Thanks to our partner Gladys at Magnolia Voice for this story.
Update 12:46 p.m.-KOMO News reports the surgery is going well, and Tweets this:
“Kathi Goertzen just reached 20K “likes” on Facebook. Thank you #Seattle for this outpouring of love.”
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Kathi Goertzen will have surgery on Wednesday to remove parts of an aggressive brain tumor she has been battling for the past 11 years.
Here is an excerpt of what Kathi wrote on the KOMO website:
“It’s not easy sharing this picture. After 30 years of being a news anchor for KOMO-TV, I’m dealing with a challenge, as you can see. But I don’t give up easily. You may know I’ve battled an aggressive brain tumor for about 11 years. They call it benign, but I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration, because it keeps growing back and multiplying!
On Wednesday I’ll be back in the operating room for surgery to remove parts of the tumor that are growing again. Luckily, I have excellent medical care and have great support with family, friends, and viewers.
The latest victim of the tumor has been my facial nerve. It has been squished, operated around, radiated and generally abused for some time. It’s decided to take a little break. Thus, the crooked, sagging face, and inability to break into the wide smile I so much enjoy.
This turn of events has caused me to think quite a bit about appearances and what really makes us who we are. It’s also caused me to reconsider the way I always used to plan for tomorrow, instead of enjoying the present day.
Luckily, I work for a company that continues to stand by me. I feel good. I’m able to walk my dog almost every day and go to work where I can dig into stories and interview interesting people.
That’s not to say this is easy. I miss my anchor chair more than anyone knows. I would really like to be back to ‘normal.’
I have faith the surgery will be successful and this face will improve.”
You can send your good wishes to Kathi on her KOMO Facebook page.
