Shirley Sword - crocheting the stress into gifts

Shirley Sword is a woman who had lots of stress. So much stress in fact that she was prescribed valium and took it regularly. Until the day she walked right out in front of a car, oblivious to her surroundings.

Thankfully she wasn’t hit by the car, though it did change her thinking. “It scared me so much I threw the valium away,” Shirley said. “But I still needed something to relieve the stress.”

So she took up crocheting. That was back in the 1960s, and she has been crocheting ever since. She crocheted her way through her brother’s death in a work-related accident, her brother-in-law’s death and her divorce. Shirley said she taught herself how by following directions in a book. That worked well unless the pattern was too difficult, in which case she enlisted the help of her mother to read the directions while she crocheted. Since then, she has learned the stitches and no longer needs instructions. She remarried  nine years ago to Holy Cross mission partner Bill Goetzke, and continues to crochet daily.

“It’s relaxing,” she said of crocheting. “It takes your mind off other things.” Shirley said she isn’t one to sit and watch television without some yarn in her hand. “I’m either crocheting or working someplace. I can’t sit idle.”

She has crocheted baby blankets for her 14 grandchildren, and as they have graduated from high school, she sends them off with a crocheted afghan. She has made blankets for her children’s friends and for her hairdresser’s baby. And, she makes blankets for the babies born to Holy Cross mission partners. That alone is 16 or 17 blankets so far this year, and an average of 20 to 25 each year.

Shirley Sword with one of her blankets

Shirley had to use a little resourcefulness when her dental hygienist was pregnant. “She thought it was twins, but then she had triplets,” Shirley said. So Shirley started searching, and finally found identical yarn to match the two blankets she had made.  Another time, Shirley was asked to make an additional blanket for a little girl who had become so attached to the original blanket Shirley made, that when she inadvertently left it behind at a restaurant, she was inconsolable. To prevent that happening again, the little girl’s grandmother asked Shirley to make a spare.

She doesn’t waste any leftover yarn, but instead turns it into a variety of blankets she donates to St. Luke’s Hospital. She uses heavier yarn to make blankets for a group of ladies at Tallgrass Creek Retirement Community, who in turn give them to the homeless. And she purchases the yarn herself to make blankets for Holy Cross babies.

Shirley doesn’t accept payment, nor does she ask for donations. Though many times people will supply her with yarn they pick up here and there. For Shirley, it’s a labor of love, and a use of a God-given gift. “It’s letting me be of a service to somebody,” she said.

That’s especially true for her since she fell down the steps a year ago and compressed vertebrae in her back. Now she can’t stand for very long, so she had to give up helping serve meals at various churches and charitable organizations. Shirley continues to volunteer four times a month in the gift shop at St. Luke’s. She also embroiders tea towels for her grandchildren’s wedding gifts, and to donate to the Metro Lutheran Ministry silent auction. And she used to make pocket Bible verse cards that were distributed to clients at MLM.

But crocheting is her first love. She has eight patterns she knows by heart, and she also makes some of her own designs. Shirley crochets every day, and when asked how long she rests after finishing one blanket before starting another, she said, “Five seconds.” She said she is thrilled each time she realizes she started with a piece of yarn, and suddenly it becomes a blanket.

“It’s not a job,” Shirley said of crocheting. “It’s something that’s a pleasure. If anyone can take a blanket and enjoy it, that means a lot.”

Gina Hart-Kemper - a musical life

Gina Hart-Kemper found her calling when she was in the fourth grade. It wasn’t playing piano. She said it only took a two-month battle with her mom trying to teach her to play before Gina, just a first-grader, realized that wasn’t going to work. But her calling did involve music.

“I still remember it clearly,” Gina said of that time in the fourth grade. “I heard somebody demonstrate the flute, and that was it for me.”

Dr. Gina Hart-Kemper

That’s not to say she was a prodigy or anything similar. No, in fact, she couldn’t even coax a sound out of the flute the first day she tried. But she continued to practice, finally mastering the instrument. She went on to receive a doctorate of music arts, and has performed and taught throughout the country. “Now I’m known as the person with the pretty sound,” Gina said.

She is in good company as a flutist. George Washington, James Madison, Leonardo da Vinci, Edgar Allan Poe, Tchaikovsky and Henry Mancini all are known to have played the flute. As are the actress Halle Berry and former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice.

Gina said trying to figure out what to do for a career was a little bit challenging when she was of college age. Her family didn’t necessarily think that a career in music would amount to much, according to their idea of success. “Al I knew was I could play the flute and that was what I wanted to do, Gina said.”

She did purse a teaching degree for a while, because she knew she loved teaching, but found that for her, the degrees in music performance came easier. And those degrees did indeed open doors for her that led to being able to teach.

