| |
As the Fuchs get ready to
celebrate Christmas, James debuts his new growth of hair
previously lost to radiation treatments. James
Fuchs is a master of turning a bad situation to good; so
good, in fact, that so far he has tackled the monster of
cancer in a way that has heightened public awareness of
the disease while garnering an outpouring of support
from a community that just wants him to know he is
loved.
Always by his side, and chief among fans of the Modern
Woodmen of America insurance executive, his wife Karen
is still just counting her blessings.
"James is truly my hero," she says, "He's my best
friend, my heart and soul. He is patient, kind and very
loving... I've been blessed to be the one to share a
lifetime with him."
James likes to joke that he won Karen in a card game, a
clue to her skill at the task as well as a reference to
their first blind date. Karen, originally from Port
Arthur, Texas, knew none of the crew she had joined that
night for the game. She had been referred to his friends
through the Chamber of Commerce when searching for a
singles club as a means to meeting people outside the
bar scene, in which she had no interest.
"I didn't know this man from Adam," Karen marvels. The
same evening, she continues, "I just about got to meet
everybody in his family at one time." His parents were
visiting from Tennessee and his daughter, Laura, and her
six-month-old daughter had recently moved back to
Mississippi, where both James and Karen were living.
At the time, both recovering from failed marriages, they
warned each other they weren't ready for a long-term
commitment but, before long, they found themselves
sharing their hopes and dreams as well as failures and
disillusionments. They quickly formed an enduring bond
of friendship.
"We'd sit on the front porch and talk about life, and
our lives, what we'd been through," Karen says, then
grins. "We were married within six months (on November
10, 1990.)"
The act had her mother reeling, especially when they
announced plans to move to Tennessee, where James'
parents, Rudolph and Flossie Fuchs, lived in his
hometown of Milan. His mother still resides in the
nearby town.
James and Karen have maintained their best friends
status as husband and wife over the past 14 years,
through thick and thin.
With a blended family that includes James' six
daughters, three from each of two previous marriages,
plus Karen's son and daughter, one can imagine
situations have at times been challenging, but the Fuchs
have come through with smiles on their faces and open
arms and hearts for their grown family that now includes
15 grandchildren and another one due right away. ~ ~ ~ Born on July 21, 1948 and an only child, James was
raised in Milan's Germantown community where Fuchs'
Catfish Restaurant, his cousin's establishment, was once
located.
"I enjoyed being out on the farm for the period of time
we were there; it was fun," says James, recalling also
that he played the baritone horn and trumpet for the
high school band.
Later, at the age of 22, he left Memphis State
University, postponing his education to follow his
parents to Florida, where he married and his first three
daughters were born. There, too, he began working for
Independent Life Insurance Company, eventually
relocating to various cities in Tennessee, including
Huntingdon, before being "promoted to Mississippi,"
where, he says, the "promotion" caused him to nearly
starve to death.
Karen and James during their
November 10, 1990 wedding. |
Nevertheless, it was the move to more southern state
that made it possible for him to meet Karen, and the two
returned to Tennessee together. Their collective brood,
who at different times were in and out of the Fuchs
household, include James' daughters: Becky, Laura, Kim,
Heather, Tessa, and Patricia, and Karen's children:
daughter Kara and son, Shane Spears.
Independent Life was good basic training in the
insurance business," says James, who has nothing but
praise for the Modern Woodmen of America company he
joined some 20 years into his career in the industry. He
touts the company not only because of its products but
also because of the "quality of people" who work with
the company. He had worked for Modern Woodmen for 14
years before his recent retirement, brought on by his
ordeal with brain cancer.
Karen, who possesses a two-year management degree from
Jackson State and is a licensed insurance agent as well
as a Beauty Control cosmetics consultant, retired along
with her husband.
"We've been together 24/7 for the last five or six
years," says Karen, who says they are like "two peas in
a pod." She was office manager for James and his
assistant, Jennifer Waldrup, and jokes that it took two
women to keep James' career in order: "He was coming and
going, I tell you."
James adds that, after his promotion to district manager
a few years ago, other agents - Dan Young and Steve
Knott among them - had also become a part of the firm.
"Modern Woodmen has taken very good care of us," says
James, "from the people in the home office to local
people, they've been just outstanding. It's not like
working for a company; it's being with a family."
James and Karen in October 2003,
six months before his diagnosis with brain cancer. |
More than his success in the industry, however, James
voices his appreciation of the community events he has
participated in over the years thanks to Modern Woodmen,
particularly "matching fund" projects like "The Great
Pretenders" events, in which James and Karen were
pioneering performers. In various towns across the
county - like McKenzie, Huntingdon and Clarksburg - the
two participated in the early fund-raising events that
now have no shortage of participants, owing to their fun
nature.
James has performed as Julio Iglesias, Waylon Jennings
(alongside Tom Gardener's Willie Nelson), and Conway
Twitty in a number in which Karen danced.
