The package of Valentine cards came over from Franklin Community Middle School.
Pink and red hearts, warm messages and "get well soon" encouragements filled the box sitting on Karon Cheek’s table.
Cheek did not know the students who had sent them. She had never stood in front of them and taught them about literature or sentence structure or other lessons in her English class. She barely recognized any of the names on the cards.
And yet, those messages were a precious showing of compassion at a time when Cheek needed it most.
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"These kids don’t even know me, and they’re supporting me," she said.
Cheek has taught English at Franklin Community Schools for nearly 20 years, making an impact on hundreds of students, as well as the entire school community. But this year, she has needed to step away from the classroom as she goes through treatment for Stage IV ovarian cancer.
The rounds of aggressive chemotherapy have at times sapped her of her strength, leaving her ill and tired.
But as she has struggled, an army of people have stepped up to help. Supporters have planned a fundraiser dinner and gospel concert Saturday to help with medical costs.
"She’s so caring and loving. That’s the kind of person that Karon is. This will be a drop in the bucket for what they deserve and what they’ve given other people," said Stethanie Fox, a longtime friend of Cheek’s who is planning the benefit.
The outpouring has been overwhelming.
"It’s humbling. How do you say ‘thank you’ for something like this? You can’t. You just say it and hope it’s enough," Cheek said.
Cheek has worked for Franklin schools for 20 years, including as an assistant and a bus driver for special services. But the bulk of her career — 18 years — has been spent teaching at the middle school.
She had always envisioned that one day she would be a teacher, even when she was a child.
"I was the oldest of all of the grandchildren, so I was always a teacher. We’d go play in the garage and set up school, all summer long," she said. "They say teaching is in your blood, and it’s true."
Cheek has seen, year after year, hundreds of students go through her classroom. Many she’s kept track of even after they leave the middle school. Each year, she attends the high school graduation, circling the names on the program she remembers.
“She is very caring and understanding with kids. She seems to find a way to get to some of the kids who have a hard time and click with them,” said Shanna Gaunt, a fellow seventh-grade teacher at the middle school.
In addition to teaching, she and her husband, Bobby, have been active supporters of Franklin’s exchange student program. They housed their first exchange student in 2012, and since then have welcomed 14 students from countries such as Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Spain and South Korea.
The Cheeks have not housed any exchange students for the past few years, after taking two brothers who were immigrants from Guatemala and had been homeless. Shortly after the boys came to live with them, Cheek was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
During a yoga class she was taking in March of 2019, she was laying on her back with a hand on her stomach, and she felt a mass.
"I ignored, as most women will. But it continued to grow," she said.
Two months after she first felt the mass, Cheek went to the doctor to have it examined. In late May, she had an ultrasound and blood work, and a gynecological oncologist pinpointed that it was ovarian cancer.
Because the cancer was already in Stage IV, her oncologist recommended an aggressive treatment plan. Cheek went through six rounds of chemotherapy, before having a debulking surgery, which removed cancerous tissue throughout her abdomen.
The operation was followed by three more rounds of chemotherapy. Cheek is about to finish the final round of the treatment in March, after which doctors will take scans and check to see the status of the cancer.
"Hopefully, I’ll go onto maintenance and be done for while. Hopefully, as long as nothing is growing," she said.
Stage IV ovarian cancer has a 70% chance of recurrence, so doctors don’t say that patients have been "cured," Cheek said. Rather, the hope is to be cleared with "no evidence of disease." She would have to closely monitor her condition, and continue to take medicine to maintain her health.
When she was diagnosed, Cheek was confident she could work through the treatments. She joined support groups on Facebook, and people gave her encouragement that she could.
But after the first chemotherapy round, it became clear she would not be able to teach through treatment.
"I couldn’t do that to my students. I knew I wouldn’t be 100%, and in middle school, you have to be 100% or get out," she said.
Cheek informed Rita Holman, principal of the middle school, she would need to take a leave for at least the first semester of the school year. That extended into the second half of the year as her treatment plan required additional chemotherapy.
From the start, everyone at the school did whatever they could to help.
"They’ve been so supportive," she said.
Gaunt has been working with Cheek for the past 15 years at the middle school. The two have a close relationship, not just centered around teaching but outside the school walls as well.
“She is one of the most caring of people, and has influenced me a lot. She has been a model for me, someone I looked up to, not only for advice on how to be a good teacher, but for family advice,” she said.
Gaunt has helped lead efforts to support her friend from the school, including organizing a meal train. She spearheaded a collection with all of the different houses, or classroom groups, at the school to bring in items for different gift baskets. Those baskets will be auctioned off to raise money for Cheek and her family.
Students and teachers also held “Cap Day” on Friday, with those who bring in change or other small donations to Cheek’s benefit getting to wear a hat to classes.
Gaunt also encouraged students to write Valentine’s for her friend.
All of it has astounded Cheek, particularly the Valentines. One of the cards came from a student Cheek had never met. He included a $1 bill in it, with the message to help with her treatments.
"That dollar is going somewhere safe," she said.
Others outside the school community have also been reaching out as well. Stethanie Fox and her husband Greg are longtime friends of Cheek and her husband. They have seen the compassion and care that Cheek has given other people. When the Foxes were in a serious car accident in 1996, Stethanie Fox had to have surgery to repair her injuries. She was nervous about the procedure, and voiced her concerns to her friend.
Karon Cheek ended up staying in her hospital room the night before the surgery, until Stethanie fell asleep.
So Stethanie and Greg Fox wanted to do a big event to help cover Cheek’s medical costs, but knew she would never stand for a fundraiser.
"Karon and Bobby are great friends of ours and we felt that God wanted us to help them in this time of need," Fox said. "We figured the best way to do it was to ask for forgiveness, not permission."
So they planned it in secret, enlisting family members, friends and local businesses to help put the event together. They enlisted Gaunt to assist in planning with the school community.
The fundraiser will include a spaghetti supper, silent auction of items and a gospel concert featuring musicians who Cheek has known since she was growing up.
By the time Fox spilled the details of the event, around Christmas, it was too late to back out.
"I told (Stethanie) that I might forgive her," Cheek said wryly, before adding, "But I was surprised, and hopefully, this will be a chance to focus on all of the support."
The past eight months have been brutal at times, between chemotherapy and surgery and the uncertainty that cancer brings. But Cheek has found being away from the students at school just as difficult.
"Those relationships, that’s one thing I miss. I have my family, I have my support group, but the interaction with the kids is amazing," she said. "There’s a whole year of kids I won’t know, and it hurts sometimes. But I’m looking forward to being back in August.”
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Benefit supper/auction/gospel concert for Karon Cheek
When: 4 p.m. today
Where: Franklin Church of the Nazarene, 140 W. Branigin Road
Spaghetti supper: 4-5:30 p.m., $8 per plate, includes drink. Dine in or carry out. Dessert sold separately.
Auction: 5 p.m., baked goods, gift cards, etc.
Gospel concert: 7 p.m., singers include Dave and Pam Garner, Ronda Ankney, Scott and Mandi Cook, Trena Palmer and family, Dave and Eva Cook, and Greg Fox and family.
A special love offering will be taken during the service.
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