Meet Kim

Her husband, her family and church are the foundation of Kim’s strength and humble soul as she navigates her journey in life with spinal muscular atrophy. Originally diagnosed muscular dystrophy at the age of 4 years old, however after a second muscle biopsy in college it was confirmed as the proper diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy. With this diagnosis, Kim was told she would be wheelchair bound by the age of 30, and that timing lined up. But growing up with a great support system in family and friends, Kim never felt different as her parents never treated her differently.

A self-proclaimed water bug, Kim found her freedom from any physical constraints in the water, participating in water therapy or aerobics and even adult rehab. If there is a pool, you will find Kim. She is also an outdoors lover and very involved with her church, volunteering as a Sunday School teacher, the worship team, and heading up an outreach for Samaritans Purse, which provides supplies and necessities for children in need all over the world. Kim loves to travel, including cruising to the Bahamas, Jamaica and the Caribbean. They visited the private islands with cruise lines that made experiences very accessible for her with big wheeled and floating chairs that she described as dreamy.

It was Kim’s love of the water that introduced her to MDFF years ago. She was swimming in Muncie and met someone with her same diagnosis. They quickly started talking and discussed new spinal injections and an upcoming MDFF expo. This expo is where she met several people similar to her and in their shared stories she began her connection with the organization. Kim and her family have since been attending holiday parties and MDFF events throughout the years. 

It was in 2024 around Christmas that Kim ran into Mindy Cameron (MDFF board member), and after a conversation about a previous application, Mindy encouraged Kim to apply again for the van giveaway. After submitting the application and all documentation Kim received phone calls throughout the year advising that she would be moving to the next phase. In the summer of 2025 Kim found out she was in the final 4, and at the end of August received the call from Barney and Matt (MDFF board members) that she was one of the 2 candidates being awarded a van.   Along with the van they installed an easy lock system, where now Kim’s family can line up and lock down her own chair without tie downs, which her family calls nothing short of a blessing.

Kim and her husband, who she brags is just the sweetest, are finding a new normal now that he has retired. Coincidentally, after reading a recent MDFF spotlight article about Natalie and her travel website, Kim hopes to reach out regarding advice for some adventures of her own.   A few places on her bucket list are the national parks and finding an accessible train trip out West.

While she acknowledges the challenges, including having to fight for everything, such as a new wheelchair, or access to things such as rental cars and hotels with accessible accommodations, she has a wonderful mindset and believes “all things are possible, and you can do most things, just differently”.  But most of all “Never Give Up”.

April  2026 – written by Lisa Heber, MDFF volunteer