Our hearts are so overwhelmed now. Kathy was one of the most courageous and compassionate people I have ever known, who overflowed with sincerity, intelligence, and the most wonderful sense of humour, in spite of her many daily challenges, which only deteriorated as time went on.

I just checked now and see that my recent PM to her has gone unopened. I was so concerned about her when she mentioned only on Sunday that things were getting really rough, and now that PM will forever go unread.

This is so hard to take in, in part because many of us, 'though we knew her well, had never actually met her. (But so thankful that ramagut had the privilege and opportunity to meet Kathy last year!) Dennis and I, over the months, have talked about when we could go down to meet her, but it never panned out, and we were kind of thinking next year. Now I will have to wait to meet her and give her a huge hug at the Great Moot that never ends, which no one on earth has ever read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before!!!

While her family and friends grieve down here, there is a deep joy, as well, for Kathy is now whole and well, breathing with ease, laughing with inexpressible joy, dancing, and singing in the presence of her Lord and God! And so we cry, but we cry with hope.

Further up and further in, dear qwertykate88, how we will miss you! This is so hard to take in for those of us left down here.

To everybody who knows me both in real life and here on the forum, they know that I have a bad habit of complaining about the trivialities and frustrations that come about with every day life. I have never had any real reason to complain. . . not when compared with Q. Just seeing her pop on to the forum or to facebook, it made me realize that if somebody in her condition could be happy and cheerful, then I could too. Despite all of that, however, if ever I was having a bad day, despite the fact that hers was far worse, Q always had the right words to say to make me feel better.

She just had this unquenchable thirst for life, and an air of thankfulness that persevered right until the very end. That unquenchable thirst has been satiated, and that air of thankfulness is now the air of Heaven. No more fetters bind her body. . . she's finally home and finally free.

Oh. . . and I'm really going to miss hearing her dote on Tucker. . . . . . a lot.

I was very blessed to have met Kathy. She was so frail and fragile. Those who have met me know my mama bear hugs and I wasn't able to give her one due to her fragility and pain. (I do look forward to the day when we meet again and I can give her one!)

She was so frail physically, but never mentally. I remember the first time I saw a picture of her (I believe it was with Tucker being silly) and was shocked that her body and mind did not match at all!

She was truly an inspiration. I will miss her dearly. But I rejoice that she is with Jesus today!

It was only more recently that I learned she had a health condition, and she is not the only Narniaweb member in that situation. This brings a blessing to the rest of us as we get to share more of their time as they are not taken up with work and study.

Dear Kate, thank you for your cheerful input and kindness here. Your family will rightly miss you, but will also rejoice in your promotion to glory, where you can run and laugh, and sing and dance, and never miss a step or a breath.

Your Narniaweb name is on the keyboard of all the "Qwerty" systems, and that in itself is a memorial to you. Blessings and roars, dear Kathy!

I never had the privilege of meeting Kathy in person, but here on the forum she always seemed an example of courage and grace amid difficulties. Keeping her family and friends in prayer.

I'm still having a bit of trouble wrapping my mind around the fact that Q is Home, but this came to mind this morning as I was praying on my way in to work.

Lord,

She was with us for far too short a time, but thank You for letting her stay with us as long as You did. Please wrap your arms around her family and her friends and let them know Your love and comfort in this time.

Her race was shorter than ours, but in the time Q was here with us, she was a beacon in our lives. Even if, like me, one didn't know her as well as others Q showed us her steadfast heart, her sharp mind, her love for her family and her friends. She was always there and always accessible even if she was having a bad day with her health. Her fierce determination to live her life to the fullest left a mark on all she knew and thanks to the internet, she was able to share the gifts You gave her around the world.

One day, when our races are done and we join her with You, I imagine the line to give her a hug and talk to her will wrap around for miles. Thank You Lord for sharing her with us.

Please comfort her family and those she was closest to and allow all of us to turn our mourning into joy that she is at rest and full of health.

In Jesus name,
Amen

I am Kathy's daddy... and I wanted to tell you that you all were Kathy's dearest friends. She loved the daily interaction with you, and she shared your life stories with us. Through her, we got to know you, too! We are heartbroken that Kathy is gone... We will miss her presence, her creativity and her gracious spirit. But we will will not miss the suffering she had to endure for 27 years... Muscular Dystrophy took its toll on Kathy's body but never her mind. She loved Jesus Christ with all her heart, and without a doubt I know she is in Heaven right now... no more pain, no wheelchairs, no feeding tubes, no ventilators... and for that I am eternally glad. Thank you so much for being Kathy's friends...

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: “What! You too? I thought I was the only one." ~ C.S. Lewis

http://www.foundandsons.com/obituaries/Katherine-Walton

To Kathy's dear parents and her brother and sister, whom she so obviously dearly treasured,
I hope you know how much we are thinking about you all and praying for you. May you know the deep comfort of resting between the paws of the true Aslan, with the assurance that Kathy is in His amazing presence, whole and complete. What joy mingled with such grief.

Thanks so much for posting that, baptist! It was the greatest of honours to know Kathy, and we all can hardly wait to dance with her in heaven. And finally eat Aero chocolate bars together!

starkat, what a beautiful and meaningful prayer!

Kathy sent my son Evan a book called "Tucker's Tales" that she wrote about her cat Tucker. It's one of his favorite books, and my daughter Ariel loves it too. We read it all the time. Evan still follows my cat Murky around the house going "Two white socks, two white mittens, small pink nose" and "they love him very much."
So whether you meant it or not Kathy, I will have constant reminders of you thanks to my son and the book you gave him for his birthday.
I miss you so much already! But I'm soooo thankful that you are no longer in pain.
To the Walton family, my thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time. God bless you all!

