$20.00 Paper, 978-1-884092-74-9

A deeply personal, heartwarming, fact-filled testimonial to the power of positive energy and medical advocacy to bring about the miracle of a second chance at life through transplantation

In this inspirational and informative book, Dani's parents, Jay and Sue Shotel, vividly convey the strength and courage their daughter displayed in her battle with AML, as they tell the story of the events that led to her recovery. Along the way they provide a wealth of information about leukemia, and tell engrossing stories about their family's journey to an unknown place, the roles each family member played to support Dani in her fight for life, the value of love and friendship, the anguish in the quest for answers, the power of positive thinking, the vital decisions a family must make as they proceed through the medical maze, and about the young German citizen, Tom--who donated the marrow that saved Dani's life and then flew in to Washington, D.C., to attend Dani and Scott's wedding in 2005!

The vivid details in It's Good to Know a Miracle: Dani's Story, are made possible because Sue Shotel insisted that the family keep a log of everything that occurred during the period from September 11, 2002, until Dani's release from the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and return to Washington, D.C. in May of 2003. In telling their story, the authors hope that the level of detail provided in this book will assist families who face similar circumstances in dealing with the known, the unknown, and the decisions that need to be made along the way.

Reviews:

“One of 10 Health Books in 2008 ‘You'll Actually Want to Read’”—Laura Landro, Wall Street Journal

Endorsements:

“This is an amazing story of a woman who stayed strong in the struggle to fight (and WIN!) for her life. Her dedication, passion and insights in coping with the emotional and physical pain during her journey no doubt played major roles in her ability to 'beat leukemia'. She is an inspiring figure and gives hope to all of us who ultimately will experience a life's greatest challenge.”—F. Marc Stewart, MD, Medical Director, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance

“A deeply personal, remarkably detailed testimonial to the power of positive energy and medical advocacy to bring about the miracle of a second chance at life through transplantation. Jay and Sue persuasively share the many perspectives that encompass the transplant journey….from that of caregiver, to patient to medical staff. Every reader will find many wonderful lessons and inspiration to take away from this tale. I commend the authors for their honesty and perseverance in the detail of the telling.”—Lynne Coughlin Samson, Esq., Executive Director
National Transplant Assistance Fund & Catastrophic Injury Program

Click here for TABLE OF CONTENTS

From the Book:

It was the perfect summer for 26-year-old Dani Shotel. She was looking forward to beginning her second year at the Walter Reed School in Arlington County, Virginia. Dani taught 2-to-3-year-old children with special needs in the “Integration Station,” an inclusive program for both normally developing and developmentally delayed pre-school children. Teaching was her passion, but we always suspected that she was destined to work with children. Her dad, Jay, was a professor of special education, and chair of the department responsible for teacher education at George Washington University; and her mom, Sue, a former special education and social studies teacher, was now an administrator with the Montgomery County, Maryland Public Schools. It appears that our daughter inherited the “teaching gene.” Even as a child, Dani was always the one who was seated next to the new student, the student who couldn’t speak English, or the student who had difficulty learning. In a school system that emphasized challenging the best and brightest students, we often described Dani as “gifted in being nice.”

Dani had spent her first 18 years in Gaithersburg, Maryland, a commuter suburb of Washington, D.C. She and her beloved younger brother, Micah, had attended Dufief Elementary School (which was across the soccer field from our back yard), Robert Frost Intermediate School, and Thomas Wootton High School. By her middle school years, she became interested in playing softball. Encouraged by her dad, Dani began to practice pitching. Dani always displayed tremendous patience, and was a great listener. Though not what one would call a natural athlete, she was incredibly “coachable.” With her dad as her catcher, she would practice for hours, and attended many clinics. So it was no surprise that by her freshman year Dani made the junior varsity fast pitch softball squad at her high school. This desire to excel through hard work and her coachable nature proved to be major factors in Dani’s triumph over cancer. Tiny for a fast pitch softball pitcher at 5-foot-3 -inches and 115 pounds, Dani was urged by her coaches to use her entire body while pitching. She even used her voice in a Monica Seles-type grunt when releasing her pitches. Not overpowering as a pitcher, Dani could throw a variety of pitches with incredible accuracy. As her sophomore season approached, Dani found herself in the role of starting pitcher for the varsity team. In the years that followed, Dani was named first team All County and honorable mention All-Met (D.C. metropolitan area) by the Washington Post.

Her involvement in a very talented summer tournament travel team led to inquiries by college coaches and several scholarship offers. Eventually, Dani decided on Lafayette College, a small liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania with a stellar academic program and an NCAA Division I Athletic Program, where she continued to pitch until her senior year. With dad as her coach, Dani continued to play women’s summer league softball for three years after graduation from college while continuing her education and beginning her teaching career. The many attributes of Dani’s involvement in sports, like her physical conditioning and the ability to focus, proved to be essential elements of her treatment.

After graduating in 1998 from Lafayette, Dani attended George Washington University and received a masters’ degree in Special Education/Early Childhood. She, along with her chocolate Labrador Retriever, Phoebe, left our home in Gaithersburg and began living the independent lifestyle that is common in the Washington, D.C. area among young professionals. Between school and friends, her life was filled with adventures both challenging and joyous.

By the summer of 2002, Dani had found true love in the person of Scott Greene. They had met casually through mutual friends, and continued an e-mail correspondence friendship for almost a year. Scott, a recent graduate of the University of Virginia, personable, tall and handsome, continued to pursue Dani…and by the end of May, in 2002, Dani and Scott are an “item.” It looked like the real thing.

So, as the reader now understands, life was good. Dani and Scott were together constantly, experiencing the joy of young love. By mid-August, Dani and Phoebe (Scott had to work) joined us in the Outer Banks for a few days of relaxing, enjoying a brief respite before the beginning of the school year. It was a wonderful vacation (even though we were minus our son, Micah, who remained in Seattle where he had completed undergraduate school, and was running his own web development and graphic design firm with two of his college buddies). Dani talked about spending the next weekend at the parents of one Scott’s friends on the Chesapeake Bay, and the following weekend camping with Scott and several other friends. Life couldn’t get much better!

“From the Prologue”