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Showing posts from May, 2020

Kolakanta Darling

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Kolakanta Darling, a longtime Roaring Fork Valley local, loves the outdoors. One of her  favorite things to do is to hike to the cross on Red Mountain in Glenwood Springs. But  she doesn’t hike up like most people--she gets there on an adapted Segway with a seat.  Kolakanta has Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and transverse myelitis, an inflammation in the  spinal cord. Diagnosed in 2002, she struggled with the limits that come with having MS.  “My left leg drags. It’s like having two different legs.”  She went through a grieving stage, which she says is essential to recovery. “When  there’s a significant change to the body, there’s grief with it,” says Kolakanta. But she is  an optimistic woman. “I miss what I used to be able to do, so I learned to focus on what  makes my heart smile. For me, it’s faith that gets me through. My daily mantra is Isaiah  40: 28-31, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, They will soar on  wings like eagles; They will run and not grow w