Keep Karen Stacey Bringing Joy to this World!
Donation protected
This is my dear friend Karen on her wedding day 6 years ago. Her fun-filled joyous face shows how very happy she was to be marrying the love of her life, her wife, Donna.
Today, Karen is in hospital fighting horrendously large tumours resulting from Ovarian Cancer. Three months ago she had to stop working due to ill health and the doctors say she has a long and very difficult road ahead.
I feel extremely lucky that this caring, clever, hilarious and heroic woman graced my life 14 years ago when we were working together in a care setting, supporting adults with learning disabilities. Karen was the funniest, most compassionate and ethical manager I could have had, I learned a lot from her and we became great friends as we carried out long shifts and less-than-glamorous tasks together! Karen has spent her whole adult life caring for others, supporting the most vulnerable groups of people in our society, making sure they have a voice and a fair place in this world. She is passionate about animal and human welfare, fiercely protecting their dignity and has lived her life, both professionally and personally, looking after the interests of others and speaking up for justice and equality.
More recently, as the privatisation of care services has increased, Karen has been working in a private care organisation which offers her no pay for her current sickness and absences from work. She gets the basic statutory sick pay from the government of around £300 per month. She also, very gratefully, received a one off payment of £360 from Macmillan, but we all know this is not enough for one person to survive on for long. The injustice of this lack of financial support and care for someone who has dedicated her life to supporting and caring for others blows my mind! Karen is currently in hospital, 4 days after having major surgery to remove humongous tumours, stressing about how she and her wife can continue to keep themselves and their two rescue dogs afloat in their current home. She should be resting, healing and preparing for her next round of major treatments. It doesn’t take a qualified psychologist (which, by the way, I now am) to know that the body cannot heal under chronic stress and fatigue. Whilst Karen feels very uncomfortable about asking for financial help, I have encouraged her to let me set up this campaign because she’s likely to have at least another 6 months of treatment and recovery ahead. That’s 6 more months of no proper income to pay her half of the bills, no capacity to buy nutritious food to keep her immune system supported whilst she goes through the trauma of chemotherapy, and 6 months of stressing about how to cover her half of the mortgage. This is not to mention the bits that add up, the travel to and from hospital for treatments, the cost of wigs, and the cost of even the smallest of treats to keep the spirits up.
Karen does not want to be sick, she wants to be out helping people, supporting vulnerable adults and earning her own money. The problem is that she physically can’t. Please help her out by donating whatever you can to her cause, knowing that any small amount will be gratefully received, and will be removing a little of the unnecessary but destructive financial and emotional stress that she is currently facing. Karen might just be the funniest person I know. She brings laughter and joy wherever she goes, even from her hospital bed in the cancer ward. ANYONE who has met her will verify that this is a FACT. We need joy in this world. So please dig deep and THANKS in advance :)
Today, Karen is in hospital fighting horrendously large tumours resulting from Ovarian Cancer. Three months ago she had to stop working due to ill health and the doctors say she has a long and very difficult road ahead.
I feel extremely lucky that this caring, clever, hilarious and heroic woman graced my life 14 years ago when we were working together in a care setting, supporting adults with learning disabilities. Karen was the funniest, most compassionate and ethical manager I could have had, I learned a lot from her and we became great friends as we carried out long shifts and less-than-glamorous tasks together! Karen has spent her whole adult life caring for others, supporting the most vulnerable groups of people in our society, making sure they have a voice and a fair place in this world. She is passionate about animal and human welfare, fiercely protecting their dignity and has lived her life, both professionally and personally, looking after the interests of others and speaking up for justice and equality.
More recently, as the privatisation of care services has increased, Karen has been working in a private care organisation which offers her no pay for her current sickness and absences from work. She gets the basic statutory sick pay from the government of around £300 per month. She also, very gratefully, received a one off payment of £360 from Macmillan, but we all know this is not enough for one person to survive on for long. The injustice of this lack of financial support and care for someone who has dedicated her life to supporting and caring for others blows my mind! Karen is currently in hospital, 4 days after having major surgery to remove humongous tumours, stressing about how she and her wife can continue to keep themselves and their two rescue dogs afloat in their current home. She should be resting, healing and preparing for her next round of major treatments. It doesn’t take a qualified psychologist (which, by the way, I now am) to know that the body cannot heal under chronic stress and fatigue. Whilst Karen feels very uncomfortable about asking for financial help, I have encouraged her to let me set up this campaign because she’s likely to have at least another 6 months of treatment and recovery ahead. That’s 6 more months of no proper income to pay her half of the bills, no capacity to buy nutritious food to keep her immune system supported whilst she goes through the trauma of chemotherapy, and 6 months of stressing about how to cover her half of the mortgage. This is not to mention the bits that add up, the travel to and from hospital for treatments, the cost of wigs, and the cost of even the smallest of treats to keep the spirits up.
Karen does not want to be sick, she wants to be out helping people, supporting vulnerable adults and earning her own money. The problem is that she physically can’t. Please help her out by donating whatever you can to her cause, knowing that any small amount will be gratefully received, and will be removing a little of the unnecessary but destructive financial and emotional stress that she is currently facing. Karen might just be the funniest person I know. She brings laughter and joy wherever she goes, even from her hospital bed in the cancer ward. ANYONE who has met her will verify that this is a FACT. We need joy in this world. So please dig deep and THANKS in advance :)
Fundraising team (3)
Claire Cox
Organizer
England
Karen Stacey
Beneficiary
Rach Cox
Team member