Winter Garden teen named a champion by Children's Miracle Network Hospitals

WINTER GARDEN — Like many teenagers, Katie Karp participates in a number of active hobbies. She rides and cares for her horse, and she particularly thrives on the lacrosse field. 

The difference between Karp and most other high-school students who enjoy these activities is that she has survived a battle with cancer that left her with a titanium rod in place of her thigh bone. 

“Having been through what I’d been through with my surgery and illness … most doctors would probably tell you it’s not in your best interest to go out and play such a rough sport,” Karp said. “I worked over the summer, throughout the fall. I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard at something in my entire life, physically. 

“There was definitely some pain and a lot of struggle getting in shape for the season,” she said. “But I ended up making my varsity lacrosse team at West Orange High School. So that was an unbelievable experience for me to have that triumph in my life.”

That persevering, strong spirit is part of why the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals chose Karp as one of its 2015 champions — the only honoree from the state of Florida. In this new role, she will spend a year traveling and sharing her story to rally support for the organization. 

DIAGNOSIS

When she was in sixth grade, Karp started feeling pain in her left thigh. One night after a track meet, the sensation reached an alarming intensity.

“I just remember waking up in tears and just writhing in my sleep — I mean an unbelievable, stabbing-type pain,” Karp said.

An MRI revealed every patient’s nightmare: a tumor that was diagnosed as osteosarcoma, a cancer of the bones.

“You can only imagine how it just rocks your world,” Karp said. “You don’t expect to hear something like that when you’re 12 years old, and comprehending it was beyond my level at that point in my life.”

Karp’s chemotherapy started almost immediately after the diagnosis. She often had to spend four or five consecutive nights at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children. Eventually, 12 inches of Karp’s thigh bone were removed and replaced with a titanium rod. She had to learn how to walk again, but she was declared cancer-free in February 2011. 

“I love my scar, though,” Karp said, smiling proudly at the foot-long reminder of her 10-month, life-changing fight. 

Getting back to the lacrosse field this spring was just one of Karp’s numerous triumphs since she suffered from cancer.

When Karp’s treatment was almost finished, a staff member at the hospital asked her to share her story at a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. Karp loved the experience and continued to speak at a number of events around West Orange.

INSPIRATION

Each year, thousands of children who are fighting or have overcome cancer are nominated to become their state’s Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Champion. It provides the opportunity for them to go to fundraisers and conferences.

Karp was chosen based on the relationship she had already established with Children’s Miracle Network, as well as her success in starting and managing her own charity — Katie’s Kause.

“I’ve never wanted to make things about me … and I never felt like it was my time to be in the spotlight,” Karp said. “I love to use my story as a way to not only inspire other people, but to bring hope to other kids, and … maybe I could help save someone’s life.”

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KATIE’S KAUSE

When she was 13, Katie Karp started her own nonprofit organization, Katie’s Kause, with the mission of giving hope and encouragement to other children fighting cancer. Katie’s Kause gives handmade blankets to children in the hospital, provides the children with craft supplies to relieve boredom while they are in the hospital, offers comforting gifts to the children’s families and supports a number of other similar programs. For more information or to donate, go to katieskause.com.

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Contact Catherine Sinclair at [email protected].