"We've just had a ball doing it and were able to help
raise money for Project Graduation," says Karen who has
also performed as Gloria Estefan and Dolly Parton.
They also prize otherwise impossible trips provided by
Modern Woodmen as a reward for James' hard work,
including excursions to Ireland; Paris, France; a
seven-day South Caribbean cruise; and four trips to
Hawaii, as well as stateside jaunts to New York and San
Francisco, from which they visited Al Capone's former
cell at Alcatraz; and Orlando, Florida, where they spent
time at Disneyworld. Their favorite adventure was their
1993 trip to Ireland. "You've never seen green 'til
you've seen Ireland green," says James.
Their lives were put on hold for a time when, in April
this year, James began complaining of tingling and
numbness in the extremities of his right side, a
condition that even with the aid of MRIs left doctors
concluding for some time that he was experiencing
mini-strokes. When his conditioned worsened, however,
and other tests ruled out strokes or brain infection as
a cause of his symptoms, a deep and inoperable brain
tumor was finally diagnosed on July 1 when, Karen was
told, a biopsy revealed "a very aggressive brain
cancer."
"That was pretty devastating; I was just about
hysterical," she says. "And I had told him I would tell
him the truth... It was hard telling him.
"The diagnosis of cancer has completely turned our lives
around, causing us to retire," she continues. "We miss
not getting to go in the office on a daily basis to be
available to communicate with our friends and Modern
Woodmen family."
"Oh gosh, that's one of the hardest things," James
agrees. Also hard is the fact that his memory has been
affected. "I try to remember somebody's name, and I
can't place times or events... and don't ask me to add,
I can't do it anymore," he says. "I know people but I
can't remember who they are."
He takes some solace in the doctor's proclamation that
"some slight improvement is possible."
"And that's the way he puts it - 'is possible,'" says
James, rolling his eyes in frustration.
The holidays bring another adjustment into the Fuchs'
lives as, James mentions, they're usually active in the
distribution of Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets.
"It's frustrating," Karen says regarding their inability
to interact within the community, "What do we do with
ourselves?"
The Fuchs take life a day at a time, some good and some
bad. Bad days are expected following five-days-per-month
chemotherapy treatments that began the week after
surgery and are expected to continue for up to a year.
"Those are nasty," says Jim.
The effects of the pills show up on the second or third
day of each treatment period and linger several days
after the last one is taken. But, says James, "It could
be a lot worse."
The good news is, as sick as the drugs make him, they
are apparently taking their toll against the cancer. His
mid-September MRI showed the tumor was shrinking and a
later one revealed further shrinkage as well as a
reduction in the surrounding cloudiness.
"Whatever that means," says Karen, satisfied with Dr.
Paul Moots' reassuring words, "This is good, this is
good." Another MRI is scheduled for mid-January.
Early treatments also included six weeks of radiation
treatments that required James wear a mesh mask, formed
to fit his face and head, that was screwed in place to a
board behind him in order that radiation could be
directed to the exact area of treatment.
At one point, James had severe allergic reactions to
medication that was supposed to have eased the already
debilitating effects of the chemo. And he endured the
effects of steroids that resulted in swelling and other
side effects.
"They make you feel funny, too," he says
matter-of-factly. Through it all, Karen says, "He never
complains, and he's been through some aggravating
stuff."
James has made a lot of progress, though tingling and
numbness - and some pain - remain in his right
extremities.
"We're just so appreciative of all our friends and
neighbors and church members and clients who have said
prayers on our behalf and I think that's really the
reason for any difference that's been made," says James.
"And the outpouring of love we've received from all the
people we know has been awesome."
He and Karen have been members of Huntingdon's First
Baptist Church for 12 years.
"We believe that God has placed this adversity of James'
cancer in our lives for a reason," says Karen. "During
this lifetime we may not ever know why but we pray that
we are fulfilling God's plans. As Christians we pray for
God's mercy and grace; we thank God every day for the
quality time we are able to spend with each other and
our family."
The Fuchs live off the North Veterans Drive bypass in
Huntingdon, where locals may have noticed over many
years the authentic teepee in the yard of the big log
house. The structure exists because of Karen's
fascination with the Indian culture.
The Fuchs' grown children include Becky Adams, who now
has four children and lives in Missouri; Laura Glasgow,
from Mississippi, who has two daughters; Kim
Weistenrieder, from Texas, with two sons; Heather
Dieckeymer, who Karen adopted at age 18 and who now
lives in Henderson; Tessa Neely, who is five months
younger than Heather, has a son and daughter and lives
in Huntingdon; Patricia Fuchs, who lives in California
in the Navy; Kara Williams, who lives in the "barn" next
door to James and Karen and has four daughters with a
fifth due; and Shane Spears of Bruceton who has one
daughter. |
|
