After multiple sclerosis diagnosis, woman ran to prove to herself, her autistic son and others that disabilities don't 'define who you are'

HARTFORD, Conn. — When Kim Lowman runs, she counts utility poles.

It’s a way of marking her distance and her progression. It’s a way she challenges herself, too. Before she ran her third Hartford half marathon as part of the Aiello Inspiration Team last Saturday, she set a goal to make it one or two telephone poles further in between the necessary breaks she needs to take to use her inhaler to combat her asthma, and to ease the challenges that come with running with multiple sclerosis.

But if she didn’t?

“It’s fine, because it is what it is,” Lowman said before the race. “I know I’m not going to win, I know I’m not beating anybody else. I’m going to try and beat myself.”

That it-is-what-it-is, laissez-faire, albeit determined attitude is a staple of Lowman’s. When she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, she simply told the doctor, “All right. OK, what should I do?” When her son Max, who will be 4 years old in November, was diagnosed with autism, she and her husband Travis understood that they would do whatever it took to care for and provide for their son, no questions asked.

“People make themselves negative,” she said. “We’re all given bad decks of cards in this life. It’s all about how you deal with it.”

She began running shortly after her diagnosis to stay healthy, and keep her stress levels low. Now she runs to prove to herself, her young son and everyone else that she won’t be held back by any disability.

“You can have a disability, but it doesn’t define who you are as a person,” Lowman said. “It just gives you something extra. It makes you unique.”

Lowman, who now lives in East Granby, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2012. She was in the process of moving from Rhode Island, where she grew up, to Connecticut. While she was cleaning out her apartment, she suffered from severe headaches, nausea and vomiting. She took herself to the emergency room, where they urged her to seek further testing. Weeks later, after she had moved to Connecticut, she was diagnosed.

Her doctor told her three things would help her keep her disease under control: consistent medication, low stress levels and taking care of her personal health.

The ever-determined Lowman took her challenge in stride.

“You could look at it two ways,” she said. “All right, I have this chronic disease and I could be in a wheelchair when I’m older. Or, I have an illness just like you have brown hair, and it’s just who I am now and it’s part of me and I can accept it and move on with my life.”

“And that’s what I chose to do.”

So Lowman began running. She started with shorter distances and moved up to 5Ks. There’s times where her lungs feel great, but it “feels like there’s eight tons of bricks” on her feet. And when her legs feel fine, her lungs aren’t cooperating. She understood that there were times that she’d have to stop or walk.

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