Gina teaches both adults and children, and said they learn completely differently. “Adults have more of an idea of what they should sound like,” she said. “They have higher expectations and get more frustrated. But kids, they’re happy just to pick up the flute and play.”

She said the flute, for as popular as it is, can be quite frustrating to learn. Rather than blowing into the opening, you have to blow above the opening, she explained. Having good lung capacity is, of course, a benefit, which makes the ability of one of her students so surprising.

Gina said she teaches a middle school student who has cystic fibrosis, which severely affects breathing. “But she plays the flute like you can’t believe,” Gina said. “She probably beats out a lot of kids her age.” In fact, her lessons tend to serve as breathing treatments, though there are many times, Gina said, that she has to pause to calm down and catch her breath so she can resume.

Another student Gina teaches is a little girl with Tourette Syndrome, a neurological disorder that manifests itself in multiple motor and vocal tics. Gina said that learning to play the flute has helped give her a focus and increased her self-confidence.

One of the adults Gina teaches is a pharmacist from Iran who had no previous music experience.  “He really wanted to play the flute,” she said, “and stuck it out. He’s really improved and enjoys it.” His motivation was that he wanted to play the Persian flute, called a ney, and has since learned how to do so.

Gina is one of a group of co-owners of the Village Music Academy in Prairie Village, where she teaches two days a week. She also teaches a music appreciation class through the Ft. Scott Community College, and directs the handbell choir at Holy Cross. Besides flute, Gina teaches private piano lessons, after having taught herself how to play in middle school. And she continues to perform solo and in ensembles.

Music is of primary importance to Gina, and she works to keep it in schools, in spite of budget cuts, by volunteering her time to help band directors ready students for competitions. She also is a volunteer judge for competitions at the middle and high school level. She believes everyone can benefit from learning music.

“From my perspective, it’s all good,” Gina said. “You learn discipline, how to listen, confidence, how to motivate yourself. And it’s okay to make mistakes. I tell students that making mistakes is how you learn. Music fills our souls. It stimulates the brain but also stimulates the heart.”

She said that while she loves teaching, there are times when she thinks about stepping away. But then someone tells her, “You can’t quit because you have to respect the gift God gave you. Quit and you’ll be miserable.” Gina said that’s true, because when she did try to quit, she was miserable.

Allison Foss - living with a chronic disease

Allison Foss

Myasthenia Gravis – heard of it? Chances are you haven’t since the prevalence is about 1 in 5,000 people who have the chronic disease. Meet Allison Foss. She can tell you lots about MG, as it is commonly known.

Allison was diagnosed when she was only five years old. Her symptoms were double vision and crossed eyes, slurred speech and difficulty swallowing. The name comes from Greek and Latin words meaning “grave muscle weakness.” Muscles impacted by MG are those that receive signals from the brain to contract, meaning the muscles that are used to open or close your eyelids, smile, chew, swallow, hold your head erect, breathe, and move your arms and legs.

For Allison, the weakness is constrained to her face, speech and upper body. “When I am really tired,” Allison said, “I may have difficulty swallowing or in very bad incidences difficulty breathing. Heat and cold really affect me as does a lot of physical activity.”

The early years were especially difficult for Allison. She took high doses of Prednisone, a suggested treatment, from the time she was in second grade to eighth grade, she said, and was the fattest child in school as a result. Then when she went off the drug, she literally shrunk. In fourth grade, she also underwent surgery to remove her thymus gland, another suggested treatment option. Since MG is one of the numerous types of Muscular Dystrophy, Allison said, her parents tried to get her involved with others who had either MG or MD.

Allison Foss on the left with friends,
hoping to raise funds to support the MGA

“I served as the state ambassador for the MDA for Iowa,” she said, “and then went to summer camp with other kids who had MD.” Allison became one of “Jerry’s kids,” named for Jerry Lewis who worked tirelessly to publicize MD through a series of telethons. Though she never met the comedian and actor, she did serve as a poster child in two local Iowa campaigns for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

For years, Allison was treated for having congenital MG. The turning point came when she had what is called a Myasthenic crisis her freshman year in college and ended up in a hospital. A neurologist suggested she visit Mayo Clinic for a more specific diagnosis and treatment options.

“I was devastated and embarrassed,” Allison said, “because here I was trying to be in college and had all this medical stuff hanging over my head. But it turns out going to Mayo Clinic was the best decision of my life.”

That’s because Allison met Dr. Andrew Engel, who she says is “kind of like the Godfather of Myasthenia Gravis.” He spends most of his time doing research on the disease, and thus only accepts a handful of patients. Allison said she feels blessed to be one of them. He diagnosed her with having MUsk Antibody Myasthenia Gravis, the rarest kind of MG. It requires a completely different type of treatment than other forms.

