Webcam keeps student connected to classroom during illness
Thanks to the generosity of the Joe and Nila White Hasler Foundation Wenz fourth grader, Karsyn Worthington, feels like she is still connected with her class as well as the outside world while undergoing weekly chemotherapy treatments.
“Karsyn is undergoing I.V., oral and injection chemotherapy. Her treatments are in five phases with two months to each phase,” her mother explained. “So for the next 10 months she will be on a scheduled regiment.”
This is possible through the use of a webcam, sponsored by the Hasler Foundation, set-up in Sharon Wright’s classroom at Wenz School.
“With the webcam, Karsyn can participate even when she is in isolation due to no immune system left in her after the chemo she receives,” explained Wright with enthusiasm for the bright student who was diagnosed with leukemia during the summer.
Karsyn is battling accute lymphoblastic leukemia which, according to her parents, Heather and Sean Worthington, is the most common type of leukemia and is the most curable with a 90 to 95 percent cure rate.
Her doctors are hopeful that she will be able to return to a regular classroom setting in January, depending on her immune level.
In addition to the common side effects from the treatments Karsyn receives, the young girl quickly added the leukemia “has made me miss school and miss seeing my friends every day. I can’t go anywhere that I like and they can’t cover over anytime they like.”
She also pointed-out she has had to give-up swimming, going to the movies, going to the park and eating a Brownie Blizzard from the Dairy Queen.
“Karsyn is a very social child and the possibility of missing four to six months of school devastated her,” explained her parents. “The use of the webcam has made dealing with the isolation so much easier for her.”
Her parents continued to explain the chemo drastically lowers the immune system to a very dangerous level and they have to monitor who and what their daughter is around.
“Bacteria and viruses are everywhere, and catching the most common thing, a cold, can be very detrimental to her, so during this time of year, when most children do get sick, and her immune system remains very low during this phase of her therapy, we have no choice but to keep her home,” her mother said. “In this aspect, the webcam has given her the ability not to be left behind.”
Wright agrees completely that the socialization aspect the webcam provides is of upmost importance for Karsyn’s well-being.
“I am so pleased that we get to make this little fourth grader feel as if she is part of our class. We want her to know she is one of us, even when she can’t be here,” Wright stressed noting that all the students’ parents in her class signed permission slips for email pen pals with their homebound classmate. “Emailing is not normally allowed at school but Mrs. Jones (Wenz principal) gave us special permission allowing the students to email Karsyn under my direct supervision.”
Her classmates are protective of their friend and enjoy having the opportunity to see and visit with her throughout the day.
“Now she gets to see lots of her friends and meets lots of people,” stressed Wenz fifth grader Kierstyn Allen after finishing a math test in Wright’s class along with her friend, Karsyn, via the webcam. “We don’t get to visit her at her home right now but we can email her and see her through the webcam.”
While the school has made every effort possible to keep Karsyn involved with her studies and classroom activities the entire Wenz staff and student body have joined together to raise money to help the Worthington family with expenses incurred while traveling back-and-forth to Indianapolis, Ind., for the child’s treatments.
A “Karing for Karsyn” booth was held at the recent Honeybee Festival raising over $2000 from a bake sale and wristband sale.
The Wenz staff also collected donations earlier this fall for a gas card for the family.
Karsyn is very appreciated for everyone’s support, especially for the Hasler Foundation sponsoring of the webcam.
“Thank you for your kindness,” Karsyn said when asked if there was anything she would like to share with the webcam sponors. “If it wasn’t for you, I would be behind on school.”
She offers some advice for others who are dealing with such an illness.
“Keep your head up cause people do care. They will take money out of their pocket to help you when no one else will,” she said with confidence.
