Arteaga, Karen Guenther Lewien

September 23, 1948-June 5. 2015

Karen Arteaga, wife, mother, sister, friend, teacher, passed away Friday, June 5.  Karen had endured the rigors of  ovarian cancer for 31/2 years and died peacefully with many of those she loved by her side.  Karen was the second of five children born to Bob and LeeRoye Guenther in Dubuque, Iowa.  When Karen was young the family moved to CO, beginning a family love affair with the Rockies.  They eventually settled in Arvada, where Karen graduated from Arvada High School in 1966.  It was in a Spanish class during her sophomore year Karen's love of the Spanish language and culture began--a crush on the Spanish teacher probably helped promote the cause!  After graduating with honors, Karen attended CU Boulder, majoring in Spanish/Secondary Education.  Today a semester abroad is an experience enjoyed by many college students, but in the late 1960's, it was an unusual and somewhat radical occurrence.  Karen convinced her parents to let her study in Peru for a year to become more fluent in Spanish, a decision they second guessed many times since Karen was in Lima during a governmental coup.  To insure their safety, American college students were spirited away to a remote mountain town.  Unfazed, Karen completed her year, returned to graduate from CU and begin her teaching career in Jefferson County.  She and her first husband Gary married shortly after graduation and Karen continued her commute between Boulder and South Jefferson County.  Karen was a born teacher who "got" middle schoolers' humor and their quirks. Shortly after the birth of Andy, Karen and Gary moved to Dearborn Place, Ben soon joined the family.  It was here Karen met the Wagners who also had small children.   Mary and Fred became Karen's close friends and extended family, running between houses for babysitting, meals and good conversation.  For a short time, Karen became a stay at home mom, but not wanting to give up her career, she created a niche for herself teaching before and after school Spanish classes to elementary students.  When Karen and Gary divorced, Karen was determined to return to full-time teaching.  Always the overachiever, she felt she needed to strengthen her Spanish skills and made a decision that would change her life.  She enrolled in an immersion program in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and convinced her sister Bobbie to accompany her for the summer.  There she met a handsome young instructor named Francisco (Paco) Arteaga.  When the summer session was over, Karen returned to Boulder to begin teaching at Centennial Middle School, but she and Paco kept in touch.  Soon there were extended visits between San Miguel and Boulder, and in December, 1989  Karen and Paco married.  They added two more sons to their family, Clarencio and Mitchell,  and life revolved around the boys' sports, camping and family vacations.  Karen never lost her sense of adventure and took many extended family trips to Lake Powell, the National Parks, Alaska, California, Mexico, and Europe.  Remembering the value of her experiences as an exchange student, she chaperoned students on trips to Spain, France, Costa Rica, and Washington DC.  With family and friends, Karen enthusiastically cheered her favorite teams and was an avid supporter of the Broncos, Rockies and CU teams.  Karen also loved mariachi music, never able to sit still but energetically dancing or singing to the music.

Karen was a natural leader who encouraged others to take the lead.  She never sought the spotlight but was often in it because of her intelligence, energy, creativity, and quick sense of humor.  Her positive outlook in times of adversity made Karen a role model to students, colleagues, friends and her family.  She is survived by her devoted husband Paco, sons Andy (Sally), Ben, Clarencio (Abby) and Mitchell; granddaughters Devon and Eyra (expected August 2).  Sisters Sharon (John), Bobbie (Doug) and Debbie, and brother Jim (Barbara), numerous nieces and nephews, her extended family in San Miguel, Mexico and a group of loving and admiring friends and colleagues also feel her loss.  A celebration of Karen's life will take place at 2:00 on Sunday, June 14th, in the Worship Center of Rocky Mountain Christian Church, Niwot. In lieu of flowers, those who wish may consider a donation to Children's  Cancer Research Fund at  childrenscancer.org.  

Hooray!  I got the CAT scan results Friday and they were what we were hoping for. No visible signs of  tumors!  The doctor's best guess is that I won't be needing to repeat chemo for 6-18 months, but I'm hoping for between 24-NEVER. Call me a dreamer, but why not?  Thanks for all the positive vibes you've been sending me, and keep it up, please!

We all had a great time at Clar's wedding last month and spent many happy moments with family and friends.  I've started back to school full time, and so far, so good.  It feels very normal to be back at work.  I think it keeps me from sitting around feeling invalid-like.  

One more time, I would like you all to know how much your support meant to me over the last six months.  One of the most trying periods of my life was made easier because you were there.  I have learned a lot from all of you about caring and each of you has made me a better person by your example.  GRACIAS!  I think we can all take a break from the blogging world for the time being.  Stay well and as Ellen would say, "Be kind to one another."  Love and hugs,  Karen

