In June of 2018 Karrah was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-cell). She was 29 years old and healthy with no signs of any past underlying medical issues. She was admitted to the hospital and was told she was in liver failure. Five days passed before it was revealed that the actual cause of her liver failure was leukemia. The situation had turned from bad to complete shit. She spent a difficult year enduring the effects of chemotherapy, receiving more blood transfusions than she could count, and several visits to the ICU.

Karrah was determined to come back stronger than ever from what she dubbed a “major inconvenience”. After achieving remission, Karrah dedicated herself to be as healthy and active as possible. Despite all her best attempts, her remission was shortly lived.

In January of 2021 Karrah's cancer came back , luckily, she achieved a second remission followed by a bone marrow transplant the following April and her sister Makayla was a perfect match for the transplant. Making a quick recovery with few complications everything seemed to be going as planned. A cure was found and she was regaining her strength and ability to live life again. Only six months later, a bone marrow biopsy revealed that the transplant was a failure and the Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia was back, for a third round. Wishing for a third remission was a pipe dream, but with the advancement of immunotherapies like blinatumomab, Karrah achieved a remission a few months later. It was nothing short of a miracle, she is now a 3X cancer survivor. What makes this bittersweet is that her cancer is extremely aggressive and most people in this position only live another six months. Not to mention now, side effects of medications, and Chronic GVHD symptoms are showing up as a result of the failed transplant.

This is a reflection of what is looks like to walk through the hard truths of cancer with those you love. It’s better to show up imperfectly than to not show up at all. Karrah doesn’t want to shy away from the things that people want to know, but are afraid to ask. It takes courage to face death and dying, but there is so much to learn from it. Karrah wants to share the hard and beautiful realities of facing the fragility of life. Cancer can’t take everything from you.

There is still so much life to seize.

This is a blog that will confront your biggest fears, challenge your thoughts on death and hopefully show you how to grab life by balls today, instead of tomorrow. Maybe it’s you, or someone you know, but everyone will continue to be touched by someone facing a cancer diagnosis, we have got to learn to stop being awkward and talk about it or we risk shutting down and losing each other. The faint of heart need not read further for these are the words of a woman whose veins are filled with brave blood and will not shrink away from the hard truths we are afraid to say out loud..