second update: She is in surgery but the surgeon said before they wheeled her back that this likely isn't survivable

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Third UPDATE: Cheyenne made it out of surgery. They found a part of her stomach has died which allowed stomach contents, stool, and air into her abdomen. They were not able to remove the part of the stomach. They left the abdomen open and sealed with a wound vac. If she survives to Saturday they will go in and remove the dead part and try and repair.She will remain intubated and sedated to try and help her body to start healing. Please continue to pray that she heals and makes it to Saturday and that she can make it through the next surgery.

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Fourth UPDATE: She is still fighting. Her sedation wore off a bit and she woke up long enough I could tell her how much I love her and am here. Her heart is struggling a bit so we will be watching it very closely and there is a possibility of ecmo. She has a lot of healing to do, but I believe she is fighting with everything she has.

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Friday Update- she is decently stable. They had to change the tube that is in her throat breathing for her because there was too much of an air leak. They got that changed, with a bit of chaos, but all done. They also had to change her arterial line from her right arm to her left arm. As of right now she is stable enough that they are planning the surgery still for tomorrow morning. The hope for surgery is to remove the dead part of her stomach and be able to close her abdomen back up. The cultures they took from her abdomen did grow bacteria, and the antibiotic she is on is sufficient for treating that infection.

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Saturday UPDATE: She made it through surgery well today. They removed the dead part of her stomach and stapled up the remainder. They removed her gall bladder as it was inflamed and full of stones. She has to get blood because of her liver bleeding, but the liver still is looking healthy. They reinserted her feeding tube but it no longer goes just into the stomach it is now in the small intestine. She will still not be fed through it as she is on TPN (iv nutrition). They were able to close up her stomach. They are turning down sedation some to see if she has any response. She still is intubated. She has a long road of healing still needed but she has shown she is a strong fighter.

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March 18:Cheyenne Tuesday update: She is slowly getting better. Making some strides towards recovery. Spiked a fever overnight again, she is still on antibiotics and will be for a while. She gets irritated at us when she has to be moved around. She has woke up a little bit today, definitely pouts when I told her I was going down to grab food. But it is a good sign that she is waking up and reacting to things going on.

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March 19:Cheyenne Wednesday update: They extubated her today!! She is awake and being her onery self! They removed her foley catheter and she is back in briefs. All in all she has had a very good day!

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March 20:Cheyenne update for Thursday: Unfortunately we have some backwards progress. She has some swelling in the abdomen again. She is on a bipap machine because of very shallow breaths (we assume it is hurting in abdomen to take deep breaths) and low lung volume. She has continued to have fevers as well. Saturday and Sunday update for Cheyenne .She had a really good day on Saturday and got to get up in her borrowed chair for almost 4 hours. She was so happy to not be in the bed. She drug it out till she couldn't handle it any longer before she let them put her back in bed. This morning she gave me a terrible scare again. Her blood pressure was way too low. Her fever was 103.4. Her belly was super distended. The surgeons talked about how she probably has a belly full of fluid and infection and will likely have to go back into surgery. Thank God it was all just air, that they were able to release using her ostomy (it was in belly and intestines).Her fever came down and she had a good afternoon. She listened to books, watched a movie, played with toys, and laughed all afternoon .She is now finally sleeping! Thank you for all the prayers and keep them coming. She still has a long way to go before she can come home.

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March 27 (very early in the am):Just got word they may be moving Cheyenne from ICU to "regular hospital room" sometime between 1:30a-3a.Step in the right direction. But seriously can't we do it in the morning

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Update: they didn't move her yet. Her white blood cell count came up again. So they are checking all that before they move her. Your generous contributions will help alleviate the burden of medical bills, travel expenses, and lost income during this challenging time.

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Cheyenne Thursday April 3rd update: They found that the infection is resistant to the first antibiotic they were given. So she is now on another antibiotic. She has a drain in her abdomen as well as a fistula that is draining. She is not able to have any food, fluids, or meds into her stomach. In fact the tube down her throat is draining any kind of fluid that goes into her stomach. They want to let it rest and heal as long as possible. She has what is known as an G-J tube, which means G into stomach, and J into intestines. This may be permanent and have to feed her through J eventually. But as of right now they don't want that either, as the intestines need to rest and heal as well. So right now she is getting fed through her PICC line with TPN nutrition. Her fevers have slowed down. She still isn't feeling the best, and some days are much worse than others. We still have no idea how long she will be here. It is definitely taking its toll on her, myself, and our family at home.

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Imagine not only the overwhelming stress of caring for a child with cerebral palsy but also having 4 other children at home that miss both their mother and sister. This is the reality for Cathryn and her family of 7 who desperately need our help while Cheyenne bravely continues to fight for her life, but the financial strain is immense. Medical bills are piling up, travel between the hospital and home is costly, household expenses have been piling up , food is also a concern for the family at home as both parents have had to take time off work to be by the children's sides. Your compassionate donation will provide critical support, allowing them to focus on Cheyenne's recovery without the added worry of financial ruin, Let's show them they're not alone!