Karen Sudduth

2010 Wings Volunteer of the Year

Karen Sudduth had bilateral mastectomies and chemotherapy in 2007, in her own words, “a year of serious surrender. Although chemo was the worst of times physically, it was the best of times in unexpected ways. Surprising gifts of mercy emerged in my season of struggle. The survivors’ artwork hanging in the Wings Gallery at the West Clinic inspired me to take watercolors and paint during my infusions. My season of treatment and recovery became the most artistically productive season of my life. Spiritually, God used this cancer season to reveal more of his love and faithfulness, making it an unparalleled season of spiritual growth.”       

Wings Art Cart

Thanks to Wings Board Members, Karen attended an artist-in-residence program in New York, where she learned about bringing art into healthcare settings. In April 2008 as a Wings volunteer, she took the lead in creating an “art cart.” “I was told I could take this institutional looking cart home and make it pretty!” says Karen. Today, that same cart offers patients the opportunity to choose from several small projects that Karen views as much more than a project. “Chemo kills to bring us back to life. I want other people to have the chance to create something to take home.”As she has approached other patients with the art cart, she has learned that everyone reacts differently, but that art and the cart have become, at the very least, a means of conversation and connection.             

2008 Lilly Oncology on Canvas

Her entry, “Love Breaks Through” is one of 26 prizes selected by the Lilly Oncology on Canvas- an art exhibition touring cancer centers, hospitals and patient advocacy group meetings nationwide. Karen Sudduth found strength in her faith, family and supportive friends. Her message is loud and clear – Soar on God’s grace!

2008 Wings Community of Compassion Artist of the Year

We are honored to accept the painting, "Showers of Encouragement" as an addition to our permanent collection.

"During days of chemotherapy, things of beauty made me either laugh with delight, or cry with gratitude. In late March of 2007, one such place of beauty was the Wings Labyrinth Garden at West Clinic. The cherry trees, laden with light pink blooms, were graced beneath by a circle of smiling pink tulips, "holding hands" as if offering their encouragement. In the same way that the beauty of the labyrinth garden lifted me beyond myself and my circumstances, so, too, the encouragement of family, friends, and the medical community continues to reveal God’s love and transform my heart on my journey, through and beyond breast cancer. This collage depicts the transforming grace of encouragement."

“Not everything that counts can be counted”
Neither time nor numbers of patient encounters could measure the gifts that Karen has given to others since her diagnosis.