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Biography

Hi! I’m Kleigh (others know me as Karen or Mom)

The picture that you see of me here was taken 11 years ago…I have posted others, but they aren’t near the quality this one is!

I just thought I would share my journey with you…past and present.

I will tell you now…I consider myself a walking talking miracle… through faith, hope and lots of prayer I have a story to tell…and know that my time here isn’t complete, or where this journey will lead me…I’m just really glad that I’m here!

I will be 47 years old next month. I’m married (second and final time) to the most wonderful man, and my best friend ever!

In our blended family, we have between us 5 grown kids (4 daughters, and 1 sons. Unfortunately my son passed with Leukemia/Lymphoma in Sept. 1990 at the age of 6 1/2… (so I’ve been down this road before)
Besides our kids, we have raised Cockatiels (Baby, Angel Missy), a small Quaker parrot named Freddy, a rescued cat, Samantha (Sam), and recently adopted a 4 month old Russian Blue kitten named Svengali as a playmate for Sam.

My husband and I had moved to Houston early in 2002, life was good, but little did I know that this wasn’t to be the case much longer.
My husband and I both work hard, so we strive to make time for us on weekends. We like going out to eat, going to movies, or just hanging out.

We purchased our first home the end of July 2005, and within 2 weeks of moving in our new home, we dug and constructed from scratch, a Koi pond with small hill and waterfall, a dozen or so small koi to go in the pond, and the finishing touch planting a peach tree. That was July 2005.
My parents finally came to spend Christmas with us for the very first and last time since we had moved here. My dad had diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2001, progressively getting worse, and would soon require full time care. That was the last time for me to see and spend time with my dad, as he passed away this year shortly after I was diagnosed.

IT WHISPERS…SO LISTEN!
The beginning of May, I was to be in a company sponsored golf tournament, which was fortunate for me that it was rained out. This is about the time that I had any problems at all…cramps…a little worse than what I grew up with, but just thought that I might have moved wrong too. It was time for my yearly physical, but when I called to schedule an appointment, I wouldn’t be able get in until the end of the month.
A week before being diagnosed, we had been shopping for items for our den, still not knowing what was just ahead of us, but began to have abnormal abdominal cramps, not constant, but these were different, they felt different. It was during this time, I was noticing that I stayed tired, and had taken a 3 to 4 hour nap both days that weekend.

On Friday, the 26th of May, my Dr. told me that she could feel a mass on my left ovary, and urged me to have an ultrasound and vaginal ultrasound done…more along the lines of “don’t mess around with this-have it done today”, which I coordinated that afternoon. I didn’t feel bad, didn’t hurt, but I was really worn out from all the running back and forth from work to Dr. and to the imaging center…stressing that day. Saturday was totally different. I was having gradually increasing, but consistent lower abdominal pain all day that extra strength Tylenol couldn’t even touch. I couldn’t get comfortable, and sleep was out of the question. I was like this all day long. Around midnight, I finally asked Jim to take me to the emergency room – I had my fill of pain, and needed some relief. I figured I would be there for a while…you know about 4 to 5 hours…WRONG!
I didn’t have to wait long, and once called back, they started an IV followed with an injection of morphine for my pain! YEAAAA…NO MORE PAIN! During the time I there were, a total of 4 different Doctor’s with all their different opinions, the joint conclusion being that I was suffering from diverticulitus, which might be causing my trouble.
I was then told that I was being admitted to the hospital, to be monitored, and have more tests run on me. Within a 4 day timeframe, I never had that many tests before…but also during that time, I had ceased to pass anything…gas or poop, not to mention anything staying in my stomach. No one…even me realized just how serious my condition was, and time was running out!

