first met artist , Allison , through a local support group . A former endurance athlete , Allison was trying to figure out what was happening to her health . Already on the spectrum of autism , this energetic , inquisitive , personable young woman was determined to figure out why her physicality was deteriorating . What was it that ( eventually ) forced her to quit her job , turn to art as a form of coping and income , and occasionally left her out cold on the sidewalk only to wake up in the ER with no memory of how she got there ? As with many chronic illnesses , it is an ongoing puzzle with many pieces still missing . Thankfully Allison ’ s artistic talent is not . page
43CRAFTED
She has been dabbling in “ a variety of mediums and crafts ” since early childhood . When we met , she was working a regular job and art was still a hobby . It wasn ’ t until 2013 / 14 she realized illness had changed her physical abilities and she had to change to accommodate them .
She remembers one of the first indicators of her changing abilities was being unusually tired . Being an athlete , she thought perhaps she wasn ’ t doing enough , so she pushed harder , exercised more . Unfortunately , that exacerbated the problem . She wondered if she was depressed but that wasn ’ t the case either . It wasn ’ t until she woke up in an ER with no recollection of how she got there that she learned she was having non-epileptic seizures . From September to February that year she experienced nearly 300 of them .
“ My illness destroyed my joints and lowered my general functions . I had to quit my job to focus on my health and did many months of therapy . I wish I could say it was a long process , but it wasn ’ t . It was more like I crash-landed then dove into a wall . I went from bicycling 70 miles a day for fun and swimming the length of Lake Pend Oreille in the Long Bridge race , to being bedridden within six months . At that point , I had to admit that my life had changed . That ’ s when I began to paint every day .”
FROM PAINTING TO PAWS
Artist , Allison Wier , has overcome many obstables to achieve success
By M . J . Hudon
November | December 2021 43