Facing cancer by leaning on Army Values, resilience

HARRISBURG, PA, UNITED STATES

06.29.2015

Courtesy Story

28th Infantry Division

By Sgt. Neil Gussman

HARRISBURG, Pa. - In February of 2007 shortly after President Bush announced “The Surge” in Iraq, Lt. Col. Robert Karnes started a life-and-death struggle of his own here in America. Karnes, a 28th Infantry Division and Pennsylvania Army National Guard soldier, just returned from training troops at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and was diagnosed with two different cancers.

At the time of his diagnosis, Karnes was the Chemical Officer for 28th Infantry Division. He was a 40-year-old part-time soldier with a full-time job, a family and coach of his daughter’s travel soccer team. The diagnosis was complex and difficult, but once the presence of cancer was confirmed, Karnes complicated life became a focused fight for survival.

By April Karnes had two operations and was on chemotherapy. Several of the 12-year-old girls on the travel soccer team came to visit and helped Karnes take walks around the hospital hallways.

As he recovered from the first two surgeries, doctors discovered more cancer. In July, Karnes had four surgeries in one nine-hour session in the operating room. This time recovery was longer and more difficult. In the fall, Karnes returned to work while he endured more chemotherapy. By spring he needed another operation, which was successful, but then in the summer of 2008 his recovery had another setback.

In June Karnes endured more surgery to repair more damage. Although the recovery took several months, this would be the last major surgery he would have on the road to full recovery. During this period, Karnes was able to maintain his status as a National Guard soldier and perform his duties.

By June of 2009, Karnes was fully recovered and classified as deployable by the division surgeon. The division chief of staff offered Karnes the opportunity to serve as rear detachment commander during the deployment of the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team. Karnes had to decide immediately and would begin six months of active duty with just two weeks notice. He accepted the command.
After that assignment Karnes has served as a battalion commander and currently holds the post of command inspector general for 28th Infantry Division.

In January of 2007, Karnes was a happy, busy, over-committed mid-life professional with a challenging job, a successful career as a citizen soldier, a family, coaching, hobbies and then everything changed. Cancer threatened his life and survival became the central focus of his life.

Like the combat soldier who is scanning for threats, keeping his soldiers alert, reporting to higher headquarters, planning his unit’s next move then, the horizon explodes with fire. He is under attack. Suddenly the mission and the soldiers become the paramount focus, the rest takes a back seat.

Resiliency is the ability to bounce back, to return to original shape. Stretch a rubber band, compress a rubber tire, bounce a ball and each one will return to its original shape in a fraction of a second.

As his fight with cancer began Karnes life showed how resiliency works in the life of soldier. He did not bounce back as fast as a ball or a tire, but after a long struggle, he returned to duty, to serving in his community and to life with his family.

From the beginning, Karnes decided to remain a soldier and keep his career on track. Some people in his life questioned this decision. They said they would stay home on disability. But Karnes commitment to being a soldier and remaining part of his unit helped to pull him through when setbacks occurred on his road back. Karnes would not quit; he would not accept defeat. The first principle of Resiliency is the soldier’s commitment to being a skilled professional who lives by the Soldier’s Creed and Army Values. Karnes brought this principle to life with his commitment to his unit and to remaining a soldier.

Resiliency training tells the soldier to keep people in his or her life who embody resilient characteristics. Karnes coached his daughter’s travel soccer team before the cancer diagnosis. When he was in the hospital, several members of the team came to visit him, help him walk, and keep his spirits up. Karnes built his own community of resilient people and they were at his side during the tough times.

Sleep, diet and physical and mental fitness keep the soldier resilient. At several points during recovery from surgeries, Karnes doctors and other healthcare professionals told him that his fitness helped him get through severe difficulties. Though balancing many other commitments, Karnes maintained a fitness program that kept him above Army standards and ready for this fight.

The resilient soldier seeks help when needed. Karnes struggled with this part of a resilient life. At one point the 28th Infantry Division surgeon wanted to give Karnes a profile to allow him more time recover. Karnes resisted the profile in part because he never had a profile, but accepted it. “It is hard to argue a profile when you are standing in front of the surgeon with a medical device hanging under your uniform,” Karnes said wryly.

Karnes realized the value of profile when he became rear detachment commander and then a battalion commander. This lesson of resiliency took longer, but gave Karnes a new understanding of how many ways the team around the soldier gets him through tough situations.

“Going through the profile process helped me learn the value and in turn help soldiers as a commander,” Karnes said.

Eight years later, Karnes has a strong family, a solid military career and although he no longer coaches, has returned to referee soccer games, almost 100 games in each of the past five years.

As Karnes life illustrates, resiliency is a way of life. Karnes faced the challenge of cancer with a strong family, all the commitments of a professional soldier, and a network of strong relationships at his work and in his community.

Karnes was strong and fit and when the crisis came he was ready for the fight. But even with all this in place, Karnes had to embrace challenges, solve problems, continuously learn, improve and strengthen his life in the midst of the fight with cancer. He remained at work and with his unit when he could have given up and gone to a disability status. When he was clear of cancer, he accepted a new command. He even returned to working as a soccer referee.

The life that almost stopped in 2007 bounced back in 2009 and continues stronger than ever today.

• Date Taken: 06.29.2015
• Date Posted: 06.29.2015 12:48
• Story ID: 168505
• Location: HARRISBURG, PA, US
• Hometown: HARRISBURG, PA, US