On Thursday night, the Enterprise High School boys basketball team begins its quest to try and win the Red Bluff Holiday Classic. But, for head coach Jim Deaver, getting his Hornets ready for action is not the most important aspect of his life right now. Action News Now's Ross Field has the story.
At Enterprise High School, it's all about family. But this season, Enterprise is practicing what they preach.
"Day-by-day she's a fighter," said Jim Deaver, head boys basketball coach.
They are playing for Karen who embodies the Enterprise family maybe better than anyone else.
"It's bringing us closer together and we're fighting together," added Deaver.
The wife of head coach JIm and the mother of Jason, Karen attends every game even though it's a challenge now.
"We have a house down in Aptos by the beach. W spent a lot of time there this summer and she started having some symptoms, and she goes 'when we get back to Redding just take me straight to Mercy Medical Center' and when they came back after the MRI, it was like 'what did you just say?'" Deaver said.
They said the C-word, gliblastoma.
"She has a tumor, it's in her brain. They cannot do surgery on it, so she's been through radiation and now chemo, but right now it's stable," said Deaver.
Both Karen and Jim knew they had to tell their family and that means their Enterprise family as well.
"We've got a great support group, a lot of people on campus here have just been awesome to us and our family, so we have support which is huge," said Deaver.
Months after the diagnosis that changed everything, Jim says Karen hasn't stopped living.
"She'll go to every game you know, she'll go with us everywhere," added Deaver.
The Hornets are off to a tough start, just 2 and 5 overall. But they'll continue to battle, not just for victories, but for Karen as well.
There's no giving up.
"That's her attitude so hopefully we keep that attitude and we keep fighting," said Deaver.
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