Support for the Miller Family

Last night, one of Karen’s “healing savants” spent time with her, placing a hand on her crown chakra and encouraging her to be there. “There is a garden up there,” our savant whispered. “Can you feel it?” “Yes, it’s very beautiful,” Karen replied. "I feel such happiness in my heart."

These are just some words Karen shares with all of us who are here to witness her imminent passing.

Karen Miller is a force of light many of us are privileged to know and love.

Late in November 2022, Karen entered the ER for the third time in 30 days only to discover a sudden and aggressive cancer in the abdominal region. The regimen of heavy pain drugs, cancer load, kidney issues, and endless hospital confinement have taken a toll on this family.

Nine years ago, Karen had a sudden lung cancer that metastasized to the brain two weeks before she was to begin her new career. Karen had been going through a long and arduous education and certification. For the next nine years, she excelled in her job, teaching chaplains the subtle art of pastoral care as she adapted to life with her diagnosis. Life was moving on. Karen was living her life with grace, attending yoga regularly, working joyously, and enjoying refreshing yet arduous swims across the lake in Tennessee.

Two years ago, right in the middle of the pandemic, she developed a small reemergence on a lymph node; it was successfully treated as part of a Phase I clinical trial. In July, Karen started to develop grueling back pain symptoms that were addressed as a musculoskeletal issue. At the start of October, the pain was revealed via scan to be urological, so she began to address that with medical interventions -- but always with unrelenting pain.

The doctors at Emory have never discussed her prognosis, but through conversations with other medical specialists, we know that the outlook is not good. Karen was released from hospice care to be at home in Decatur.

Karen doesn't have much time left, and her wish is to be there with her family for her final days. Nathaniel and Jacob, their two sons, are leaving their homes from across the country and flying in to be with Karen. Any financial help you offer will go to help this family recover from flights, time away from work and any ongoing support and grief counseling to help the family reconcile such an immense loss.

Bruce writes to us below.

"Dear Friends,

Only a few days ago, I chose to share our healing saga with my friends. I have been touched by the response and the impact of Karen’s suffering on the people who know her. I won’t sugarcoat anything about what she and I are going through. Her pain and suffering have been unrelenting, her courage magnificent, and the Unknown has been ever-humbling. I feel myself being pulled into a rarefied realm – but Karen has always been the instrument for that.

Last night, the ambulance pulled up our driveway – bright lights and all – to deliver Karen to be in her home and with her family. The soul-shocking gravitas of that moment is indelibly etched into my heart. I had just started my Sunday night Zoom when two life-hardened EMTs pulled up to unload my fragile beloved, so I let the camera run. Penny remarked, “I can’t believe that she was swimming across the lake a few months ago.” Someone replied, “Life comes at you like that. When you’re not paying attention, everything becomes very real.”

Jacob, Hillary, Hillary’s mom, and Hanka, our Bosnian helper who is fully part of our family, had spent the entire day completely reorganizing the house – furniture moved, refrigerators cleaned out, and coffee cake baked. Glorious bouquets of flowers filled the kitchen and backspace, where I discovered our AirBnb turned into a spacious space to heal and be loved.

The poetry of motion throughout the house was heart-melting as everyone carried, cooked, moved, ministered, and anointed without predefined roles. That sense of orchestration is the only thing helping me receive this Gigantic Shock without it feeling like a cosmic aberration.

There are many elements of Karen’s condition that are improving at home, but like Mahler’s symphony with the giant hammer blows at the end, the dark notes never cease.

I am taking the time (I don’t have) to write this because each of our lives serves as an “exemplar” to inspire, support, and learn from –, particularly Karen’s. I don’t understand how that rip in the love fabric will be filled, but the Mystery is always one step ahead of how we think things are meant to be.

Love to you all. Forewarning, I’m not much use without her, so if the hammer notes fall, I will need people to lend an ear."

Please give and share to support our dear Miller family in their greatest time of need; any amount is greatly appreciated.