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Wanted: Prayers By Greg Little, Gonzales Inquirer Family awaits man’s recovery after near-fatal heart attack After living in Taylor for the past 22 years, Travis Shannon and Brenda Briggs-Shannon had decided to make a fundamental change in their life, moving to Gonzales County. Last year Brenda Shannon’s sister, Debra Briggs, had sold her place in Austin and purchased a 23-acre tract of land on Highway 97 in the community of Bebe. They began fixing up one house on the property where Debra and their mother, Evelyn Briggs, now live. During that time, Brenda and Travis had made the decision to move from Taylor and purchased half of the land, including a house nearly within shouting distance. Since that time, they had been traveling back and forth from Taylor to Gonzales to work on the place so they could finally make the move they craved so much. On June 28, Travis Shannon, 54, left Taylor for Gonzales to work on the house. His sister-in-law was waiting for him to stop by their house but she looked out the window and saw his truck already at the house. “I grabbed my fan and my mop and went down there,” Debra Briggs said. She walked in the door and there was Travis, also mop in hand. They laughed. She asked him about a plumbing leak under the house but Shannon told her it was already fixed. Briggs, always looking for something to do, then went into the bathroom where she found a leak in the sink. Shannon and a worker they had hired looked at the problem and said they would have to get some parts to fix the problem. As they stepped outside, Shannon said he still wanted to get some watering done and unload some stuff out of the truck, but there was one thing stopping him. “He said it was hot,” Briggs said. So they went up to her mother’s house to take a break. They went into the kitchen, where Shannon, an independent truck driver, was messing around with the two dogs, and then decided to go into the sitting area because it was cooler. As Briggs, her mother and Shannon sat and rested, Briggs said she was telling some “corny jokes.” “Did you know they have outlawed round hay bales in Gonzales?” Briggs said. “Why?” Shannon responded, rolling his eyes. “Because cows can’t get a square meal.” Another laugh, and then it happened, Briggs said. Out of the blue. No warning. Not a hint. “His head went back, he was grasping for air,” Briggs said. “Travis, Travis!” she screamed. No response. “I called 911,” she said. She handed the phone to her mother and got her brother-in-law on the floor and began CPR. Gonzales County Emergency Service and the Nixon Fire Department responded to the call. When they arrived, the EMTs took over the scene, she said. “They were working on him, they shocked him,” Briggs said. “They put a tube down his throat and got him stabilized.” He was immediately transported to the hospital in Gonzales and later taken by air ambulance to Methodist Hospital in San Antonio. Incredibly, while all of this was going on, Briggs had to somehow muster the strength to call her sister in Taylor and tell her what was happening. “Help me, Lord,” was Brenda Shannon’s reaction. “This is my husband.” Brenda Shannon was on the road and about in Luling when she found out her husband was being transported to San Antonio. They headed west on Interstate 10. “He is unconscious,” Brenda Shannon said. “The doctors are saying there is possible brain damage. They are not very hopeful. But they are medical professionals and they are just telling us the truth.” She said at one point, her husband’s kidneys and heart began to fail. His kidneys are now working but his heart is weak. He remained on a ventilator in the ICU for about two weeks, but she said Monday that he has now been moved to a regular room. He’ll be transported to a rehabilitation facility in Gonzales later this week. She said her husband is a “hard worker,” and his father died of a heart attack. She reminds people to have regular health screenings. And what about her sister? “I thank God for her,” she said. “I am sad I wasn’t here, but if I was, I’m not sure I would have known what to do.” But her sister did, and it saved Travis Shannon’s life. Now they pray all of the time and hope for a recovery. “We’re expecting a miracle,” Briggs said. “I have hope and faith. We all know God does miracles.” Brenda Shannon, too, has hope for her husband. “It is very hard not to think about the worst,” she said. “But I believe he will live and not die.” She said her husband did not have any health insurance. She said the rising cost of fuel and just the expenses associated with being a long-haul driver made it impossible. Because of that, a fund has been established and donations are needed. Those can be sent to the Shannon Account, Granger National Bank, Dan Johnson, president/CEO, Box 668, Granger, TX 76530. For more information e-mail gnatbk@thegateway.net. And though money will be necessary, Brenda Shannon said there is something more important at this time. “Prayer. We really need that from everyone,” she said.
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