Lungs of Love: Karen Fights Cancer
Donation protected
Hello Friends, Family, Strangers,
I will try not to write a novel, however, this page is for my sister, a person of whom I care a great deal about. In these next words I want you to understand what my sister is going through, why I love her so much, why she is so important, and why your help means so much to me and my family. Thanks for being here.
On December 21st 2016, at the age of 26, my big sister Karen was diagnosed with Stage IV Non-Small Cell Adenocarcinoma, a rare form of Lung Cancer. My mother was with her in New York by her side when she received the news. She had been in the hospital for almost three weeks after being checked in when the doctors found a mass in her left hip and began emergency radiation treatment. This tumor was the cause of the pain that brought my sister to the hospital in the first place.
For months my sister has had bouts shortness of breath, and her walking had been reduced to limping until she was wheel chair bound in early December. She has never smoked a cigarette, worked out a good amount, and was living on a vegetarian and moving to a vegan diet for a while. She had been in and out of hospitals for months all the while working a full time job and dealing with the daily grind and hustle that comes with being a artist working in the New York fashion world. After being told by numerous doctors that her hip pain wasn’t a big deal and would subside, that she just pulled a muscle, and her shortness of breath was caused by stress and over working, we FINALLY had an answer. And as much as we wanted to have an answer for why she was in pain, I am sure we all know, cancer is the last thing any person wants to have happen to them.
My big sister is the coolest person I know. She has always been an inspiration and motivation for me to be a better person. We are very close and have always been there for each other despite the fact that we have always been very different. She is very calmed, collected, and elegant where I am more abrasive and energetic. She is thoughtful, and carefree, yet bold and edgy. She has always been very driven. Karen is very quick to learn and excel. It always surprises me to hear about the constant criticism and negative feedback she faces because I have never seen those criticisms result in insecurities like they do in most people. She is confident and poised and is a brilliant artist with the ability to make eye-capturing designs with not only paper, but also her face and body as a canvas. It hurts my mother and me to see my sister suffer. Watching her endure such strain on her body is very hard. I can’t imagine what it is like to actually go through. This illness has really put a burden on my sister’s way of life.
Today April 17th is my sister’s 27th birthday! I love birthdays! But rather than celebrating and having drinks with her friends and enjoying the beautiful spring weather out in the exciting and busy streets of New York, my sister is spending her birthday in immense pain and suffering having to learn how to walk again. It seems dramatic, but I am not exaggerating. Karen had to undergo a 5 hour-long surgery last week for a total hip replacement and femur implant. The results of this surgery has left her in a lot of pain but despite all of that she is a fighter. She works hard everyday to get back to herself. This week she will need to relocate from the hospital to a rehabilitation facility so that she can work everyday with doctors to get back on her feet. In addition to this surgery, Karen has to take a great deal of medications each day. Her primary treatment for the type of cancer she has is an oral pill called Erlotinib more commonly known as Tarceva. This medication is like a miracle drug and has worked to treat the cancer in her lungs as well as the lesions that were found in her brain and on her spine. Although it is not Chemotherapy, Tarceva has many side effects: rashes on her face and neck, fatigue and more, some of which have resulted in her having to take more medication.
Despite the diagnosis and the pain my sister is enduring, we continue to feel we are blessed. We are blessed because my sister is a believer and a fighter and so we know she will champion through this! (Cancer picked the wrong one to mess with!) We are blessed because my sister was lucky enough to be accepted into Memorial Sloan Kettering hospital, the #2 Cancer Hospital in the country, and it is right in NYC where my sister lives. We are blessed with doctors that care and are working and helping my sister get better everyday. We are blessed for Obama care / The Affordable Care Act which allowed my sister to be under my mothers insurance until Dec 31st and that my sister’s insurance kicked in right on time on the 1st of January. We are blessed for the family care act that allowed my mother to have time off from work to live in New York for four months to be my sister’s primary caregiver. We are blessed in more ways than we can fathom.
However, with all of these blessing, there are still many hardships. The cost of these surgeries and doctor visits are far more than we can imagine, even with the help of insurance and financial aid from the hospital. My sister isn’t been able to stand for long and walking is a constant struggle, so she has to use Uber in order to get around efficiently. She is on medical leave and so the income to pay for her rent, utilities, and food is not enough to fully sustain her. Her long stays in the hospital for radiation and now her moving to live in the rehabilitation facility all cost quite a bit of money. More money than she, her boyfriend, my mother, father, and I can manage on our own. And so we are asking you, our friends, our family, our co-workers, people we have met on the street, and even strangers we may never meet, for donations. Karen is a very private person and is not one who typically likes to ask for help. But she has pushed past her comfort zone for the sake of her survival. She has opened up and allowed herself to rely upon the kindness of humanity and asked me to create this page. I ask if you can affirm our beliefs and help us reach our goal! Your help will allow my sister to focus on what matters most, getting better. She has been under a lot of stress from the impending payments of these bills and the immediate costs of transportation, food, and medication. And that stress only adds to her medical burden. The money that we receive from this campaign will go directly towards paying for her medical bills, her treatment medication, and her transportation. If you in the position to donate PLEASE do! And if you cannot give financially please spread the word to others who may be able to give! Share this page on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you have any further questions and or would like to find other ways you can help please feel free to contact me!
We really appreciate you listening to our story. This is not the end! We will continue to grow! Karen will not let this stop her from living her life fully each day! We thank God for our many blessings and pray each day for her health! Please look out for more updates to come!
Many thanks!
With Love!
