Kirsten Dixon
“I hope to learn more about my body’s capability and how to find workarounds for any limitations I experience. I want to live actively as long as possible.”
The team at Mastering Mountains is thrilled to introduce Kirsten Dixon, one of two expedition grant recipients this year. We love her determination and care for others, and we are excited to support her as she journeys toward her goal. Below, we asked Kirsten a few questions, which she answered:
Tell us about yourself.
I'm in my mid-forties and I live with my husband, kids, and dogs in the small regional town of Ōamaru! I've been living with symptoms and episodes of multiple sclerosis (MS) for about 20 years, but I was only diagnosed in 2021. I love people and seeing them live the best life that is available to them. I'm slowly learning to apply that to myself, too.
Day-to-day, I keep pretty busy. I run a business called "Let's Talk", supporting productive conversation through mediation, restorative practices and communication coaching. Outside of paid employment, I have varied roles with local and national boards and organisations.
Kirsten with her family, enjoying Ōamaru Harbour.
On top of that, I'm a Mum to three beautiful and ever-growing adolescent kiddos and a wife to one entrepreneurial and multi-project planning husband. Helping to keep them fed, watered and pointed in the right direction is a big time investment.
Creativity is at the centre of how I use my spare time. I love to create, mostly through music, writing and drawing. But I also love exploring the greater creation by car, bike or foot – solo or with any combination of family, friends and dogs!
I also value working toward a challenge in the outdoors. To stay active over the few years before my diagnosis, I trained for various events, including three rounds of Mud, Sweat and Tears – a 5km obstacle course through mud that you dress up for! In between, I trained for and completed three running events. I completed my first 10k race as part of the inaugural Queenstown marathon, all in the pouring rain. I remember thinking, 'How do I get out of this?'. I answered myself, 'Run faster'! I also completed the Buller Half Marathon.
However, in the time leading up to my diagnosis, my physical activity decreased, and I lost a lot of condition. I was seeking answers but getting none: I was sure that this level of fatigue, vision struggles and clumsiness was not 'normal'.
Show your support to Kirsten and help other to get outdoors by making a donation.
What does it look like living with your diagnosis?
Living with MS is difficult. The most challenging aspects are the day-to-day unpredictability of symptoms and my fear of what my future might look like. However, I am now turning my focus to caring for my body. I intend to condition and nourish my body as best as I am able through the help of Mastering Mountains and the fantastic team at Movement Hub in Ōamaru. My physical and mental fitness took quite a blow with my diagnosis, and I'll have to regain these to achieve my goal.
Focusing on my health, fitness, and well-being is a powerful tool in managing MS - both in minimising the likelihood of relapses and how my body can respond to any future disease progression. With specialist rehabilitative support and accountability, I hope to develop lifelong healthy habits and discipline to slow my disease progression and place equal value on all areas of my well-being: physical, emotional, spiritual and relational. When I think about these four areas of well-being, setting myself a challenge to work toward, like I used to, is exciting and empowering.
Kirsten with friends, walking up the Hooker Valley Track.
Tell us about your mission.
My goal is to walk The Old Ghost Road, an 85km trail in the Buller District – a journey that will take me five days.
In recent years, I have thought a lot about embarking on a pilgrimage. The concept of pilgrimage as a spiritual practice exists in almost every religious tradition. Travelling from one physical destination to another becomes an opportunity to intentionally encounter God through nature and creation. Sadly, hiking one of the Camino pilgrimages, for example, is not a viable option for me due to my current disease-modifying therapy (DMT) medication schedule.
As I read about the Ghost Road and how dedicated people laboured for years to create this walk across slips and through other obstacles, constructing bridges and steps, I made a parallel comparison to my central nervous system and the work it must do. Because of the lesions in my spine, my brain needs to create new neural pathways – neurological bridges, steps, and detours to keep a path open and enable me to continue walking. For this reason, I have chosen to walk the Old Ghost Road as a pilgrimage.
Preparing for my goal, I am excited about the opportunity to learn to trust and care for my body as I rely on it to carry me through my pilgrimage. Through the help of the Mastering Mountains Expedition Grant and the team at Movement Hub, I hope to learn more about my body's capability and how to find workarounds for any limitations I experience. I want to live actively as long as possible.
If you could have a giant billboard with anything on it, what would it say and why?
I would want a billboard to say this:
"If we are to love our neighbour as ourselves, let's learn to love ourselves well".
Why? If our standard for caring for others is the standard of care we have for ourselves, then it makes sense to first invest in ourselves: that can only elevate our care for others 😊
Thank you
Mastering Mountains would like to offer a huge thank you to our sponsors for making this grant possible:
MitoQ for a supply of their antioxidant supplement;
Rab for supplying clothing;
Southern Approach for supplying footwear and equipment.
We also appreciate the generous support of Movement Hub.