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Great-grandma with cancer asks for support while raising three grandchildren

Karen Harris and her husband, Jim, have taken custody of their three great-grandchildren ever since the first one was born nine years ago.

TOLEDO, Ohio — Every family has its own story. For a family of five one in northwest Ohio, the story of a pair of great-grandparents has some in the community wanting to lend a hand.

Karen and Jim Harris are typical, loving great-grandparents. But instead of relaxing in retirement, they are packing school lunches for their three great-grandchildren they have had custody of since birth.

"Circumstances arose, so one by one as they were born, we got them," Karen said.

If raising their kids wasn't difficult enough, Karen also has cancer.

"I'm doing this more for the kids so that we can," Karen said. "I just hope I'm around, so I can watch them grow up and raise them."

The Harris' home is full of more children's toys than a typical elderly couple's home would. But 9-year-old Julian, 8-year-old Liam and 7-year-old Myla, who also has juvenile diabetes, have made use of them. And Karen and Jim are getting another turn at parenting, which, in a way, felt like starting over, Karen said.

"(A) friend stopped by one time and said it looks like a nursery, and I said pretty much," Jim said.

The Harris' have both been retired for around a decade, but said they still feel like they are busy.

"We're still doing lots of laundry, cooking, they eat all the time 'cause they're growing," Karen said.

With the kids continuing to grow and go to elementary school, it becomes harder for Karen, who's only aging too since several years ago she was diagnosed with endometrial cancer.

Karen said she was fine after trying conventional drug treatments, until this past summer when a bad reaction landed her in the hospital for 11 days.

It made her wonder how many days she had left.

"I never really asked the doctor that," Karen said. "I'm kind of one of those people, I don't really want to know I guess."

With expenses for the three kids and medical bills reaching into thousands of dollars, Karen's friend, Angie McGinnis, decided to step in and set up a GoFundMe.

"She started to tell me I'm not afraid to die for myself, it's just what's going to happen to my great-grandkids," McGinnis said. "It just broke my heart, and she needed some kind of help."

To help Karen's GoFundMe, you can visit the link here.

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