Stage 4 Colon Cancer? It still doesn't feel real sometimes.

But then my daughter asks me something like, "mama is daddy gonna have to go back to the hospital?" And the reality hits me like a ton of bricks.

My daughter, whom absolutely adores her dad, is dealing with emotions that no 7 year old should have to face.

The day that Shawn and I had planned to tell Kara that he is sick with cancer, we stopped in the chapel because Kara was curious. I asked her if she wanted to say a prayer, and she said "I don't know how to do it." I showed her by kneeling on the thing, and saying a prayer for Shawn myself. So naturally Kara said, I wanna do it. So she knelt down, and said "God please make my dad not sick anymore. I really hope it's not cancer."

And as hard as that was to hear, it opened the door up for us to have that conversation with her. We did our best to keep the information factual and age appropriate.

This is the beginning of a journey we didn't ask for, but will face it head on, the best way we can.

As I feel called to, I'll be sharing parts along the way. If you've been here a while, thank you for being a part of the journey. And if this is the first time you're seeing us, welcome I hope you stay a while.

Shawn joined me on a two-part episode of my podcast. We talked about the ups and downs of our relationship, how we navigate coparenting together and what this cancer diagnosis has been like so far. Our episode will be live this week so be sure to follow to stay updated.

We have started a GoFundMe for the mounting medical bills. If you feel called to donate, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. If you can't donate, just sharing the GoFundMe or this post would be greatly appreciated.

Shawn has always been incredibly creative and he's been leaning into that creativity especially lately which is helping him cope with the chaos. He's started to sell some of his artwork to help pay for the cost of living (since he can't work a regular job for the foreseeable future). The shop is at the link in my bio, or send me a message for a custom piece.

Shawn is one of the strongest people I've ever known, this is a different kind of battle but I know he's got it

Thank you for reading this far. If you could leave a message of encouragement for Shawn in the comments, we'd greatly appreciate the good vibes

Love you, bye!

Link to the GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/d677060ca

Link to the shop with Shawn’s art prints: https://www.laurawoodside.com/shop/heldtogether-art-shop