CTAC(SW) Mike Shaner, USN |
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[BIOGRAPHY] [Status: 1-Jan-2001] [Email from Lynn: 11-Aug-2004] [Email from Lynn: 05-Mar-2006]
Biography
Chief Cryptologic Technician Administrative (Surface Warfare) Michael D. Shaner was born on October 24th, 1967 in Olean, New York. He entered into active naval service on 15 July, 1986 a few weeks after graduating from high school. Following boot camp at RTC Great Lakes, Illinois, he attended Cryptologic Technician Administrative "A" School, graduating in December, 1986 as the class Honor Graduate. From January, 1987 to April, 1988 he was assigned to the Administrative Department, Naval Security Group Activity, Adak, Alaska.
Petty Officer Shaner was reassigned to Naval Security Group Activity Northwest, Virginia, from May, 1988 to July, 1991. While there, he served as the Electronic Maintenance Department Administrative Petty Officer providing administrative support for seven divisions and over 70 personnel. He volunteered for and deployed aboard USS JOHN F. KENNEDY (CV-67) during his "shore" tour, and rapidly advanced to both Second Class and First Class Petty Officer while at NSGA Northwest. As both a Second and First Class Petty Officer, he earned "strongest possible" recommendations for promotion and for programs leading to a commission. He was awared the Navy Good Conduct Medal and two Navy Achievement Medals for significant achievement and meritorious service during his tour of duty.
From July, 1991 to August, 1994, CTA1 Shaner served at Defense Courier Service Station, Ramstein, Germany. While there, he continued to make his mark as an outstanding professional and topnotch sailor across the board. His commanding officer called him an "administrative genius" and "absolute top performer". He brought his office into the computer-communications era by spearheading DCS Ramstein's implementation as the first Station in the European Region to employ worldwide computer communications capability. He deployed often to provide support, often on an emergency basis, to sister stations in Europe, Bahrain, and elsewhere, including support to forces in Somalia. He was awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for direct support to Operation RESTORE HOPE. He accumulated hundreds of flight hours, including aboard carrier on-board delivery (COD) aircraft, providing timely and secure movement of highly sensitive material in direct support of our national objectives. He was awarded his second Navy Good Conduct Medal and a Joint Service Commendation Medal for meritorious service during his tour at DCS Ramstein.
CTA1 Shaner reported aboard USS South Carolina (CGN-37) in September, 1994 for duty in the Operations Department, OT Division, as Administrative and Security Leading Petty Officer. A significant collateral duty was management of overall shipboard GENSER Security Administration. While on board, CTA1 Shaner continued his outstanding performance and rapidly became a complete fleet sailor. His military bearing was consistently impressive; he scored Outstanding on every Navy Physical Readiness Test he ever took during his career. During his tour, the South Carolina deployed to the Mediterranean Sea and Adriatic with the USS AMERICA Battle Group in support of naval, joint and combined operations, including Operation DELIBERATE FORCE off of Bosnia. Petty Officer Shaner rapidly qualified as an Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist and was selected for promotion to Chief Petty Officer. He received his commanding officer's strong endorsement for a commission via the Limited Duty Officer program, and was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for meritorious service during his tour.
Late in his tour onboard USS South Carolina, Chief Shaner contracted an infectious disease and was transferred to Portsmouth Naval Medical Center for intensive care. From late Winter through Spring and into Summer, 1997 he battled the disease and, although near death on numerous occasions and medically discharged with 100 percent disability in March, he successfully defeated it. The long stay on life support took a significant toll, however, resulting in irreversible brain and neurological damage and related physical disabilities.
Chief Shaner is married to Lynn Marie (Darch) Shaner of East Amherst, New York. They have one daughter, Briana MichaelAnn, born April 3, 1997.
Status (1 January 2001)
In March of 1997, Chief Cryptologic Technician Administrative (Surface Warfare Qualified) Mike Shaner entered Navy Medical Center Portsmouth, Virginia. Assigned to the USS South Carolina (SOCAR), he had contracted an infectious disease (probably Legionnaire's). After many weeks in intensive care on life support, he was retired from active duty (100% disability) in anticipation of losing the battle. However, Mike -- in excellent physical condition before the disease, and a real battler who would never give up -- somehow beat the disease. But the victory was not without a heavy toll on his body and brain. On the bright side during this period, though unbeknown to Mike, his wife Lynn gave birth to their first child, daughter Briana, on April 4, also at the Portsmouth Naval Hospital. The delivery was the only time that Lynn left Mike's side for more than a few hours during March -- May 1997.
