ABOUT KARISSA
“My mission is to use my life – however long it may be – to reflect the Light that I’ve found in the dark.”
my story
As I write this, chemotherapy has made my sight blurry, my feet useless and my hands tremble, while cancer fights to claim more of my body.
Seven years ago, at the age of 31, I was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. In these 2,555 days, I’ve endured nine surgeries, an incalculable amount of suffering and pain, as well as two years of chemo… and that part of my journey isn’t done.
But that’s not all I’ve endured.
When I was 11, my mother died of breast cancer.
When I was 14, I survived the shooting at Columbine High School.
When I was 20, I became a war widow when my husband and high school sweetheart was killed in action in Iraq.
And now, as you know, cancer.
If you have trouble believing all that could happen in the life of one person, I don’t blame you. There are still times it feels unreal to me, too. But it’s true.
Unlikely? Sure? Painful? Of course. It cost me my mother, my childhood, my husband and my health.
But you know what it didn’t cost me? My hope. Because my hope lies in Jesus Christ, and He is turning my pain into purpose.
I’m writing a memoir about my unbelievable life. But it’s not a story of tragedy. It’s the story of a promise fulfilled, a life lived to the fullest, and most of all the God who gives me joy and meaning when the world says I should despair.
I dream of finding a publisher and bringing the hope that I have in God to every corner of the world I can reach. I speak to those who need hope on their own journeys at churches, conferences and events, helping the hurting heal.
I am also an end-of-life doula, helping people pass into death like a birth doula helps babies pass into life. I walk with those who are on their way home, helping them find comfort and peace in their last days. I journey with them as they face the fear and anxiety that often comes with death, working to make their passing less scary and more beautiful – and dare I say, even joyful. There’s a profound need for this kind of support, as health care providers and clergy don’t have the numbers or man hours to fill this difficult gap that occurs in end-of-life care.
Writing, speaking and serving as an end-of-life doula merge my three passions: helping those who are hurting, making things beautiful, and telling people about the hope I’ve found in God.
This is the vision God has given me for loving others where I am, with what I have — and it’s not at all blurry!
I want to spend whatever time I have left in my journey easing the pain of others and sharing the hope I have in Jesus.
Will you come with me? (I hope so!)
