Everybody Loves Karl!

Karl makes his First Holy Communion


We created this page to keep family and friends updated on Karl's progress since his diagnosis with ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia) on June 20, 2003. Karl was born over 8 years ago and like most kids with Down syndrome he was diagnosed at birth with a heart condition. This fixed itself and is now fine. Because of Down syndrome Karl has faced many medical, physical and cognitive challenges. He has a determination that will see him through anything. God has big plans for this little guy. He finished his chemo on August 10, 2006.
The support of family and friends has been invaluable. Please leave a message in the guestbook. Karl loves to check and see who left him "mail." Keep those prayers and good wishes coming, they are working.
Judy, Kevin, and Karl

Genesis 28:15 "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go...I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."


"I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day."
Abraham Lincoln


Some things I have learned about Life, Leukemia and Love
1. It is a shame that we take our family’s love for granted until something as horrible as leukemia makes us realize how valuable that love is.
2. It is hard to look at your child’s baldhead. But when you are holding him tight it is warm and soft and makes you remember him as a baby.
3. True friends never say things like “I am sorry I haven’t called but it is so hard for me to talk about it”, true friends know that it’s hard for ME to talk about it too but that I need to sometimes.
4. So much of what I used to consider important in life is now insignificant. You can’t cuddle a big fancy car, you can’t kiss a fancy wardrobe and a nice house won’t crawl in you lap, put their tiny soft hand on your cheek and say “I love you Mommy.”
5. I find that I no longer admire celebrities and sports figures. I admire doctors and nurses that work long hours to save your child’s life. They are the ones that deserve the million dollar paychecks.
6. I learned that only a child would greet with a smile, a hug and a kiss, the person that sticks a needle in their spine once a month. And only an oncology doctor or nurse is deserving of such admiration.
7. Heroes don’t save lives on movie screens, they save lives by donating blood, platelets and bone marrow.
8. The most courageous story I know of is that of a young teen age boy who after a second relapse decided that he wanted to end the battle on his terms and with dignity and so halted all treatment and died at home in peace.
9. The second most courageous story I know is of the mother that let her son choose to end the battle on his own terms and die at home in peace.
10. When standing at the altar saying their vows very few people realize the true meaning of the words “ in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health.” I now know what they mean and I know that my husband is truly a man of his word and I will love him forever.
11. My mother is one of the strongest most amazing women I know and I will never be able to repay all that she has done for me. Karl loves her so much.
12. Just when you think you can’t go on God will throw you a lifeline. A hug from a friend, a phone call from a sister, a pat on the hand from a kind nurse.
13. It is okay to let your child see you scared and crying. How else would they know that it is okay for them to be scared and to cry?
14. There are many ways to cope when your child has cancer but the very best is to hold them tight and know that love may not conquer all but for now it’ll do.

Journal

Friday, July 25, 2008 8:11 PM CDT

It has been well over a year since I made an entry on this page. I still check once in a while for new posts but just thought I would wait to update. I guess I am trying to let go of this one last tie to this time in our lives.
I think I will make this post and then think about letting CB have this site for someone who could put it to better use.
Karl has been the picture of health. He is happy and growing like a weed. I don't even think he has much memory of what he went through. This Summer has been the best he has ever had. Just lots of good summertime fun. Camp, the zoo, cub scouts, mini golfing and Buddy Ball. All the things a boy should be doing.
I think about all we learned on this journey and how we live in a new normal with new realities. Our perspective on everything has changed. Some for the better, some for the worse.
I think of all the children we have met on this journey. Those who have beaten the monster and those who are now in heaven. I also think about those who are still in the midst of thier battles. I pray for all the children everyday. and thier families.
I love Karl more than anything in the world. I love him more everyday. But my love for him has taught me about hate. I only hate one thing and I say it again and again. I HATE cancer.
I pray for those who lives have been changed by the monster and those whose lives will be changed. But mostly I pray that someone somewhere, probably with a much higher IQ than mine, will find a way to beat the monster. To turn him on himself so that he knows pain, suffering, death and decay. I would like a slow painful death for cancer but I would never complain if he was eradicated in one stroke.
So dear friends this may be my last post. I may need to return here to vent, rant or update but I hope to not. I will always be there for anyone who could benefit from my experience, just ask. I will always pray for the children and thier familes.
Keep Karl in your prayers.
Judy

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E-mail Author: kgpamer@comcast.net

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