By Roisin Cullen, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter PIQUE NEWSMAGAZINE
An inspiring Pemberton woman has opened up about completing the Camino de Santiago in Spain, 30 years after being diagnosed with a chronic autoimmune disorder called myasthenia gravis (MG).
Kelly Carson has battled the rare condition for decades but has never let it stand in her way of making the impossible possible.
MG results in weakness of the skeletal muscles and affects the voluntary muscles of the body. Muscles around people’s eyes, mouth, throat and limbs are affected. Carson was diagnosed with the debilitating disorder when she was 35 years old. He kids were just teenagers at the time.
“I was in a wheelchair. I couldn’t walk,” said Carson. “I couldn’t dress myself. I couldn’t talk. It was a real milestone for me to be able to walk 800 km … a diagnosis of MG is not the end of the world. I actually went to the end of the world.”
Kelly was inspired to do the Camino after watching the movie The Way (2010) starring Martin Sheen. “Subconsciously, I started buying things to help me do the Camino,” she said. “I decided I would do it when I was 65. Everything rolled into place.”
Sadly, there is no cure for MG, but Carson has been in remission for a decade. She didn’t realize her Camino journey marked the anniversary of her diagnosis until she started walking. Then her subconscious draw to the challenge finally made sense.
She remembered her younger self sitting in St Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver coming to terms with the life-changing news during her Camino journey. The President of the MG Association of BC is reminding others with the condition that a diagnosis is not the end of the world. The Camino de Santiago is.
“I was in St Paul’s smoking in a stairwell and suddenly, my legs kicked out,” recalls Carson. “I waited until the strength came back so I could get back to my hospital room. There is life after MG. It is incurable but you can go into remission. Nobody ever told me that.”
Carson’s journey started in Vancouver when she trained with the Canadian Pilgrims Association. “Every Sunday, they organize a walk,” she said. “Twice a year, they walk from Downtown Vancouver to the airport. You get the stamps along the way. My Camino actually started in Vancouver.”
Her worried daughter wanted to complete the Camino with her but she knew this was something she had to complete by herself. “I enjoyed walking alone and just listening to the birds,” said Carson. “It was the most amazing thing I have ever done that I will never do again.”
There were times when Carson wondered why fate had brought her to the famous trail. She worried she had overestimated her ability on the very first day. “When I looked up, I saw how far uphill it was,” she said tearfully. “I just thought I can’t do this. I told myself I couldn’t do that. Everything else was easy after that.”
Along the way, Carson met people she believes she was destined to meet including a man from England with MG. He was the first person Carson has met who is also in recovery from the condition. “We walked together for two weeks,” she said. “We will be friends for life.”
The Pemberton trailblazer brought her ex-husband’s ashes on the journey and spread them at the end of the Camino. She felt she was able to make peace with him on the hike and jokes that he didn’t have to do any of the hard work. She has asked her kids to scatter her own ashes at the “end of the world,” mostly so her kids have to complete the same trek.
Like many others, Carson found great healing along The Way of Saint James. “I held resentment,” she said. “A lot of that got resolved on the Camino. When you’re by yourself walking, you do a lot of thinking.”
The author’s writer’s block was also finally cured, and she has settled into several exciting creative projects since coming back to the mountain village. Carson admitted her feet are still sore. The inspiring lady is sticking to her daily walk to One Mile Lake for the time being, and relishing in her achievement.
