IslandVibesIOP.com 21 Shannon Connolly and Rich Carns, both Delta Airlines pilots, met by happenstance in Atlanta’s HartsThe Flahertys The healing vibes of Isle of Palms By Laura Fogarty Memories make for the best souvenirs VacationVibesonIOP.com Meet Your Island Neighbors! PEOPLE & PETS For newlyweds Julia and David Flaherty, the Isle of Palms holds both cherished memories and the promise of great times to come. Married for a little over a year, their young marriage has already proven itself in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. Julia being diagnosed with breast cancer a mere three days after their wedding dealt a devastating blow. Julia recalled, “At a regular, yearly OB/GYN appointment the February before my May 3 wedding day, a lump was found. We weren’t worried and a mammogram was scheduled. I nearly canceled that appointment because on the appointment day the lump seemed to be gone. I am thankful that I didn’t cancel. After the mammogram, an ultrasound was ordered and I was told, and really thought, it was probably nothing. A biopsy was scheduled for that Monday following my Saturday evening wedding in Charlotte. On Tuesday, I found out from MyChart that I had cancer. Shortly thereafter a nurse called and walked me through it and through the next steps.” Julia remembered calling her new husband, David, at work. “It was an emotional time to say the least. David was amazing throughout the entire journey of treatment. My sister was amazingly supportive and came with me for chemotherapy and radiation. The care and compassion of my friends, family and medical team was absolutely amazing.” Two surgeries, four rounds of chemotherapy and 30 rounds of radiation later, Julia was and remains cancer free. She continued, “My doctor remarked repeatedly how she’d like to clone my response to treatment. I was incredibly lucky that my side effects were minimal. I felt relatively good throughout and I know how fortunate I am that my side effects were not too bad.” With their honeymoon delayed and family plans put on hold, David and Julia adopted their adorable sidekick, Finland Jameson Flaherty, aka “Fin.” Fin, a cavachon, loves the Carolina Panthers and has yet to visit the beach, but those plans are underway and will soon be realized. Julia elaborated, “We are currently planning on going to France to visit David’s mother and after that, we will definitely be traveling back to the Isle of Palms. My brother and his wife live on the island, and we love coming to the beach there with our entire family. The beach, the marina, the shops and just walking around the island and visiting downtown Charleston to shop are all things I love about the island. The community atmosphere and the healing, therapeutic nature of being at the beach and near the ocean are the things I look forward to the most.” We look forward to seeing you again soon, Flaherty family, and wish you continued health and healing, Julia. field-Jackson Airport. Shannon described the encounter. “It was just an act of randomness. I was talking to one of the pilots I was flying with about running, because the last time I flew with them was months before and right after that, I was going off to run the Paris Marathon. So we were talking about races, and another pilot was standing there waiting on a flight home, and he had flown with Rich earlier that day. One of the races I talked about wanting to run was the Dingle Marathon in Ireland. I told them about it and we switched gates. Rich came to my gate as I was getting my paperwork for my next flight, and asked me about the Dingle Marathon because he had talked to that other pilot earlier that day about that specific marathon.” Reflecting on that sweet memory, Shannon continued, “We started talking, and dating, and we ran that marathon together.” Rich grew up on Kiawah Island and after he and Shannon got married, they moved to downtown Charleston. After outgrowing their townhouse, they decided to move to the Isle of Palms to raise their children, Rhett and Cari June, and their Boykin spaniel Champ, too, of course. While Shannon was still breastfeeding her youngest, she found a lump in the shower. Thinking it was perhaps a blocked duct, Shannon saw her OB/ GYN two weeks later, where she confirmed it was not a blocked duct. Shannon explained, “She said, ‘We need to get you a mammogram,’ which my mother had asked me to do in September. I found the lump in October. It was the day before Thanksgiving 2021; I had my mammogram and ultrasound and two weeks later I had my biopsy.” The next day, Shannon received the call that it was triple-negative breast cancer with no hormone receptors. With this aggressive diagnosis came a double mastectomy, 16 rounds of chemotherapy and 16 rounds of radiation and immunotherapy. Shannon, now cancer free, reflected on what survivorship means. “The fear of reoccurrence is always in the back of your mind. The little twinges of ‘is that the cancer coming back or did I just lift something wrong yesterday?’ Due The Carns Cherishing life’s moments spent together By Laura Fogarty Continued on Page 22.
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