Welcome to the first entry of our CHSCF blog series
affectionately known as Shoe Prints
Many of you know who I am already, but for those who are new here, I’m Karen Hines. I’m one of the co-founders of The Cassie Hines Shoes Cancer Foundation (CHSCF), the current Executive Director and Cassie’s mom. I am also wife to Chris Hines, mom to Ashley and Ethan, mother-in-law to Jeff and Jenna, Gaga (grandma) to four sweet littles and two loveable pups.
Ever since the CaringBridge posts from 2008-2013 (Cassie’s cancer beginnings and a bit beyond) people have told me “You should write a book!” Very flattering and such a BIG undertaking. I actually entertained the idea for a minute and talked with a coach. I did some writing exercises with her; she thought I had “potential”. Which was both encouraging and terrifying. Just about the time I was gaining confidence, I abruptly ended our meetings. Truth be told, it felt overwhelming and if I’m being really honest, I wasn’t sure I could handle bad reviews, should I be published. At that time, it was very on brand for me to jump all the way from *possibly* writing a book to “I can’t handle bad book reviews!”
Before Cassie was even diagnosed we had a series of unfortunate events that had me waiting for the next scary, life altering situation to bring me to my knees…then Cassie was diagnosed with cancer. Turning into a “worst case scenario” person seemed perfectly natural to me. In fact, I spent an extraordinary amount of time dwelling in a rabbit hole waiting for the shoe to drop on my head.
“Let’s see…Chris is late coming home…he’s never late for anything…definitely dead in a ditch, (Why always the ditch? IDK) Should I call the police and have them search?” (where was “find my friends” when I needed it?). Enter need for an intervention.
All that to say, a few different seasons of therapy, some good books, podcasts and mentors, a lot of deep conversations with God, a few a-haa moments at Base2Summit camp and here we are, me writing a blog:)
My intention with the blog is to share some things I learned along the cancer road. The view from the caregiver window is very different from the patient and that’s the seat I was in for four years. Our family walked through grief and there are stories to share from that season I think you’ll find insightful and encouraging. I will share some Cassie stories from my lens and a few protips we learned together. I will also share all things Cassie Hines Shoes Cancer Foundation; what we’re up to, what our goals and big dreams are and how we are attempting to solve for isolation in the young adult cancer community. With some coaxing, I hope to have Chris input a bit too. His reflections are very different from mine, dad’s don’t always share a lot when they’re in the struggle.
I can’t commit to how often these blog posts will happen but we intend to alert you via the CHSCF Insider emails, social media and our quarterly newsletter. Want to stay connected?
I’ll end every post the way Cassie did in a letter she wrote to her future self (which I will share at some point)
“Peace, Love and Kayak”
xoxo Karen (obviously she wrote Cassie, not Karen;)
