Help Emily Through Karen's Final Days

In November of 2024, Karen Ondarcho Marsh was diagnosed with Cancer. Months of tests, appointments, and countless hours spent worrying about the unknown resulted in a stage 4, metastatic diagnosis. She fought through ten radiation treatments and two rounds of chemotherapy hoping to get back on her feet. Unfortunately, the treatments have not worked. Karen is now at home spending her last days surrounded by family and friends.

Karen has been a nurse for over 40 years. The majority of those years she worked in nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities. She is well loved by her coworkers, patients, and the families of those she worked with. During the Covid pandemic she went to work every day trying to make life a little easier for residents who weren’t able to see their families. Taking care of people has been something she has been passionate about her entire life, and having to stop working upon her diagnosis was difficult. She continued trying to help out as much as she could while bedridden.

Her goal was always simple: “I want to get back to work.”

Karen has been an amazing mother. She often sacrificed weekends, vacations, and any free time she had driving back and forth to various sports games, practices, and tournaments. Countless hours of overtime were spent providing the best possible life for her daughter Emily. She was often known to be cooking extra food and buying popsicles for the kids that were always at the house visiting. She became a second mom to them, and treated them like her own. “Mama Marsh” was known throughout the neighborhood.

Karen is my Aunt. I am starting this Gofundme to help Emily with the medical expenses for the past 8 months and after Karen has passed. Karen and Emily are "Two peas in Pod". This will be incredibly difficult for Emily. They have always had each other.