Friends for Karen
Donation protected
Once upon a time there was a girl (isn't this how all good stories start out?) and she was beautiful and smart. And looking at her was a little bit like looking at a piece of the sun that was captured and sewn into the skin that we mere humans wear. And she had a beautiful life. She was the apple of her parents' eyes. When she was fourteen she had something funny happen to her. It's called optic neuritis and when she would get warm it was like looking through water Everything became soft and blurry like the world was made out of pastels and she had wiped her hand across the giant canvas that we live on. At that time her eye doctor joked, "That is often the first sign of MS but you are much too young." ...and life was good.
In 1997 the words of her former eye doctor drifted through the air like murmurs of the past and she was formally diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis) and her world imperceptibly tightened around the edges. But this girl is tough. The kind you want with you on a hike in the woods when a mountain lion appears or in a dark alleyway. She's got your back. She was encouraged by a school counselor to take a year off to 'deal' with her diagnosis because one year is really all you need to 'deal' with these kinds of things but this girl was not about to stop. She checked and the world was still spinning and she was still on it - so she spun too and finished up her degree and in May of 1998 she graduated from the University of Idaho. She travelled around while she still could and let the wind blow her from here to there and all around while her limbs would still listen to her and go where she wanted them to go.
Three years later, as in all good fairy tales, she met a rough, gruff, bushy kind of guy. He was a little bit wild and a lot hairy and sometimes the things that would come out of his mouth could make the paint peel on a church in November. But this was. All. An. Act. To hide the fact that he has this giant tremendous, squishy heart that he doesn't like to show too many people. But he showed her his and she showed him hers and their hearts fit together like two pieces of a two piece puzzle. Perfect.
She worked as long as she could because she is independent with a capital 'I' and it does not sit well with her to... well... sit. She worked out her muscles exercising them to her will - to move - to give her freedom. And they did. Until they didn't. And the edges of her world have slowly curled in around her and she has become her own cage. And through this her gruff big hearted giant, her knight and her partner in this life has loved her and supported her and walked with her because together they are a team.
But they are a team that lives in a world that does not come standard with handrails and ramps. And they are a team that is living on his salary as best as they can. Their loving parents have helped them out when they can; renovating their house so that she is not trapped in one room alone while her fella is at work. Things. All these things cost money. One of the last things is kind of a biggie too. They need a way for this beautiful woman to get into and out of her own home. Right now her husband carriers her out and in and while that is awfully romantic it would not be if he were at work and she needed to get out of the house quickly. Then it would just be terrifying.
Please help my beautiful friends out. They need to raise enough money to modify one entrance to their house. In my amazing, humble beautiful friend's own words, "I just started realizing... we all deserve a way to get in and out of our own homes."
Afterword:
Life has been a little bit rough lately for our heroine and her hero. As the disease continues on with its progression it has pressed its cruel hand down upon her and wherever its finger strokes, ravages are left behind. loss of some vision and loss of some speech. Gone. Like magic but not the good kind. And two hospitalizations over a three week period can really take it out of a person, especially someone already fighting a not-so-good or fair fight, and the fatigue has settled over her like a heavy blanket that further inhibits her movements and life in general. Maybe you or I would sit and weep and give up and let the tendrils of despair snake up and pull us down to the depths (or maybe just me - pity party for one) but not this girl and not her guy. Her heart remains full of light and fight and when he's struggling, she loans it to her guy to get him through as well. And together they sit through hours of procedures, holding hands or laughing or talking or crying but always always together.
This beautiful story was written by one of our dear friends c.w. We love you
In 1997 the words of her former eye doctor drifted through the air like murmurs of the past and she was formally diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis) and her world imperceptibly tightened around the edges. But this girl is tough. The kind you want with you on a hike in the woods when a mountain lion appears or in a dark alleyway. She's got your back. She was encouraged by a school counselor to take a year off to 'deal' with her diagnosis because one year is really all you need to 'deal' with these kinds of things but this girl was not about to stop. She checked and the world was still spinning and she was still on it - so she spun too and finished up her degree and in May of 1998 she graduated from the University of Idaho. She travelled around while she still could and let the wind blow her from here to there and all around while her limbs would still listen to her and go where she wanted them to go.
Three years later, as in all good fairy tales, she met a rough, gruff, bushy kind of guy. He was a little bit wild and a lot hairy and sometimes the things that would come out of his mouth could make the paint peel on a church in November. But this was. All. An. Act. To hide the fact that he has this giant tremendous, squishy heart that he doesn't like to show too many people. But he showed her his and she showed him hers and their hearts fit together like two pieces of a two piece puzzle. Perfect.
She worked as long as she could because she is independent with a capital 'I' and it does not sit well with her to... well... sit. She worked out her muscles exercising them to her will - to move - to give her freedom. And they did. Until they didn't. And the edges of her world have slowly curled in around her and she has become her own cage. And through this her gruff big hearted giant, her knight and her partner in this life has loved her and supported her and walked with her because together they are a team.
But they are a team that lives in a world that does not come standard with handrails and ramps. And they are a team that is living on his salary as best as they can. Their loving parents have helped them out when they can; renovating their house so that she is not trapped in one room alone while her fella is at work. Things. All these things cost money. One of the last things is kind of a biggie too. They need a way for this beautiful woman to get into and out of her own home. Right now her husband carriers her out and in and while that is awfully romantic it would not be if he were at work and she needed to get out of the house quickly. Then it would just be terrifying.
Please help my beautiful friends out. They need to raise enough money to modify one entrance to their house. In my amazing, humble beautiful friend's own words, "I just started realizing... we all deserve a way to get in and out of our own homes."
Afterword:
Life has been a little bit rough lately for our heroine and her hero. As the disease continues on with its progression it has pressed its cruel hand down upon her and wherever its finger strokes, ravages are left behind. loss of some vision and loss of some speech. Gone. Like magic but not the good kind. And two hospitalizations over a three week period can really take it out of a person, especially someone already fighting a not-so-good or fair fight, and the fatigue has settled over her like a heavy blanket that further inhibits her movements and life in general. Maybe you or I would sit and weep and give up and let the tendrils of despair snake up and pull us down to the depths (or maybe just me - pity party for one) but not this girl and not her guy. Her heart remains full of light and fight and when he's struggling, she loans it to her guy to get him through as well. And together they sit through hours of procedures, holding hands or laughing or talking or crying but always always together.
This beautiful story was written by one of our dear friends c.w. We love you
Organizer
Karen Conant Hatton
Organizer
Rohnert Park, CA
