Shannon McNeely, BSN, RN, CPHON

Our son was diagnosed with an aggressive type of cancer in January of 2025, a diagnosis that came as a total surprise without any warning signs. During our first stay in the hospital, still in shock from all of the news we received, we met Shannon. Shan came to our room to teach us about how our lives would change and how we could best care for him when we left the hospital. Shan educated not only us as his parents, but also aunts, uncles, and grandparents who would be very involved in our son's care. She met us with compassion and understanding as we asked more questions than any one family should, our faces tear-soaked. She demonstrated patience and gave us hope for our future. From that point on, it was clear that Shan was knowledgeable about not only pediatric cancer, but also neuroblastoma.

Over the next few months, as we continued to come back in for routine chemo and not-so-routine fever and neutropenia stays, we would see Shan, who always welcomed us with open arms. She continued to give us the reassurance we so desperately needed, and answered any and all questions we had, even if we had asked them 100 times before. As we entered what was likely the most difficult phase of our son's treatment, BMT, we were fortunate enough to have Shan assigned to us numerous times during our extended stays. She not only provided outstanding care for our son, but she also went above and beyond in everything she did. She made scavenger hunts for our son to encourage him to get out of the room when he wasn’t feeling well, made motivational signs with his favorite characters to cheer him up when getting out of the room wasn’t an option, decorated his feed bags for his G-tube to make the room a little brighter, and got to know him on a personal level to do all she could to cheer him up when he was at his worst.

I can honestly say that the two BMT stays were some of the hardest times of our lives, but Shan made us feel at home and confident in the care our son was receiving. She answered our endless questions with confidence, and if she didn’t know the answer, she knew where to find it. And, when explaining the answer, know how to phrase it so we can understand. Because of her, we felt empowered as parents to ask educated questions and reassured about the care he was receiving. I could truly go on and on about the incredible nurse that Shan is. She is assertive in all the right ways, compassionate to all she meets, and has exceeded every expectation we've had.