This is the real-life story of one of my younger sisters. It’s a statement of unwavering faith in God and God‘s faithfulness to us…
The name she was given at birth was Karen. But it should have been something more like Karen the persistent, Karen the brave, or Karen the faithful.
I’m pretty sure that God sees her as Karen, the One who says Yes.
When Karen was six, we noticed that one of her legs was a bit shorter than the other. Our family doctor referred us to the University of Iowa and tests revealed that Karen had something called an AVM (simply stated: a tangled mass of blood vessels) in and around the top of her spinal cord. The tangle was restricting blood flow to one side of her body.
Before she was even double digits old, Karen underwent surgery to remove the parts of the AVM that were outside the spinal cord. What remained inside the spinal cord could not be touched, because the risks were too high to remove it.
After that, followed years of physical therapy, prayers, hope, faith and some worry of the unknown about what could happen with what remained of the AVM inside the spinal cord.
Karen’s school years teetered between normal childhood things, like enjoying time with family, dance classes and basketball games, along with the reality that the AVM was still inside of her spine and needed to be monitored frequently.
As she got older, Karen fell in love with personal growth, farming and a boy named Nik.
They got married, bought a farm, and began building the life of their dreams. Karen and Nik were working hard to grow themselves and their business, but then came some shocking news…
Karen’s AVM was also growing.
The still newlywed couple had been married less than two years when Karen underwent surgery once again to deal with the AVM. It had grown “feeders” that were glued off, in hopes of killing the AVM once and for all.
Several feeders were glued, but one could not be, because it was so small.
Doctors hoped for the best. Maybe the small feeder would die off on its own?
Karen underwent physical therapy once more and slowly but surely regained her strength over the course of the next year.
In Fall 2019, she had a routine MRI showing that all was well. The AVM had not changed. She was not supposed to have another MRI for 5 years.
Only six weeks later, she awoke in the night, unable to move her body and blacking out from the pain she felt.
Emergency surgery followed. The AVM had grown more feeders in that short time span. It was full-on attacking. Several feeders were glued, but again, not all of them could be dealt with as some were too small.
Late November 2019, Karen headed to St. Luke’s Hospital to begin intense physical therapy to regain her strength and prepare for the next (and what we hoped would be the final) surgery.
Three days later, she woke up with major complications involving her muscles and lower extremities. She was taken back to Intensive Care in Iowa City and it was discovered that swelling had caused a spinal cord bleed.
Another emergency surgery followed, along with the revelation that there were more tiny feeders that could not be glued, meaning that unless miraculous healing would happen (for which we are hoping and praying at the time of writing this) Karen’s Neurosurgery journey isn’t over.
Worry about the future surgery came to a screeching halt when post-surgery complications caused Karen’s lungs to collapse.
Week after week rolled by. Steps forward, then steps backward, then steps forward again. The family rallied and prayed. And prayed. And prayed. Word spread to the point that thousands of people were (and still are) on their knees asking for Karen’s healing and growing closer to Jesus.
As of February 2020 (at the time of writing this), Karen is in Chicago at a rehab center, working intensely on regaining strength and mobility, while inspiring the people there by shining the light and love of Jesus.
To summarize the above, the AVM in Karen’s spine has a mind of its own.
None of us know exactly what the future holds but we believe that God has a plan that is good. We believe it with everything in us, and we’ll never stop proclaiming His faithfulness.
There’s no doubt that Karen was created for a time such as this. I don’t think she’ll know, this side of heaven, the lives she has impacted simply because she says “yes.” She suffers with grace and perseverance. She says “yes” to the calling to live with a spirit of strength and self-control.
She chooses faith over fear as the whole world watches.
Karen knows that her medical condition does not define her. Instead, she knows the truth about who she is:
Karen Fitch is a child of the King. She’s a daughter, a sister, an aunt and the wife of her best friend. She’s a girl who works hard and dreams big. She’s a leader, and a farmer who loves her cows and farm life and even her dog, Murphy (though she won’t admit it). Karen is a giver, an encourager and she’s full of audacious faith.
Basically, the girl is Wonder Woman in disguise and she knows what it means to step up, rise up and do something great with her life. She’ll forever be one of my greatest inspirations.
Sometimes people ask me “Why do bad things happen to good people?”
Here’s what I believe:
Bad things don’t happen just to good people, bad things happen to ALL people.
We are never promised that every day will be sunshine and rainbows, even if (especially if) we are a follower of Christ.
In contrast, we are promised that there WILL be valleys and trials in our life. But the beautiful news is that God will never leave us, not even for a moment. (Deuteronomy 31:6)
We can even experience PEACE in the midst of the storm when we call out the powerful name of JESUS.
Maybe it’s time we shift our thinking. Maybe bad things aren’t actually bad things… Maybe they are growth opportunities.
The toughest moments of our lives are when we lean in and look up. It’s when we gain wisdom. It’s when we draw closest to God and strengthen our relationship with Him, which is something He deeply desires.
The hard times give us a chance to release all of our anxiety, worry and fear to God. (1 Peter 5:7) It’s when we realize we are not strong enough to shoulder it on our own.
In our desperation, we get a raw, real moment to witness God’s faithfulness, goodness and His agape love for us. It’s a chance to see how deeply we are in need of a Savior. What a blessing!
When we trust in God, the hard times are also an opportunity to boldly proclaim our faith in Him. As people watch intently, wondering how we can have peace in a moment of despair, they see the story of love, redemption and resurrection unfolding.
They witness our hope and the truth about our Savior Jesus Christ, God’s own son. They witness us worshiping Him, loving Him and still loving others (the reasons for which we were created) even while our own hearts are heavy, because He first loved us.
The “bad things?” They are blessings.
What a privilege to walk through them for the glory and honor of a God who is good and who works all things for the good of those who love Him! (Romans 8:28)
My sister, Karen is living that out in the most beautiful way. Sometimes I drop to my knees and simply thank God that she is chosen and that she says “yes” to the call. Hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions are drawing closer to Jesus because of her faith and God’s great faithfulness. Amen!
**Update 7/19/2020**
Karen is home at her farm, resting and healing. She continues to regain mobility and strength, slowly, but steadily! Praise God!
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Thank you, Katie, for such an inspirational story of Karen. You and your family have so much strength and love in your hearts! Thank you for all the reminders that the Lord is good! More blessings to all of you!
Paula Pedrick Sholl
Thank you, Paula. God is good!
I want to say thank you for sharing Karen’s life story. I never really knew what the cause of her illness was. She’s a remarkable young lady who has repeatly let her faith guide her. Continued prayers that God will provide answers and healing for this amazing lady.
Thank you, friend. Karen is amazing and God is a good, good father, a healer and our Shepard. We trust Him!
Glad to share your story, Katie. (You do have an ability to express thoughts in creative ways.) Sorry to hear what all Karen has had to experience through this ordeal and sorry to know it is not all over yet. I live with a lot of pain every day of my life at this time…even with strong pain medications, but her story makes me feel ashamed to complain about mine! I have 2 sets of vertebrae in my spine that look like they are “splattered” in the MRI which are the chief cause for my pain. I also have a lot of arthritis in my body that also causes pain and it continues to progress in the wrong way. None of these issues are life threatening as Karen’s are. My prayers for Karen and all your family will continue and increase. I am under the care of some doctors at Steindler Clinic in Iowa City.
Happy Birthday Beautiful Karen!
Rock your day Beautiful One!
You are such a Beautiful Blessing of God!
You are in my heart and in my prayers!
👑💖
Rock that Crown!
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