#LungsofLove
~ Raven
I will try not to write a novel, however, this page is for my sister, a person of whom I care a great deal about. In these next words I want you to understand what my sister is going through, why I love her so much, why she is so important, and why your help means so much to me and my family. Thanks for being here.
On December 21st 2016, at the age of 26, my big sister Karen was diagnosed with Stage IV Non-Small Cell Adenocarcinoma, a rare form of Lung Cancer. My mother was with her in New York by her side when she received the news. She had been in the hospital for almost three weeks after being checked in when the doctors found a mass in her left hip and began emergency radiation treatment. This tumor was the cause of the pain that brought my sister to the hospital in the first place.
For months my sister has had bouts shortness of breath, and her walking had been reduced to limping until she was wheel chair bound in early December. She has never smoked a cigarette, worked out a good amount, and was living on a vegetarian and moving to a vegan diet for a while. She had been in and out of hospitals for months all the while working a full time job and dealing with the daily grind and hustle that comes with being a artist working in the New York fashion world. After being told by numerous doctors that her hip pain wasn’t a big deal and would subside, that she just pulled a muscle, and her shortness of breath was caused by stress and over working, we FINALLY had an answer. And as much as we wanted to have an answer for why she was in pain, I am sure we all know, cancer is the last thing any person wants to have happen to them.
My big sister is the coolest person I know. She has always been an inspiration and motivation for me to be a better person. We are very close and have always been there for each other despite the fact that we have always been very different. She is very calmed, collected, and elegant where I am more abrasive and energetic. She is thoughtful, and carefree, yet bold and edgy. She has always been very driven. Karen is very quick to learn and excel. It always surprises me to hear about the constant criticism and negative feedback she faces because I have never seen those criticisms result in insecurities like they do in most people. She is confident and poised and is a brilliant artist with the ability to make eye-capturing designs with not only paper, but also her face and body as a canvas. It hurts my mother and me to see my sister suffer. Watching her endure such strain on her body is very hard. I can’t imagine what it is like to actually go through. This illness has really put a burden on my sister’s way of life.
Today April 17th is my sister’s 27th birthday! I love birthdays! But rather than celebrating and having drinks with her friends and enjoying the beautiful spring weather out in the exciting and busy streets of New York, my sister is spending her birthday in immense pain and suffering having to learn how to walk again. It seems dramatic, but I am not exaggerating. Karen had to undergo a 5 hour-long surgery last week for a total hip replacement and femur implant. The results of this surgery has left her in a lot of pain but despite all of that she is a fighter. She works hard everyday to get back to herself. This week she will need to relocate from the hospital to a rehabilitation facility so that she can work everyday with doctors to get back on her feet. In addition to this surgery, Karen has to take a great deal of medications each day. Her primary treatment for the type of cancer she has is an oral pill called Erlotinib more commonly known as Tarceva. This medication is like a miracle drug and has worked to treat the cancer in her lungs as well as the lesions that were found in her brain and on her spine. Although it is not Chemotherapy, Tarceva has many side effects: rashes on her face and neck, fatigue and more, some of which have resulted in her having to take more medication.
Despite the diagnosis and the pain my sister is enduring, we continue to feel we are blessed. We are blessed because my sister is a believer and a fighter and so we know she will champion through this! (Cancer picked the wrong one to mess with!) We are blessed because my sister was lucky enough to be accepted into Memorial Sloan Kettering hospital, the #2 Cancer Hospital in the country, and it is right in NYC where my sister lives. We are blessed with doctors that care and are working and helping my sister get better everyday. We are blessed for Obama care / The Affordable Care Act which allowed my sister to be under my mothers insurance until Dec 31st and that my sister’s insurance kicked in right on time on the 1st of January. We are blessed for the family care act that allowed my mother to have time off from work to live in New York for four months to be my sister’s primary caregiver. We are blessed in more ways than we can fathom.
However, with all of these blessing, there are still many hardships. The cost of these surgeries and doctor visits are far more than we can imagine, even with the help of insurance and financial aid from the hospital. My sister isn’t been able to stand for long and walking is a constant struggle, so she has to use Uber in order to get around efficiently. She is on medical leave and so the income to pay for her rent, utilities, and food is not enough to fully sustain her. Her long stays in the hospital for radiation and now her moving to live in the rehabilitation facility all cost quite a bit of money. More money than she, her boyfriend, my mother, father, and I can manage on our own. And so we are asking you, our friends, our family, our co-workers, people we have met on the street, and even strangers we may never meet, for donations. Karen is a very private person and is not one who typically likes to ask for help. But she has pushed past her comfort zone for the sake of her survival. She has opened up and allowed herself to rely upon the kindness of humanity and asked me to create this page. I ask if you can affirm our beliefs and help us reach our goal! Your help will allow my sister to focus on what matters most, getting better. She has been under a lot of stress from the impending payments of these bills and the immediate costs of transportation, food, and medication. And that stress only adds to her medical burden. The money that we receive from this campaign will go directly towards paying for her medical bills, her treatment medication, and her transportation. If you in the position to donate PLEASE do! And if you cannot give financially please spread the word to others who may be able to give! Share this page on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you have any further questions and or would like to find other ways you can help please feel free to contact me!
We really appreciate you listening to our story. This is not the end! We will continue to grow! Karen will not let this stop her from living her life fully each day! We thank God for our many blessings and pray each day for her health! Please look out for more updates to come!
Many thanks!
With Love!
#LungsofLove
~ Raven
Organizer and beneficiary
Raven Wilkes
Organizer
Alexandria, VA
Karen Wilkes
Beneficiary