Calm with Kari

30/05/2024

Today is World MS day -- a day of global solidarity to raise awareness for this largely invisible disease that slowly steals the neurological function of those who have it and currently has no cure. Organizations like the National MS Society use funds raised to support research to find a cure for MS, and they also provide support to those diagnosed with MS. This disease is confusing and often difficult to diagnose, with many of us having navigated a long and frustrating road to be able to begin treatments to slow neurological damage -- myself included. While we may appear "fine" on the outside, chances are, we are struggling with fatigue, nerve and musculoskeletal pain, or motor and cognitive function problems, just to name a few. Everyone's symptoms and experiences with multiple sclerosis are different, but the one thing we all have in common is that we often don't receive the support we need, because we look okay, even when we're anything but.

MS impacts my life in a significant way because everyday tasks like moving my body and even thinking take more energy due to the damage to my central nervous system. Every day I have to evaluate how I'm feeling and make decisions about what I can do that day, and it's usually much less than I'd like to. It's like having an energy bank account that's constantly on the edge of being overdrawn -- wanting to do more, but at the same time knowing that if I do too much, there will be consequences that can be hard to recover from.

I would love to someday receive a treatment that will help my body generate new myelin to protect my neurons, as well as repair the damage that has already been done. The NMSS is funding research to find those treatments, so I wanted to take an opportunity today to kindly ask for your support in my fundraiser for Walk MS Louisville -- because even though the walk itself is done for this year, the work of trying to find a cure for MS is not.

Please feel free to share this post -- my donation link is below. Thank you for your support.

07/05/2024

Walk MS Louisville is this Saturday - my goal is lower this year but I still hope to make it. Donations go to help fund research as well as programs that assist those of us with MS in finding the support we need on this journey. If you’d like to walk as well, come join us! My personal donation link is below:

You can help support groundbreaking research, provide life-changing services and guarantee a supportive community for those who need it most. Please support me with a donation to Walk MS to help create a world free of MS!

28/02/2024

$30 to go - I’d love to meet my goal before the walk on Saturday! Every little bit helps. ❤️ Thank you!

You can help support groundbreaking research, provide life-changing services and guarantee a supportive community for those who need it most. Please support me with a donation to Walk MS to help create a world free of MS!

31/01/2024

A little art therapy tonight at ❤️

17/01/2024

This is what a four-hour road trip and a concert do when it comes to MS. Driving and the show were literally the only things that happened other than hanging out at my friend’s house, watching TV and writing. When I go to events, I already know there will be a cost. If I’m going, it’s because that cost is worth it, but it’s still one of the most frustrating parts of . I would love to have been able to follow the tour for a few stops, but I already know that cost would be too high even if I did make it through. (This is a graph from an app that uses stats from my Apple Watch to quantify physical and mental stress. I find it to be quite accurate in matching how I feel from day to day, and it helps me know when I’m doing things right.)

07/11/2023

After a long back order, my cane is finally here! It’s gorgeous and I love it, and I hope it can help bring more awareness to this often invisible illness by being a beautiful conversation piece. 🧡

09/09/2023

two opportunities to tune in and slow down this weekend

join lindsay and/or kari for some body prayer and connection

♥️♥️

04/08/2023

I am extremely grateful to have a lot of workshops and activities available to me through the health care system to which my neurology office belongs -- they offer exercise classes both in person and over Zoom, art therapy, music therapy, and yoga, to name a few, and it's all free. I've participated in a good amount of them now since I started seeing my neurologist last year, and I'm sure I'll be talking about all of them at one point or another, but for today, I wanted to focus on art therapy....

I am extremely grateful to have a lot of workshops and activities available to me through the health care system to which my neurology office belongs — they offer exercise classes both in per…

03/08/2023

It’s been a minute since I’ve made a new blog post, but it’s because I’ve been off on an adventure. I visited Portland, Oregon with 22 of my “pocket friends” — aka friends I met through the fandom community. I had a great time, and though I definitely did too much, it was a conscious decision, and it was worth it. Now that I’m (mostly) recovered, I’ve drafted two blog posts on flying and traveling with MS that I hope to finish and post soon! Thanks for following and bearing with me! 🧡 🧡

23/07/2023

This, I think, might be one of the hardest parts of having a chronic illness. Of course, like all things, there are many layers to this feeling, most of which are driven by societal expectations of what it looks like to be a “productive” member of society. Finding the balance that lets me still love my life without overdoing it and feeling terrible afterward continues to be a challenging prospect, and I have to remind myself of this statement a lot. Sure, I can push through, but at what cost? And is it a cost I’m willing to pay? Maybe, but probably not if I really take the time to think about it instead of just jumping in. Everything takes planning now, and that’s frustrating, but I’m doing my best to embrace the process of being okay with doing less.