A Little Bit About Lindsey

Lindsey Robinson Karr was a bright light in the lives of all who knew her, but especially to her beloved music students, some of whom currently attend Grovecrest. She discovered her love for music at an early age while participating in the school orchestra at Grovecrest. She shared her contagious excitement for life and music with everyone around her . At the young age of 14, Lindsey was diagnosed with a rare type of brain tumor called ependymoma, and after battling courageously for over 10 years, she lost her fight with cancer exactly a week before the Music Lab was to be dedicated. With her recent passing, Grovecrest Elementary thought it only fitting to dedicate our Music and Piano Lab in her name.

Lindsey lived by the motto, "Living Through Laughter". This is what she had to say about her life's motto:

Laughter is transformational. It can take the dreariest of life’s moments and change them in an instant to something that eases heartache and suffering. Laughter is contagious. It can cause others who are filled with doubt and worry to become lighter and more joyful.
Laughter is an attitude. Finding humor in situations that would normally cause anger or despair is healing for both body and soul. This is something that it has taken me 10 years, four brain surgeries, two series of radiation, seizures, shunts, and pirates to learn.
When I was 14 I had brain surgery to remove a giant tumor that had taken up residence in my left frontal lobe. Then at 16 it happened again. And yet again at 18. This time, after surgery, the doctors decided that radiation was the best course for eradicating any lingering tumor cells. So the tumor cells that had dwelled in my brain decided to pack up and move south. I didn’t realize that these rare cells were able to travel through my spinal/cranial fluid. So after a few years of being healthy, I was surprised to discover that I had five new tumors along my spinal column. They were the same type of tumors as before, but inoperable. All of this was discovered over a five month period, during which I was in immense pain, which led to seizures, which led to the neuro ICU for a week, which led to a fourth brain surgery; this time to put in a shunt.
Radiation treatments began as soon as my body could handle them. I also was bed-ridden, needed 24 hour care, had no control over my bodily functions, and was losing weight like crazy. (I know what you’re thinking, ladies, and this is NOT the way to lose it!) I couldn’t sit-up, and I couldn’t see, and migraine-level headaches were constant.
And yet somehow, through everything that I was suffering, I was gifted with the ability to see the humor in situations. And to laugh, and encourage those with me to laugh. Don’t get me wrong, there were definitely days when I cried as well. Yet I was able to move past the darker, gloomier clouds in my life and see sunshine.

Life is not so serious that we cannot take a moment to enjoy blessings, or experience gratitude, or see the little funny things that happen on a daily basis. Search for the erratic, the ironic, and the slapstick comedy of life. Because you know what? Laughter truly is the best medicine.

 To read more about Lindsey and her courageous life story  visit her website Living Through Laughter.