Karina's Journey With Cancer

My name is Steve Hart, Karina's fiance, and we are launching this campaign in need of financial support as Karina walks a journey with Stage 4 Stomach Cancer. We are facing a variety of expenses, including hospital bills, medication, high-quality food, medical accessories, and alternative treatments and guidance. Any and all assistance is received with humility and gratitude as we do whatever we can to help her heal. Love and prayers are equally welcomed and appreciated if you can't support financially.

Below is the story of what happened, and I caution, it is not easy to read, so please only read on at your own discretion. This is our truth, what we lived through in the last few months, and we feel sharing our story will help you to help us.

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A few short months ago, Karina celebrated her 40th birthday, happy and healthy. She was so excited to step into her 40's engaged, planning her wedding, and ready to start a family. Already a beloved member of the yoga community, she was eagerly expanding into art, writing, and sharing her wisdom with the world until a nagging cough emerged that changed the course of her life.

After several doctors visits and different treatments, everyone was stumped as to why her symptoms were getting worse and worse. After an agonizing month, it became time to take her to the ER. They scanned her and gave us the life-changing news that Karina has cancer. Confusingly, 72 hours later she was discharged from the hospital with no appropriate medication, oxygen, or instructions other than to schedule a meeting with an oncologist, who was not available for several weeks.

Back home, the week that followed was very difficult, as her cough was debilitating, disallowing her to eat, sleep or breath. Enough was enough and we took her back to the ER, to a different hospital this time, where she was immediately sent to the ICU for the start of what would be a 40-day stay.

Now in good hands, they drained a liter of fluid from each lung, discovered blood clots and used preventative measures to maintain them, and found the spread of cancer throughout the lungs, all contributing to a cough that wouldn't stop. They determined the cancer was in stage 4, but the procedure needed to determine the exact type of cancer was too risky given her condition. We were faced with a very difficult decision with a very short timeline.

The doctors had to take their best guess of the type of cancer she had in order to prescribe the right sort of chemotherapy treatment, and they gave her 48 hours to agree to start the treatment or else she would be too weak to receive it. If they were correct in their assumption, they gave her a 30% chance of surviving long enough for the chemotherapy to kick in and prolong her life.

If you know Karina, she is a beacon of health, clean from the food she eats to the products she puts on her skin, so the idea of using a chemotherapy treatment was a major shift in perspective, one that Karina made with grace, understanding, and acceptance. We accepted her treatment, blessed the medicine, and began to pray. We gave up hope, as hope leaves space for multiple outcomes, but instead manifested with all our energy a healing path for her.

In that moment, Karina was given a popsicle, the last "cold" thing she could have before starting treatment. She ate it with a child-like joy, and took a photo that she would later post on social media, letting her friends, loved ones, and students know what she was going through and the perspective she was taking. That post is below:

Immediately, Karina was overwhelmed with messages of support, prayers, and love. Each day forward she shared with me how blessed she felt, how grateful she is for the love of so many people, despite some days being very, very difficult. Karina has always been a giver of love, and it became her time to be a receiver and it flooded in without restraint.

The doctors said the treatment wouldn't have an effect for a month, but almost immediately Karina began the road of improvement. We fully believe the love and prayers played a major part in those crucial weeks as we waited for the medicine to do it's work.

Over the next 40 days, her cough lessened, her energy lifted, and life force vitality that had been so faint began to shine through again. The doctors were ecstatic about her improvements. Eventually, she was strong enough for the procedure needed to determine the type of cancer, which turned out to be Adenocarcinoma, a type of stomach cancer, which the doctors had correctly guessed.

In true Karina fashion, she became the favorite patient of the doctors and nurses, making genuine human connections with the people who cared for her. We celebrated Christmas and the New Year in the hospital, both of which she experienced with joy and gratitude for her life. Though in the midst of the greatest challenge of her life, she still found the energy to draw pictures for friends, family, and the nursing staff as holiday gifts, a true testament of her character, strength, and love for others.

Karina was ready to come home early in the new year, and we wept with joy when she took her first breath of fresh air in nearly 6 weeks. Unfortunately, after a heart-warming reunion with our dog and a couple of nights of peace in a comfortable and quiet room, Karina had to go back to the ER and ICU due to a severe infection, common in cancer patients. A challenging and uncomfortable setback, we spent another 10 nights in the hospital before bringing Karina home again.

Karina is home and healing now, and we are manifesting it continues in this way. We still have a very long path in front of us, and your support of this journey is beyond appreciated and fills us with optimism and faith. If you can't contribute financially, please continue to pray for our darling Karina and her recovery.