Most recent update…  8/13/25 Karen has been moved to palliative/comfort care.  

Thank you for coming and reading this update. At this moment Karen is in the ICU in very serious condition (not able to except visitors currently) at Forsyth Medical Center. 

Thank you so much for helping Jamie and Karen. I know it has been a while since there was public update so I will try to bring everyone up to speed.

Yesterday, Friday August 1st, Karen had a chemo treatment scheduled. When she got there her Dr. told them to go to the Hospital. Karen was not doing well at all. She has been in and out of the hospital a lot over the last 6 weeks or so. Mostly in. However yesterday things got much worse very fast. Long story short, she ended up having emergency surgery. The surgeon found a hole in her colon, which he successfully repaired.

She is in ICU experiencing septic shock, and it looks like she will be there for a while. She is very sick. The cancer and the results of long-term chemo over the last 6 1/2 years have taken a toll on her body.

Please pray for Karen, Jamie and girls. If you are able, please consider supporting them financially as well. While a financial goal is often associated with go fund me pages, we will just say their need at this time is greater than ever.

Since I last updated you a lot of great accomplishments have been recorded as well.

Elizabeth (Lizzi) has finished her master’s at North Greenville University and is gainfully employed as an assistant coach on the Women's Soccer program at NGU.

Cathrine (Cat) has graduated from Wingate and begun an internship at a dermatology office in that area. Hoping to get a year of practical experience and qualify for Physicians Assistant School next year.

Rebecca (Roo) is the slacker in that all she has done is become a top student in the nursing program at Gardner Webb University and an officer in the student government there. In all seriousness Roo, as we call her, has excelled as we all knew she would and has been at home this summer working a local healthcare assisted living facility and taking care of her own family. She will be returning to Gardner Webb to continue her pursuit of a nursing degree this fall. All of the girls are home as often as possible.

Karen and Jamie had been plugging along but not without continued challenges. As I said Karen has been in and out of the hospital several times. Karen is much weaker than she has been physically. The cancer has continued to move into more places.

To bring you or people who may not be familiar with Karen’s condition before now completely up to date:

6-1/2 years ago stage 4 lung cancer was discovered because she was having pain in her hip and back. She immediately had to have a hip replacement. Lung cancer was found in both hips, one leg, one arm, her spine and on her skull making it stage 4 before it was ever discovered. That is how strong of a woman Karen was.

She started out on Immunotherapies for years, but the cancer began to mutate so she had to begin other treatments. However, her body was not tolerating it well at all. They then tried newer drugs that had just become available. But all of this immediately caused her to lose over 100 pounds.

Finally, she transitioned to a Chemo regiment that we hoped would do more good than harm. It was just holding the cancer at bay so to speak. But eventually the cancer made its way to the brain and her liver.

Almost two years ago now she began radiation treatment for the lung cancer on her brain.

Radiation was done in two different ways as the first was not successful. So “whole head” radiation was used in late 2023. This was somewhat successful but at that time they were told that it may take up to a year for side effects to show up. Eventually those side effects did start causing double vision and she lost peripheral vision because of swelling of dead tissues in her brain due to the radiation. Vertigo and memory and word recall began show up as side effects.

It was determined that what was needed was for her to have brain surgery to remove some of the dead tissue in the brain, hopefully decreasing the swelling that was causing so many issues. That surgery was successful in that it helped her vision, but it has created other issues. Seizures and metabolic issues have left her with little to no strength in her legs. This caused multiple stays in the hospital. Sometimes for over a week at a time. Her healing from the radiation and surgery was going very slowly so the Dr’s determined that hyperbaric chamber treatments on a daily regiment for roughly two months was needed with the hope that this will help the brain tissue heal. The hope was also for the metabolic issues to slowly return to normal as all these latest issues have been diagnoses to be mostly neurological. But before that could happen this latest emergency surgery had to be done.

Obviously, this has been hard on the whole family. As I wrote before, Rebecca has been home this summer working at a healthcare facility and helping Jamie care for Karen but will be returning to school soon.

Jamie has finally listened the advice of his Dr, (and friends who already knew this, wink wink) who diagnosed him with depression on top of his own physical issues. Jamie had a knee replacement roughly a year ago but now that knee needs to be repaired again. He also needs a second knee replacement but cannot do that as he is Karen’s full-time care giver. 

As many of you know Jamie has not been working for the last 18 months because appointments and treatments are a daily reality. Often multiple in the same day.

The generosity of friends and family in the last year has helped them weather that storm and kept them above water financially. Amazing people have brought food and offered cars and other gifts of service to them as well. Karen has been drawing social security disability, and she has been able to keep her insurance coverage from work but must pay for it out of pocket. Currently there are many uncertainties rapidly approaching.

Last year when we began this "GoFundMe” page it was very hard for Jamie and Karen to allow us to do this for them. But people were very generous, and caring. That meant the world to them to as well as your prayers which are most coveted.

So now we are offering this update and asking for you to please continue to pray and gather around the family as a community to help them bear this burden. 

It is hard to imagine what 6 1/2 years has been like for them. We are very close and in constant contact with them and I honestly can’t begin to tell you how strong they seem to us.

As many know Jamie’s lightly used 360,000-mile truck blew the engine which is the thing that finally got Jamie to allow us to start this page. However, they were offered a couple of cars to borrow as well and there were other bills to pay. So, the truck has not been repaired yet. It is sitting outside the workshop Jamie, and I have used for the last few years and will hopefully be getting a new engine soon. In case anyone is worried about Sammy, the four legged, 15 toed Luzzi he spends a lot of time with Koone pack.

As we talked to them and asked them what they would want people to know. They responded in the following ways.

A. They are so thankful for the generosity and humbled by all the ways people have shown their love for them. But the financial struggle is still very real and occupies a tremendous amount of time as they try to manage immediate and future needs.

B. To know how hard it is to fight this battle over this many years. While that is a tough thing it is a true blessing that new drugs and therapies have allowed her to make it this far. Few people with Stage 4 Cancer have made it this long.

C. The spiritual struggle is very real. Although we have known them to be amazingly faithful followers of God for as long as we have known them. They do struggle with questions as we all do, but their faith is still strong. But please pray for their faith to continue to be strong.

D. They are so thankful for people who have visited and brought food and love. With Karen’s hospitalization Jamie asks that anyone who may want to bring food text him because they will be at the hospital a lot and we (Darrin and Sheila) may need to help with accepting food donations. Some things that work well are meals that can be frozen and pulled out as needed or gift cards to local restaurant or establishments close to Forsyth Medical Center.

Jamie told us that he feels embarrassed that he must allow us to do this and that he should have been better prepared for this fight. We told him no one is prepared for this fight. In my 40 years of ministry, I have never known anyone who was prepared for 6 1/2 years long fight with this evil disease. Karen never smoked but got lung cancer. Most of us didn’t even know that was possible before their journey began.

On behalf of The Luzzi family I want to thank you and ask you please consider helping them financially and through prayer if God moves you in this way.

Thanks so much,

Darrin and Sheila Koone