June 1, 2006 is the day that changed my life forever!
I was told that they wanted to do an exploratory laparoscopy to see what was going on, to see if they could find the source, and if they did find one, repair it. They finally took me into surgery around 9pm that night…next thing I remember is being in that “dream like state”, looking at my husband, noticing that he had a tear running down his face, he then said; “Karen…you have cancer…” That’s all I remember until finally waking up later that day. I told Jim about the awful dream…but that it was real. The Dr.’s found the cancer “peppered” throughout my abdomen. It was Ovarian Cancer Stage IIIC. The cancer was never in my ovaries, but developed along the outer layer, spilling onto my sigmoid colon, my small intestine, causing severe perforations to both. Both of the affected areas were removed, several lymph nodes, and a colostomy put in place, and being told that it was reversible.

A total of 12 days was spent in the hospital, with one more surgery for the placement of a Port-A-Cath to take place the morning I was to be released. My job was to go home to heal, and prepare as best I could for what lay ahead me 8 days later.

THE PERSON I MOST ADMIRE
I have to go back to the years 1988 – 2000. This was 2 years of a parent’s “hell”. I know first hand what cancer can do to you, and its side effects. My son was diagnosed June 3rd, 1988 with T-Cell ALL, Leukemia, and a white count of 500,000…with only a 30% chance of surviving the weekend. God granted us an additional 2 years with him.
I have always said that my son was my hero…the reason is simple…at such a young age…I saw him handle many challenges with courage and bravery that most people would rather just give up on. I remember telling my son that he had a bad sickness, and the Dr.’s were going to make him well, but that he had to be strong, and NOT GIVE UP! Not once did I ever tell him that there was a possibility that he could have died from this, or he would have given up. Instead…I saw him live life to its fullest, and NEVER took anything for granted! Instead…he surrounded everything and everyone with love and kindness…always a hug along with an I Love You. I just wished that everyone had his spirit…I know that I try…but not sure that I’ll ever measure up to that.

December 29th, 2006
I know that this has been a long one, but just to let everyone know…October 5, 2006, I had debulking surgery done. The colonoscopy has been reversed…my tubes and ovaries are gone, there was no cancer involvement in them, and same goes for a few more lymph nodes taken, as is the case of my omentum that they took the rest of.

I’M CANCER FREE! I finished my last treatment Nov. 27th, had a CAT scan Dec. 20th, and got results Dec. 27th. CAT shows everything to be okay, and CA125 results the lowest they have been yet…8.9! Now all I have to do is grow my hair back, live life to its fullest…and watch my youngest daughter marry March 10, 2007!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Cancer Symptoms

cramps (like the kind that you have when ovuating)just sort of different…
slight weight gain
being just a bit more tired than usual, but ultimately

Surgery Description, Dates & Side Effects

June 1, 2006 Laproscopy…ultimately colonoscopy, and partial small intesting removal…with lymphnode involvement

June 12, 2006
Placement of a port-a-cath for IV chemo.

October 5, 2006
Coloscopy take down (reversal), and debulking…removal of tubes, ovaries, omentum, and more lymphnodes.

Chemotherapy Description, Dates & Side Effects

June 20, 2006, and every following 3 weeks…through August 29, 2006…then the last 2 of the 6 treatments – November 7, 2006 & November 28, 2006
Carboplatin & Taxol
I really didn’t know what to expect with the first treatment. Felt great for 24 hours after…but then I felt like a semi-truck had run over me about 10 times…or worse case of the flu X 20! Twelve days later, I had a reverse mohawk going on (hair falling out)and had my husband shave my head. The worst of it was losing my eyelashes and eyebrows! You know your hair is going to go…but no one told me ALL of my body hair would go Talk about being striped of your “womanhood”! I still wince when I think of those times!
Numbness in my feet(Pins & Needles)...always worse by the end of the day.

Hormone Therapy Description, Dates & Side Effects

I’ll take my chances without it

Immune Therapy Description, Dates & Side Effects

June 21, 2006, and every following 3 weeks…through August 30, 2006…then November 8 & November 29, 2006
Injection of Neulesta
Major bone and joint pain…and I just thought chemo did a number on me!

Aranesp…only when my red count and platlets would get below normal. That wasn’t often