by Joan Vetter

Kim Bay is a fierce fighter. Perhaps she inherited it from her grandfather who fought 28 missions in World War II. Maybe it’s a result of her Choctaw Indian background. However, if this determination hadn’t been in her genes, she might still be in her wheelchair.

In November of 1996, Kim, working as a physical education teacher’s assistant at Williams Elementary in Arlington, TX began to pull a basketball goal across the gym floor. Suddenly she felt a pop in her wrist and elbow. She continued to teach, but within a few hours her arm had swollen about four times the size. She headed to the emergency room. They really weren’t sure what it was – maybe a break they couldn’t see. She ended up with a cast on her arm, but after a week they decided that probably wasn’t the problem so they started therapy. Her arm would turn cold, have muscle spasms and change colors. At this point her doctor said it looked like Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy but he wasn’t sure.

She’d gone through cortisone shots, finding no permanent relief from the pain. After what was to be a simple surgery, the doctors discovered her nerves were really more badly damaged than they expected.

Kim was finally, definitely diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy when they compared the temperature of one arm to the other and found a fifteen degree difference. Emotionally she was still hopeful that she would get better, enabling her to endure the unrelenting pain. However, it seemed like there was no medical answer for her. She was willing to try whatever the doctors suggested. One of the trials was a spinal cord stimulator. They first put leads in her back and she walked around with it on the outside. This seemed to work well, so they proceeded to go in to do the real one. When they did, it was nothing like that. They cut her open in four different places with no anesthesia. She had lots of pain, and began to develop more difficulties. About a week later, she began to develop one thing after another. First was drop foot and she would just start falling. Then Kim ended up with blood clots and severe pain in her legs. About eighteen months after her injury, she became wheelchair bound.

At this point the discouragement crept in, due partially to a doctor who blamed her for the blood clots. Another doctor came to her support and yelled at him for what he had said to Kim. During this time she began to abandon her trust in medical procedures. I can’t help but think of the woman in the Bible who had spent all she had on physicians but was no better. Kim had Worker’s Compensation insurance, but having two little girls and being unable to work was a struggle for sure.

After six years, Kim battled pneumonia resulting in a long hospitalization. Upon release she came out with unwavering determination to live her life without all the braces, pain pills, and restrictions. Like the bell indicating the boxing match has started, Kim came out swinging.

She joined the YMCA and made them put her in the pool. She began to come every day and spend two to three hours in the pool. Every day it was hard at first but by the end of the day it was easier. At first her feet turned black and blue, but she just kept pushing herself every day. Finally, five months later, she was able to graduate to crutches and stood on her own. Daily she began to build her stamina, going a little further each day. All during this time Kim never told her doctors what she was doing.

The payday came when she visited one of her doctors at Southwest Medical Center. Kim said, “He about fell over.” His response was, “I am amazed – I’ve never seen anybody able to do that.”

Kim certainly was noticed at the Y with all the days she spent there, so it was only natural that when she started thinking of working part time that she thought of the Y. They hired her, and she sat at the front desk much of her first year there. Then the position for Silver Sneaker’s Coordinator became available, and for Kim and the Y it was a perfect fit.

At this point of her journey, you can barely tell that she has had a problem. Her husband has tried to restrain her, but she is adamant that she’s not going to be held down. She has even water skied and played volleyball. 
When people are around Kim it’s like a family reunion. She’s sure to lift your spirits and inspire you to live life to the fullest.