The effort to determine reversibility of his brain, neurological and related physical disabilities, incurred while on extensive life support, was lengthy and hampered by his continuing battle with infection. From July to September, 1997, Mike was evaluated at the Traumatic Brain Injury Unit at the Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) in Richmond, VA. Due to medical, nutrition and physical concerns it was determined that he did not meet the criteria for entry into their program for brain injury therapy. He remained in the Richmond VAMC through early January, 1998, battling infection, getting nutrition through a tube into his stomach, and getting speech and physical therapy. He remained bound to bed and wheelchair throughout (and still is). On the neurological side, he didn't (and still doesn't) remember anything from before the sickness, and has great difficulty with simple functions of object recognition (items in children's picture books, for example). He remembers a few of the things he's learning from day to day, but can't engage in any substantive conversation.
Monday, 29 September 1997 was a great day for Mike, his family and his shipmates from the USS South Carolina. RADM Mike Mullen, Commander of the George Washington Battle Group, and CAPT Brown, Commanding Officer of the SOCAR, came to the hospital and presented Mike with a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for his tour on board the SOCAR. Both the Admiral and Captain made remarks to the audience which included his wife Lynn, five-month old Briana, Mike's father and stepmother from Portville, NY, some shipmates from the SOCAR, DIRNAVSECGRULANT representatives (CAPT Walton and CTTCM Wilson), and hospital staff. When Mike was finally dressed in his whites for the ceremony, he briefly rolled his shoulders back into an "at attention" posture and beamed; great cause for hope that there's more memory there than he has expressed to date. The ceremony occurred just a few days before the SOCAR and Battle Group got underway for a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf. RADM Mullen stayed abreast of Mike and the Shaner family situation through frequent communications from USS George Washington during the deployment.
January 1998 was a month of big events. Lynn completed the move of household goods from Virginia Beach and Richmond to Buffalo on January 3rd, flying back to Richmond on the 4th. On January 5th, she flew with Mike on a medevac flight from Richmond to Albany, NY, where Mike entered the VAMC there. A few days later, she flew to Norfolk and closed on the sale of their townhouse in Virginia Beach, after obtaining court-ordered guardianship of Michael (not a trivial event!). She was back in Albany with Mike a few days later, after a brief visit with her mother in Buffalo, terminally ill with cancer. (Annette Darch passed away the following summer, 1998.)
On March 10th, 1998, Mike was transported from Albany VAMC to Our Lady of Victory Hospital in Lackawanna, NY (a Buffalo suburb). Lynn and Briana moved to her parents' home in East Amherst, NY (also in greater Buffalo). The Brain Injury Unit at Our Lady of Victory (OLV) was the final significant attempt to determine the reversibility of Mike's brain damage. Lynn lobbied strongly with the Veteran's Administration and related authorities throughout to ensure Mike received every feasible chance to rehabilitate. The VA monitored Mike's stay in OLV on a month-to-month basis, assessing his progress in occupational, speech and physical therapy. It was an uphill battle in the face of stringent economic criteria and slow progress, delayed by Mike's bout with pneumonia and infection in May/June 1998 following insertion of a shunt into his brain to relieve fluid pressure. The shunt was removed in July, with no progress in brain functioning noted, leading doctors to believe that the apparent brain compression observed in Mike was not due to fluid buildup but rather due to brain shrinkage during his period on life support. This evidence further reduced the likelihood that Mike's brain damage is reversible, and accordingly the VA discharged him from OLV Brain Injury Unit to the Buffalo VAMC in September, 1998.
While at Buffalo VAMC, Mike showed a few very small but remarkable signs of improvement. In early November, 1998, he began to eat more and more by mouth, within a few weeks taking all his nourishment that way. As a result, he finally had the gastrointestinal tube removed from his stomach. This was the first time in 20 months that he hadn't been on intravenous and/or tube feeding. To this day (January 2000), with the assistance of Lynn or an attendant serving him, he is eating well, and especially loves dessert (and says so!). In addition to that good news, Mike also began to engage more in conversation, though still limited to short, simple things.
Great news for the Shaner family came when the CPO Association of Fort Meade, MD voted to donate a large sum to the Shaners which Lynn used to pay most of the cost of a 1997 demo-model Ford Windstar wheelchair-capable van. She's extremely thankful and grateful that it has enabled her to move Mike as needed to ensure he gets to and from hospitals and nursing home, home on visits and to other places as needed.
Mike's stay at the Buffalo VAMC/Hospital ended in April, 1999 with his transfer to the VA Nursing Home in Batavia, NY, about 50 miles east of Buffalo. Essentially, that marked the end of any formal attempt to improve Mike's brain functioning through medical means or therapy. Lynn's hope that Mike would be accepted into a closer, private nursing home in the Buffalo area did not pan out, as the nursing homes that VA would have authorized/funded said they didn't have the capability to meet Mike's needs. (That is, his care would take more resources than the going rate paid by VA). Nonetheless, Lynn has been pleased with the staff and care Mike is getting at the Batavia VA Nursing Home. She and Briana visit Mike as often as they can in Batavia, and bring Mike home to their home in Williamsville, NY (another Buffalo suburb) at every opportunity.
