PORT ANGELES — There was a lot Karen Sproed wanted from life.
She wanted to be healthy again, she wanted to return to work as a hotel hostess, but most of all, she wanted to see her daughter grow up.
None of those wishes came true.
Sproed, a single mother of three children — two young men and a 7-year-old girl — died Monday night after a 32-month battle with a rare brain tumor.
She was 41.
To those who knew her, mostly from the several churches she regularly attended, Sproed became an inspiration, said her friend Barbara Montes.
Armed with a seemingly never-ending positive attitude and Christian faith, she showed how strong and enduring the human spirit can be, said Montes, who was by her side throughout the illness spanning two years and eight months.
“Her legacy here,” Montes said, is that “you can be a fighter and live for God and be at peace — that you show love for the Lord — no matter what — and be a fighter because it’s worth it in the end.”
Sproed, who went through six dangerous surgeries that failed to remove the large chordoma tumor, saw herself as having a purpose.
Although most of the time she could barely speak, since surgery left her with a half-paralyzed tongue, she always felt that her struggle to live could motivate people to become better.
That, it appears, she accomplished until the end.
Kathy Acree, a nurse at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, cared for Sproed for only a few days.
But she was so impressed by Sproed’s positive attitude and ability to smile while facing death that Acree said she plans to attend Sproed’s memorial service.
“The first day I cared for her . . . I actually was teary-eyed at the bedside,” Acree recalled.
“She reached out to comfort me.
“I just thought that was phenomenal that a woman with calendar days left to live was thinking of comforting me.”
Acree said her hospital room was “highly emotional,” with friends, family and fellow churchgoers surrounding her.
“It was obvious that this person had an impact on a lot of lives in a positive way,” she said.
Mike Jones, pastor of the Upper Room church, said Sproed gave members of his congregation inspiration and joy.
“She had an amazing sense of joy in her life,” he said.
“And most people would have found it most difficult and reason to complain. She was filled with joy. And it was wonderful.”
Sproed’s children — Khya, 7, Bubba, 18, and Anthony, 20 — were the most important to her, Montes said.
Montes said she will care for Khya until she is ready to live with one of her aunts.
In September 2008, Sproed said she had been to multiple doctors since December 2007, complaining of severe headaches and asking for a test to see if she had a tumor.
She was diagnosed in August 2008.
Sproed’s journal writings, which document her fight with the tumor, will be included in a book a former pastor is writing, Montes said.
Sproed had said she wanted to write a book herself.
Montes said a celebration of life is in the works.
A traditional funeral is not what Sproed wanted, Montes said.
“She wanted a party,” she said, adding that her friend looked forward to going to heaven.
Per her wishes, Sproed will be cremated, Montes said.
But she wasn’t left with enough money to pay for it, and the family is asking for donations, Montes said.
Donations can be made to an account in her name at Strait-View Credit Union, 220 S. Lincoln St., Port Angeles.
________
Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
