First post:
Mar 13, 2020 Latest post:
Oct 16, 2020
Welcome to our CaringBridge website for our favorite JOHN NOONAN. A man of tremendous Faith, spirited in every way (!), a loving husband (because he has Sherry, the most incredible wife on the planet), loving father (Max and Jake are beyond amazing, let's be clear), huge sports fanatic, opinionated and engaged citizen :).... and of course a wonderful brother, in-law, friend, cousin, nephew (this one's for you Auntie Bernice!!), colleague and inspirer to us all.
We're using this site to help keep everyone updated. Know we, particularly Sherry, Max and Jake, greatly appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.
As many of you know, John started an incredible journey over 5 years ago when he was diagnosed with Stage IV Lung cancer. What? Non-smoker, active, fit. So how does that happen? Ugh. It was brutal news that came in the day after our mom's funeral/ the day after his birthday. John subsequently had part of his lung removed and began chemo and radiation treatments through Mayo Clinic. John's faith has been unwavering throughout, and he attacked cancer with vengeance. And as we know, when John puts his mind to something, look out. Cancer was going down.
In December, he surpassed the infamous "5-year" mark and we've been hopeful. Along the way, John's been on the cutting edge through new drug discoveries, and engaged with world class doctors (thank you Dr. Alice Shaw) that specialize in his particular cancer mutation. You can't help but be impressed with how research has evolved and cancer treatments improved. It's not been a walk in the park for sure, but John's tolerance for pain is like Atila the Hun. He's persevered and inspired with such drive and can-do spirit--could be a lil stubborn Irishman too, just sayin. Getting this far is a testament to his human spirit. Cool stuff in every way.
So here we are today though, with a different twist in the journey. Earlier this week John fell in the middle of the night. He'd been having some trouble with one of his legs, and it just didn't work right. Sherry got him back to bed and in the morning things became more complicated. John was ultimately brought to Waconia's regional hospital. The first day was trying to understand what was happening. Stroke? Seizure? Were there brain mets now starting to emerge? At the end of the day, things looked up. He was hungry, a little bit stubborn-- 'cause who wants to be in a hospital, and he seemed to get a reasonable night's sleep. The next morning, however, labored breathing, much less communicative. An opposite turn. Yet, even still, when Sherry, Max and Jake come in the room....man, there is nothing but his and their hearts pouring out LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. He rallies for his peeps, and they for him.
We brought John to hospice in Edina late today. Great team here, and he's resting.... yet in and out of being able to really communicate. You get him praying though, and his faith shines bright.
So let's lift John up to God in our prayers and good wishes. God, let your will prevail. And if we can get more time with John....