In December 1999, after many months of administrative, legal and other hurdles, Lynn was given guardianship of Mike by the New York Court System (no, they wouldn't recognize the Virginia-declared guardianship!). Subsequently, through the help of a VA program, she was able to close the contract on a small, wheelchair-capable dwelling in Williamsville.
Throughout the family's ordeal, it has been abundantly clear that Mike's progress has benefited immensely from Lynn's dedicated support. In addition, Briana has thrived under Lynn's loving care in these critical, formative years. Lynn has been everything from coach to cheerleader for Mike, catalyst for his therapy, proactive advocate and effective communicator with medical professionals, and efficient guardian of the family's emotional and financial solvency. She's the model of what we all would want from our mates should we be in similar straits. A remarkable and inspiring leader for Mike and everyone.
Lynn expresses her heartfelt thanks for the generous support from the NCVA, the Fort Meade CPOA, and other CPO and Petty Officer Associations and NAVSECGRU personnel who have helped her and Mike, as well as for those who have kept them in their prayers. Your assistance has made a real difference in a challenging and expensive transition period. Mail to the Shaners can be sent to their new (and now permanent) address: 1521 North Forest Road, Williamsville, NY 14221. You can also reach Lynn by email at .
Email (11 August 2004)
From: Lynn Shanner
To: NCVA
Thank you so very much for your email. I appreciate your continued commitment to Mike.
Recently, Mike was appointed a lifetime member of the Navy Club of Lake Ontario. The Navy Club vets visit him a couple of times each year.
Briana and I have been able to take Mike out on weekends in his wheelchair. He seems to enjoy his time with us, but is still not conversing with us. We take him to a favorite pizza joint nearby. It has become a fun outing for our daughter, Briana. I have also taken him to auto races, baseball games, horse shows, drum corps competitions, and to Niagara Falls. We actually traveled across the Peace Bridge into Canada on foot, and on wheels for Mike, of course. It was a very nice family day.
The staff at the Batavia VA take good care of Mike. He is about a 45 minute drive from where Briana and I live, but at least I have peace of mind that he is safe. The staff treats him like his a member of their own families.
I recently received a few emails from an old friend of Mike's. This friend read about Mike on your website. I have had several contacts from people that worked with Mike over the years who also read about Mike at USNCVA website. It has come to mean a lot for me. Thank you for remembering Mike.
I have recently become aware of the Disabled Veterans LIFE Memorial Foundation. Its website is: www.disabledveteranslifememorial.org. It is a Washington, DC memorial project that will honor vets who have been disabled by their military service. It will become even more important with recent events in the Middle East that are causing many disabilities along with unfortunate casualties. I was pleased to hear of a memorial that will honor people like Mike and other disabled vets.
I am so thankful for people like you that have helped me "stay the course" over the past few years. Your involvement in our lives has been profound. People like you, who care about us even though they don't know us, have been like angels along the road. I don't know what I would have done without your support. There really aren't words to express my appreciation for your kindness and consideration. Thank you most of all for remembering Mike. He was an outstanding sailor, friend, brother, son, and husband. He was, and remains in my eyes, the absolute best.
Lynn Shaner
Email (5 March 2006)
From: Lynn Shanner
To: NCVA
Hello,
Thank you, again, for keeping in touch with me over the past few years. This month marks 9 years since I lost Mike to his brain injury. He is residing in the Batavia VA, which has seen many changes in staffing since Mike has been there. They do a pretty good job with him, but I would be much pickier about certain things than they are. I so much wish I could take care of him at home, but it was impossible with Briana as a baby, toddler, and now growing almost 9-year-old. Her birthday is April 3. It's coming up quickly. The distance to Batavia, about 40 miles, makes it a challenge to take a ride at the last minute. The roads can be very bad here in the winter, too. We do most of our visiting when the weather breaks in the spring and visit through the fall. I miss Mike so much. We talk about him every day, and I find myself repeating the same stories to Briana. I want her to know all about her Dad. The communication I receive from visitors to the NCVA website are a blessing. I print the emails, and keep them in a special drawer. They mean alot to me, and will to Briana in the future.
I have managed to make a couple of good friends through my job, and they offer me the most support. No one, it seems, can understand what it's like to have my young husband in a nursing home. I don't really expect them to understand. I just keep it close to my heart.
I am in my second year of probation teaching orchestra in a very good middle school in our area. I enjoy my job, and the wonderful students I teach. I also happen to work with the most wonderful team of music teachers. The job has been the best therapy for me. I have managed to "find myself" again without Mike in my daily life.
When we visit him, we have our usual routine. We take Mike out for lunch, for a drive, for ice cream, and shopping at Home Depot. Mike loved the home improvement stores. He could spend hours in them, just looking at all the new gadgetry. Mike and Briana often enjoy a game of catch, too.
Best regards from the Shaners...Lynn, Mike, and Briana