Now, Allison spends one morning a month at the University of Kansas Medical Center receiving Plasmapheresis treatments, a filtering process similar to dialysis that separates her plasma from her blood and replaces it with manmade plasma. It's the only treatment that allows her to function as best as she can, but it's a mind-boggling amount of almost $10,000 per treatment. She recently had to have the fistula port in her arm, used for the treatment, reconstructed because it had developed an aneurysm. An incredibly painful surgery, Allison said. Besides the monthly treatments, she returns to Mayo Clinic once a year, and has allowed her plasma and muscle tissue to be used for research purposes.

Living with a chronic illness can be overwhelming, controlling, and a negative experience. But not for Allison. “It impacts what I do but it doesn’t control me,” she said. “It shapes who I am, and it’s probably where my passion comes from to help others.”

Allison is a social worker with Johnson County Developmental Supports, working with youth and adults who have developmental disabilities. She helps them manage day-to-day activities, including employment, financial and medical needs. She serves on the board of directors for HopeBUILDERS, and is actively involved with the Greater Kansas City MGA Walk, Run and Roll fundraiser, the stewardship committee at Holy Cross, Gamma Phi Beta Alumnae of Iowa State University and P.E.O., a philanthropic organization for women.

Living with MG is difficult, but it is a normal for Allison. There is no cure, and it’s progressive. But Allison said she knows that feeling sorry for oneself isn’t healthy, so she doesn’t give in to that. Instead, she turns it around. “I take it and make it a positive thing in my life,” Allison said. “I have a passion for non-profits. I want to give back.”

Allison also works hard as her own advocate, and stands up to help others too. It is her hope that people would come to a greater understanding that there is a need for more accessible and affordable healthcare for everyone, because, as she said, illness can strike anyone at any time, often causing extreme financial hardship, as well as the added stress of fighting with insurance companies over coverage. Allison also has a strong faith, and prays that there will one day be a cure for MG.

Holy Rollers - riding for fun and fellowship

Small groups within the Holy Cross community come in a variety of shapes and sizes. We have traditional Bible study and fellowship groups, supper clubs, a film group, Social Networks, and even a set of folks who golf together.

And then there are the Holy Rollers. This is a group of mostly retired and semi-retired men who like to ride bicycles.

The group started in the summer of 2011, when Kevin Dolan sent out an invitation to folks who might like to ride together. It provided an alternative to the Thursday morning men’s group – the Do Nothings (upcoming blog). Steve Norton responded, and soon a few more joined in. The day was changed from Thursday to accommodate the riders, and now they usually ride on Fridays, and sometimes in addition on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

Rides generally begin about 8 a.m., with favorite locations that include along the Indian Creek, Tomahawk Creek and Streamway trails and in Heritage Park. At a midway point, they stop for coffee and conversation.

“We try to limit the rides to 12-15 miles, maybe 18-20 miles,” said group facilitator Bill Rauh,

Bill Rauh

“especially when we have a new person.” One new person got broken in a few weeks ago when the group decided to ride the Trolley Trail, though he may have been a little misled about what to expect. “We wanted to try something different. We thought it was going to be six miles, but it was 18 instead,” Bill said, without a hint of an apology.

That new person was Bill Allen, and, gamely, he didn’t seem to mind the length at all. “It was my first ride and I had a good time,” he said. “The guys are great and it makes for good camaraderie and fellowship.” Of course, when you’re dining at Gates barbecue, having lunch at a midway point, it’s hard not to feel the love.

According to Bill Rauh, sometimes that camaraderie extends to fellow diners. He related how one woman, after overhearing their conversation and laughter one day, approached the group and said, “This is the best morning for me in years. Just listening to you, my day was brightened.”

The Holy Rollers share with each other what’s going on or has gone on in their lives, personal anecdotes, and generally revisit the previous Sunday’s sermon topic. All good comments, of course. They trust that they will support each other when needed, whether it be prayer, conversation or friendship.

Bill said the group tries to ride safely, including wearing helmets, and follow the rules of the road. So far, mishaps have been few. “There was one day,” Bill said, “at the beginning of summer, we had three separate wrecks. Nothing serious, scraped arms.” And there are the occasional problems with insects flying into their eyes and mouths, as anyone who rides or runs in the open will understand.

 

Besides cycling together, the group has had a social fun night out in Westport, and a four-day excursion with the wives on a trip to St. Charles, Missouri. The men rode along the Katy Trail by the Missouri River while the wives shopped, Bill said. The group also does some landscape maintenance, trimming trees, on the church property, and other missional work. They are looking at riding the Ottawa trail when the weather becomes cooler.

 Anyone is welcome to join the group for a ride at any time. They maintain an email list, currently of about 15 cyclists, as a means of notification for upcoming rides. “It’s a neat concord of guys who enjoy riding, talking and fellowship,” Bill said.