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Next, Karen decides to help Joanna Lyons, whose husband Jeffery is serving in Iraq. To give Joanna some much needed time off, Karen enlists family friends to babysit their three children—all under the age of 4! Joanna also receives a spa treatment, passes for various family activities, $100 for Christmas presents, several prepared dinners, and toys for the kids. And, community members volunteer to pitch in and repair the family's front steps.
For her next good deed, Karen uses donations from community members and a local business to help remodel a bathroom for Vasanti Dusara. Vasanti helps with the day-to-day care of her two adult children—both of whom are physically disabled. Karen presents the family with bathroom accessories, $200 for Christmas presents, prepared dinners and other items. "Thanks very much, Oprah. We really appreciate whatever you have done and everything you have done for all those needy people," Vasanti says.
To complete her challenge, Karen surprises 83-year-old Bertha Davidson. Bertha suffers from scoliosis, so to help keep her mobile, Karen gets a stair lift donated by a local medical supply store. The lift will help Bertha get up and down the stairs in her condo. Karen then gives Utah Jazz basketball tickets and year-round passes to gathering spot Thanksgiving Point to the family of a teenage boy suffering from leukemia.
Karen says those she helped during Oprah's Pay It Forward Challenge remind her of her mother's care of her father, who has encephalitis, and her sister, who has cerebral palsy. "This was a perfect opportunity for us to help other people in those very same situations, and I appreciate the opportunity a great deal," Karen says.
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