Rest in peace, Kathi

On Friday, I was home watching the KOMO 4 evening news (my station of choice) and Dan Lewis reported that Kathi Goertzen was in the ICU.  I started crying at his announcement, and he said that her family asked everyone at 7:15pm that night to pray for her.  Now, I'm not a praying type of girl, but if I've ever prayed in my life, it was Friday at 7:15pm.

As you probably know, Kathi Goertzen was a longtime anchor on KOMO and I've followed her story for quite a while.  She's a Coug, like me.  She was in Alpha Chi Omega at WSU, like me.  (We used to look at her picture on our composites and feel a sense of pride for our chapter "celebrity.")  And she's been battling brain tumors, like me.  Well, I'm lucky to not have to battle mine; it's more like living with mine.  She's been battling hers for 14 years, with 9 surgeries, radiation, and alternate treatments.  Her tumors weren't even cancerous, just benign tumors that continued to grow.  They took the movement of half of her face, her ability to eat, her ability to talk, and more.

RIP, Kathi

So I was very sad today to take a quick break at work to check the headlines only to see that she passed away, at the age of 54.  I immediately teared up at work and started sniffling, trying to not break into tears at my (borrowed) desk (at Hotwire).  I didn't know Kathi personally, but I felt like I could relate to her so closely and was rooting for her sooo much.  I'm crying as I type this, as we've lost a really inspirational fighter and a tumor-dominating friend and Coug. 

There's a really great video tribute from her longtime co-anchor Dan Lewis on KOMO's site, and I'd recommend watching it.  Get your tissues though.  It's a sad day for all of us.  Rest in peace, Kathi.