SORRY FOR THE DELAY!-

Yes, I know I've been bad.  Blogging sounds like a great idea to keep everyone informed, and then you try and try to come up with some original thought and...nada!  Could it be that chemo destroys creativity and cleverness cells while it's trying for the cancer? Perhaps.  Here's what's new.  Just completed Round 5 and the poisons seem to be doing their thing. When a woman has ovarian cancer she starts off with a CA125 score. It's a blood test that is used as a "tumor indicator". Before surgery mine was 390. It has been steadily dropping with the chemo until it is now at 18.  So that's good news and indicates that I can probably
take a six to twelve month break from the treatment after the next session.  The CAT scan in August will be more definitive, however.   We've had a good summer.  My sister, Sharon,  and her husband,  John, were here from California and we had a wonderful time. My new adorable grand niece, Stella, and Mom and Dad (Robin and Ken) were here for a couple of days on their way to a dude ranch. Fun to have a munchkin running around the house again.  Bobbie (little sister) and Doug have been camping with us about every other weekend and we've had some beautiful hikes and lots of good laughs.  The kids have been around a lot to keep me company, so there have been few boring moments.  Clar is getting married in 2 weeks.  More family, more parties, more excitement!  So that's the nutshell version of the Recent Life of Karen.  My next blog will be sometime in August, after the test results.  I'm REALLY optimistic!  Love you all.....Karen

Numero Dos

Hello again!  The last month has been full of new experiences and new emotions.  My first big hurdle was dealing with my own vanity.  I was totally dreading losing my hair.  I burst into tears every time I tried to imagine it. Then one morning I woke up, took a shower and found myself with a handful of hair.  I began dreading the plumbing bill almost as much as my approaching baldness. After two days of only brushing my hair outside,  Paco and I took a trip to Great Clips where they kindly shaved both of our heads for free. What a relief!   It was not nearly as traumatic as I had imagined it would be.  The next day was Paco's birthday party where I premiered my new look along with Paco, Ben, my brother-in-law,  and best friend/neighbor, Fred, who had all shaved their heads for the occasion.  What a nice show of support! 

     Chemo the second time around was much better than the first.  The side effects were the same, but knowing what to expect and taking more meds really helped. The next one is Wednesday, May 16.  So by the following Monday or Tuesday I should feel like participating in life again!

     I continue to be amazed at all the positive support I get.  The staff at Centennial had a "scarf drive" and now I'm set with head covers to match any possible outfit!  Thank you all!  My kids and Paco continue to be a major source of strength for me, letting me know often and in many little ways that they love Mom.  My entire friend and family circle is there for me whenever I need a lift.  Gracias a todos!

  

One down

I probably should have written this blog about a week ago. I would have written of the relaxing and welcoming chemo room at Rock Creek, of the caring nurses and patients, of what an easy first session it had been. A week later, the lovely, optimistic words are coming harder. Those of you who have experienced chemo will understand when I say that it was one of the most troubling experiences in my life. The side effects were all there, just as I had been told, but I never knew from one hour to the next which one I would be feeling. I went to bed each night hoping and praying I would feel better in the morning, only to wake up to some new set of pains or side effects...UNTIL TODAY! I feel like I might be over the hump now. I have two weeks to gather up my attitude(which was falling apart), my energy, and my strength to start again. This time a little more realistically. Thanks for caring enough to read these sporadic blogitos...I probably won't update again for a couple of weeks. One down, five to go! Karen

Ready,set, .......

I'm just sitting here watching Paco work...raking, pruning, sweating...poor guy!  Spring is upon us and if we can't be in Zihuatanejo, I guess sunny Boulder is the next best place.  Hope all my BVSD friends are enjoying either exotic locales or hanging out at home with no lesson plans to think about!  Friday was our meeting with the oncologist to find out all about chemo...well, at least a small portion of what we need to know.  Paco and I are going to a Chemo Class on Monday morning. (I really like the way Kaiser tries to keep everyone informed and educated) Sometime next week, I'll be going to Denver to have a "port" put in to protect my whimpy blond veins over the course of the next several months, and then the following week I'll start chemo.  I think I mentioned in another blog that it will consist of 6-8 cycles (1 chemo day every three weeks).  There will be periodic checks (CT scans, blood tests,etc) to determine how much (not IF! :)) the cancers are shrinking.  I've been feeling pretty good, except for the incision which makes it hard to walk, sleep, or salsa dance.  It doesn't effect watching mindless TV (my favorite kind) nor eating, so I'm surviving.  I'm sure it will feel better very soon.  To all you friends and family out there in blog-land I want you to know that not a day goes by that I don't thank my lucky stars (as Mom used to say) for the joy of knowing EACH of you.  If cancer teaches you nothing else, it certainly teaches you the importance of the people in your life.  Thanks for being there!    Karen

HOLA!

WOW! What a beautiful day! I feel so sorry for all my cohorts at Centennial trying to control the hormones racing around the halls. You are all in my thoughts and prayers...remember, just ONE MORE WEEK! Paco and I went down to Anschutz yesterday, accompanied by sister Sharon who is here from California, to get pathology results and talk about what's next. I was thrilled that there are no new surprises. For all you scientists all they told me was that I have high grade serous cell cancer...which is fancy talk for ovarian/ peritoneal cancer. The treatment is straightforward and has been experienced by thousands of women before me...6 - 8 sessions of chemo 3 weeks apart. There will be a CT scan after about 9 weeks to see if the cancer is breaking down and I will probably need to have myself "drained" a couple of times (lovely) of the fluids that this type of cancer produces. I meet next Friday with my new oncologist (Kaiser has taken me back into its fold) to discuss all the details. So, there you have it... I'll update after my first chemo!
What about those BUFFS?