Monday, April 21, 2008

Update on Karen



"True friendship is seen through the heart, not through the eyes."

My niece had surgery to remove her right eye last Wednesday. Oh yeah. Really. Of course I wrote about it here. Pray for Karen Please.

Karen came through the operation well. No question such radical surgery was necessary, there were two malignant tumors on her optic nerve.

Next steps: recuperation, then--in 6 weeks--the artificial eye implant, then occupational therapy to learn to see and live a normal life with only one eye. If anybody can do that, it's Karen.

There are more next steps: MRI, scans, maybe biopsies to check for metastasis. Friday we see the oncologist. Karen, her husband Bob, my sister Judy and me. Together. United. En masse.

The goal now is quality of life and prolonging life.

And she's already cracking jokes, telling her husband, "I had my eye on you from the beginning. Let's hope it was the good eye."

On a more poignant note, telling me, "Life is so precious. I had to lose an eye to see the truth."

My current challenge is finding colorful eye patches to match her outfits. Basic black (see above) is always in fashion, but we want to push the envelope and go for more gusto. If you have any info, let me know.

And keep praying for Karen please.

Update on the update: New eye patches!

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5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I hope Karen's operation was successful.
I am thinking about her and her family and sending my best thoughts their way.
(One of my best friends lost his wife at 56 to breast cancer last year. Life can be so tough it is hard to believe sometimes.)
Fred

12:29 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

PLEASE add my prayers and wishes for strength, love and humor for Karen and for your entire family.

And I'm lobbying for an eyepatch with "Hillary '08" on the front, but that's just me. :)

9:45 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tell Karen to check out homeopathic remedies, especially removal of toxins through the feet, but only by a professional. Those home patches don't work.

Good luck to her and all of you. We're praying for you.

10:36 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just read up on Karen and am again amazed at the challenges some people are given in this life. Please add my prayers to the rest. This sounds like a job for the Blessed Virgin, though I know she plays for a different team than you guys but I intend to hit her up anyway. Mothers united, and all that.

12:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have an employee who lost an eye when he was a kid (7 or 8). He ran into a knife that his father had left hanging off the end of a table.
He has had glass or plastic eyes for 50 years now and does everything he wants. He just has to learn how to do them a little differently sometimes.
I think Karen will be just as successful. Thank you for keeping us informed.

2:08 PM  

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