Charcot Marie Tooth Disease - CMT Disease - Hereditary Neuropathy

Susan Kinney has been an artist for as long as she could remember.  As a child, she drew the characters in her comic books.  As she grew older, she began pencil sketching.  Art was her refuge and she would often gaze at the world around her, painting pictures in her head of things that she saw.
Her story is all the more inspirational because Susan has an advanced form of CMT which has caused loss of hearing and her ability to walk.  Yet she has dedicated her life to unlocking hte gift inside of her, a gift sometimes trapped by her disease.  She proudly calls herself an artist, because she says it allows her to define herself by who she is and not by what she has.  Grateful for her talents and wanting to give back, Susan, who also has a daughter with CMT, recently launched a fundraiser to support CMT research.  "I want to use artwork not only as a positive thing in my life, but also in the lives of others," said Susan.

As a child, Susan found that she preferred drawing to painting because she was not strong enough to hold her arm up to paint on a canvas.  Steadying the paint brush was another problem.  So she turned to pencil drawing, laying her arm down and allowing her hands to create the pictures in her mind.  As she grew older and her CMT progressed, drawing grew more difficult and she was forced to give it up.  The artist was still there, but the art had no outlet.

Enter the computer.  It provided a way for Susan to express herself and free the art inside of her.  She discovered Paint, a computer program that allows the user to paint pictures on their computer using a mouse.  "I started playing with Paint," says Susan, "and was having a blast doing art again."  She worked her way through various graphics programs and ultimately signed up for a course.  Susan said, "I use a Wacom tablet and a pen shaped mouse pointer.  I can paint and draw anything I want and still be resting my arm on the desk."

It's not easy for Susan, but she says it is worth it.  "Having CMT makes me try harder at my artwork because I need to prove to myself that I am still capable of doing something," she said. Having lost one's hearing, the ability to walk, and suffering from chronic pain in the hand and feet would limit most people, but Susan sees growth and inspiration in her artwork, something htat is also apparent to others.

"My life gets harder and harder every year, but my artwork is something that improves and impresses people," she said.  In addition to her artwork for CMT, Susan also does portrait painting and photo restoration, selling her artwork at local galleries and art shows.

She decided to channel her energies into raising money for research, because she didn't want to wait for a miracle; instead, Susan wanted to be involved in making a difference.  "I read about the research and the possibility for a cure and I do not want to sit back and wait for everyone else to find ways to fund this research.  I seriously believe they will cure CMT someday," she said.

A portion of the proceeds from Susan's collection entitled "CMT Fundraiser" will be donated to research. To purchase art from the CMT Fundraiser collection, please visit www.cafepress.com/smkgiftshop.