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On Thursday 24 February 2011 Karen Whittaker (nee Burgess) passed away at St Peter’s Hospice, Bristol, surrounded by her much loved family. Karen had fought a 12 year battle against Cancer, showing typically tremendous courage throughout......
In the of Spring of 1998 Karen was diagnosed with breast cancer and fought a year long battle to save her life. Not surprisingly, Karen’s view on life changed and as she recovered she was determined to use her free time for voluntary work. Over the next 12½ yrs Karen worked tirelessly and magnanimously towards so many worthy causes, however it was the Mothers’ Union, and its work, that were to become a passion for Karen.
At the beginning of 2008 Karen was diagnosed with a rare sarcoma, and she was fighting for her life again. Fortunately, it was diagnosed quite early and after major surgery and a minor procedure, it appeared the condition had been caught in time. In August 2010 Karen received the news she and the family had dreaded. The sarcoma had returned. But this time after going through four operations, two of them major, Karen was unable to beat this disease for the third time.
Throughout both cancers, Karen showed immense bravery sustained by her faith. It should be no surprise she was more concerned about the impact her illness was having on others, especially her family, than for herself.
In what was to become her final weeks Karen was very specific in her wishes, including three very specific charities which she would like to continue to support and help, even in her passing.....
Mothers’ Union: Development Workers’ Travel Expenses
After visiting Mary Sumner House in 1991 Karen was sold on the work of the Mothers’ Union. Two of her core beliefs were the importance of family life and being seen to be a Christian through actions not words.
The aim and purpose of the Mothers’ Union is to demonstrate the Christian faith in action by the transformation of communities worldwide through the nurture of the family. What a perfect fit.
The Mothers’ Union promotes conditions in society favourable to stable family life and the protection of children and to help those whose family life has met with adversity. No wonder the creation and running of the North Somerset child contact centres was so close to her heart.
Funds for local projects are routed direct to the local people working on them, cutting out corrupt governments. Unfortunately the weakness of the pound in the last couple of years has meant money does not go as far as it needs to for the overseas local development workers. Hence Karen’s specific request that charitable donations should be directed to the development workers in the overseas part of the Mothers’ Union.
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The Sarcoma Trust
After successfully fighting off breast cancer, Karen died from a sarcoma. Sarcomas are cancers of connective tissues like muscle, nerves, blood vessels etc. They are rare and account for about 1% of all cancer diagnoses. Their rarity has meant that in recent years very little resource has been available for research into improving treatment and supporting patients with them. The Sarcoma Trust was formed in 2007 to start to rectify these issues.
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http://www.sarcomatrust.org.uk/
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St Peter’s Hospice
The aim of the hospice is to improve the quality of life for all of its patients and provide them with the best possible end of life care.
Even though Karen was only at the hospice for a few hours, Karen’s close family is so thankful for the wonderful caring environment in which we were all able to be present when she died peacefully.
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http://www.stpetershospice.org.uk/
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