The Coffee Locker: Friday, 26 April 2013

Dear Friends!

This week our blog is devoted to an appeal for your help ... For Senior Bernalillo County Deputy Sheriff Shannon Key. Deputy Key had a well publicized bout with cancer several years ago. He was initially told that he had three to six months to live. He was advised to go home and try to enjoy the remaining months of his life. It was a prognosis that Shannon Key would not accept. Miraculously, after numerous surgeries and intensive treatments, he was declared cancer free in 2008. He went back to work. However, during a regular doctor's visit two weeks ago, it was discovered that the cancer has returned with a vengeance. It was discovered that the original tumor had metastasized into fourteen new tumors. Brother-in-law Sid Covington, tells us that Key is a true fighter who will not give up ... but he needs a lot of help.

The doctors are now saying that surgery is no longer an option. Key continues to be treated at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles where the treatment is mostly experimental and very, very expensive. Also, because Cedars Sinai is a research hospital, much of the treatment and experimental drugs are not covered by insurance.

Coworkers, friends and various community organizations have gotten involved to help the family with travel costs and the many other ancillary expenses that their insurance will not pay for. Obviously the uncertainty of this ongoing battle for life and resources is weighing very heavily on this close-knit and deserving family. Covington says "It makes it easier knowing that people care and are willing to assist in various ways ... sometimes it's simply a hug, a comment, an expressed thought of prayer and support". This past weekend, Mr John Matthews and the Elks Lodge of Los Lunas, NM organized a successful motorcycle run and auction to raise funds for the Key family. More events are planned for the future.

Deputy Shannon Key is a fourteen year BCSD veteran who has worked in both SWAT and K-9 Units.