I only really got to know Kathy when I became a mod, and I was touched by her kind and loving spirit. I was honored to get to know her better on Facebook. I loved her updates about her cat, Tucker. She will truly be misses on the forum, I still come on and half expect her to come by. I am glad her pain is over, and that she can walk and dance and eat properly.

To the Walton family, you are in my daily prayers, I think of you often. May God give you comfort in this difficult time.

I am so sorry to hear this. I never interacted with Kathy very much personally, but having browsed this forum for the past ten years, I always knew her name and appreciated her hard work as a moderator of this lovely community. Hearing all of these wonderful stories about her, I really wish I'd had the chance to get to know her better. I never once had any idea that she was suffering from such a serious condition... I feel like that's a testament to the strength of her spirit. My thoughts and prayers are with her family and her friends. (And that includes four-footed friends, too.)

I wanted to mention that, as of today, I'm still able to access the archive of the old forum. Tirian said that it would be taken down at the end of March last year, but as far as I can tell, that hasn't happened yet. I thought people would like to know about that in case they wanted to screencap any memories of Kathy on the old forum.

I didn't talk with Kathy very often, but when we did talk it was usually about things related to our health/disability. My neurological disorder isn't the same as Kathy's illness, but we still had some similar experiences. My diagnosis was still rather new when I became a moderator and first started interacting with Kathy more. She was supportive and offered advice, which I was very grateful for. The last message she sent me was when I was prescribed a cough assist device. She was willing to answer any questions I might have, but I didn't know what to ask because I didn't have it yet. My device still hasn't been delivered, but she doesn't need hers anymore.

The following is a speech that Kathy wrote and shared with her AWANA (church) group on Feb. 28, 1999, shortly before her spinal fusion surgery when she was 10 years old. I thought you might enjoy reading it:

"I was born December 28, 1988, in the country of Malaysia. I was a healthy baby, but my hands were bent clear down to my wrists, my hips were dislocated, and my muscles were very weak. The doctors did not know what I had. After we came back to America, they finally figured it out. It's a big word--Congenital Fiber-Type Disproportion (CFTD) myopathy, or Muscular Dystrophy. When I was three years old, they took me to the hospital, put me to sleep, and took a piece of muscle out of my leg. This kind of operation is called a biopsy.

Three years ago I got this wheelchair, and I have been wearing leg braces since I was four. Being in the chair is pretty comfortable most of the time. However, sometimes it's exasperating. When I went to public school, everybody would fight over who got to push. One day we were on the playground, and I was with two of my friends, Jessica and Gina. Jessica had been pushing a long time, and Gina wanted a turn. She started to cry because Jessica said, "No". I said, "You can push me the rest of the week." Then Jessica got mad and walked away. As for the braces, they are comfy most of the time, but sometimes they itch. If I don't wear my braces, my feet will turn in, and I'll never be able to wear shoes. Someday, when I go to heaven, I won't need braces or a wheelchair.

When I see kids roller blading, or riding a bike, or jumping rope, I sometimes feel left out. However, I can encourage kids when they're learning to roller blade or ride a bike, and I can turn the rope so they can jump. Sometimes, I get kind of sad when I can't do what the other kids do...like when we went to the circus and my sister and brother got to ride the elephant, but I couldn't. At home, when we go outside, we have a fort that has a slide and swings, and I can't do any of them. But sometimes, I'm happy when I see kids playing, especially when they're little kids. There are lots of things I can play and do...like board games, puzzles, read, write, play dolls, stay home by myself, do crafts and art, and be a good friend. I have something that is better than running, jumping, and playing games, and that is Jesus Christ.

Last year my doctor said to take the back brace off and see what happened. So we saw what it was like and now my curve is worse. I will have surgery down at UVA and stay there for a week. First, they're going to give me an I.V. and then I will go to sleep. It's going to take five hours, and when I wake up, I'll be in Intensive Care. My mom and dad are going to take turns staying with me. It sounds scary, and is, but I know Jesus will take care of me.

Tonight, I have to go to Charlottesville after AWANA to have another sleep test. The reason they want to do it is to see how I breathe at night. Last time I got to sleep in a room all by myself. At first, I got to see a movie, then I got to read, and then I got ready for bed. Next came the "gooey" part. They had these wires. Then, they put stickers on them, one by each eye, one behind each ear, one on my forehead, three on my chin, and the grossest part...four on my head! They finally let me go to sleep at 12:30, and then when I was finally asleep, they came back in because something wasn't working. That's why I have to go again tonight. In the morning, they woke me up to take the wires off. Whew! Dad and I went to Shoney's to eat, and then we went home. Hopefully, this is the last time.

I want to thank you for praying for me, and I'll see you next week."

Kathy Walton - age 10

May you rest in peace, qwertykate.

You were such a kind and inspirational person not only to those you met in real life, but here as well - touching people all across the world.

I didn't have a great deal of interaction with you, but when I did you were very kind and gracious, and even here one could tell that your spirit was strong and full of life. When I first joined, I remember thinking how clever your username was, and as others have said, every time we type on a keyboard it will serve as a tribute to you and your memory

Although we are saddened and we shall miss you, we all know you have made it home with the Lord and that he has healed you made you new again.

We will never forget you.