Shawn Jones

First post: Apr 16, 2020 Latest post: May 18, 2022
We are setting up this site because we are so grateful for the incredible support and love our family has received over the last couple of days and we want to keep you all updated as much as possible. It is at times like these that we feel most grateful for the incredible friends and family that are in our lives. Thank you.

 If you know Shawn, he seems to always be seeking out new challenges - and this diagnosis will just be another one of those challenges for him to dominate.  This initial post is to give everyone an update and talk about how we are going to march forward with the news of Shawn’s brain tumor diagnosis. 

To provide some background: On April 1st at 4:00am Shawn had a seizure and was taken to Bronson hospital for analysis, testing and observation. It was soon discovered that he has a tumor in the left temporal lobe of his brain. On top of that, doctors noticed a suspicious mole on Shawns back and wanted to do a body CT to make sure there weren’t any other masses.  After performing a chest CT, Shawn was told he also had a mass in the lower lobe of his right lung.  The doctors wanted to biopsy the mass to rule out another potential tumor location. Before the biopsy could be performed, he needed to have a PET scan, and this fortunately showed that the mass was not a tumor, but instead, aspirational pneumonia (which happens when someone aspirates fluid/food/tongue particles - in Shawns case - into their lungs - this happened during Shawns seizure) and could be treated with antibiotics. Because the lung biopsy no longer needed to happen, the next step was going to be a brain biopsy.

After getting discharged from Bronson pending a brain biopsy, as a family it was decided that we needed to seek out the best of the best brain tumor experts to care for our Shawnie. So after spending a couple days at home, and after consulting with a neurosurgeon  and neuro-oncologist, we (Shawn, Connor, myself, Tim and Jill (Shawns parents), and Ryan (Shawns brother)), left Kalamazoo and headed to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN where Shawn is currently set up with an excellent team of physicians. We are grateful to have such a loving and supportive network who activated immediately to get Shawn so expertly looked after.

Update/Next Steps: Because of Covid-19 pandemic all surgical patients at Mayo are tested by nasal swab, blood work, and chest CT. Shawn had these tests performed Tuesday and we are happy to report he is Covid NEGATIVE! So that means surgery can proceed. Shawn is scheduled to have a special type of brain MRI (functional MRI) on Wednesday April 15th and Thursday April 16th Shawn will have a left temporal lobe resection craniotomy of his tumor. This surgery is to not only remove as much of the tumor as possible but also to get a more detailed understanding of the tumor and it’s pathology. 

Following the surgery, we will stay in Minnesota to let Shawn recover, we will also be staying here as they will be testing the tumor so that they can determine the best treatment strategy going forward (monitoring, chemo, radiation, etc.). 

We so appreciate the love and support from our amazing community. We feel blessed to have you. For the time being, there is nothing specific “to-do” - but, as we have a better understanding of the next steps, we will be sure to update this page.  

With love,
The Joneses 

**If you would like to send Shawn a card or any well wishes, our address is 591 Aquaview Drive, Kalamazoo MI 49009
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