MS victims (and others!)
find refuge in Art Their intense canvases reveal emotions behind ongoing nerve
disease. Allentown, PA's Broken
Art Movement Join
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Article by Ron Devlin Of The Morning Call
In the mid-90s, Loper
sensed something was wrong. He'd shake, uncontrollably, and he didn't
know why. At times, he walked as if he were drunk.
His doctor ordered an MRI and, in 1999, Loper was told he had MS. In the
devastating news, he found a measure of relief.
''I was glad when I found out,'' Loper said. ''I finally knew what was
wrong with me.''
Jean Childs started having double vision about 10 years ago. It took three
months to diagnosis MS as the cause. Her doctor at the time, Childs said,
told her the disease would go into remission. It didn't.
A second doctor examined Childs and told her, ''I'm sorry, Jean, it isn't
going away.''
Childs, 53, a Catasauqua homemaker, relies on her deep faith and the support
of others to cope with the disease.
She paints in optimistic reds and bright greens, fashioning them into
what look like watermelon slices on a summer picnic table. She calls it
''Cantemos al Senor,'' or ''Let's Sing Unto the Lord.''
''If it wouldn't be for coming here, I don't know what I'd do,'' Childs
says. ''It's so comforting to come here and totally relax.''
Sitting next to Childs, Linda Briody dabs the outline of a tiny sailboat
into a maze of turbulent waves and calls it ''The Perfect Storm.'' It's
as if she were sailing away on the boat and leaving MS behind.
''I'm in the process of sinking,'' says Briody, 55, of Nazareth, ''and
I just float away.''
Thierer puts the finishing touches on his painting. He signs it ET3, for
Edward Thierer III. It gives him a good feeling.
The last three years have been kind of a whirlwind for the former maintenance
supervisor, who's no longer able to work.
It started with a pain in his right leg, which he thought was a pinched
nerve. At the same time, he'd come home from work exhausted.
To his absolute surprise, an MRI showed Thierer had seven MS lesions on
his brain.
In a recent bout with the ongoing disease, his temperature skyrocketed
to 103 degrees. It took four days to bring it under control, and Thierer
has little recollection of that time.
''If it weren't for this class, I'd be at home going crazy,'' he says.
''Being involved makes it seem like there's still importance in my life.'' CreativityClass@BrokenArtGallerry.com
1-610-433-4156
BrokenArtGallery.com
From
The Morning Call --
July 31, 2005
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