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Jami Hawkins
Columbia, SC
Jami Hawkins, 48, who was diagnosed with MS in 2001, received a Betaseron® Champions of Courage (BCC) grant to help build a permanent, handicapped-accessible labyrinth in downtown Columbia, SC. A labyrinth is a series of interconnected pathways marked by hedges, stones, concrete pavers, wood or other material, that invites walking and meditation. A growing body of evidence suggests that the walking of labyrinths may provide long-term health benefits including reducing anxiety, lowering blood pressure and reducing chronic pain.
The new labyrinth will be located on the grounds of the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary near a busy downtown thoroughfare and convenient to area hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and retirement communities. It will be well-lit and open to the public 24 hours a day for walking, educational programs and outreach events. With the BCC grant and other donations, the Columbia Labyrinth Committee expects to be able to break ground on the labyrinth in the spring of 2005.
Jami was introduced to labyrinth walking by her teenage daughter, who had experienced it during summer camp. Shortly thereafter, she was diagnosed with MS and her 8-year marriage ended in divorce. Labyrinth walking and walking meditations helped her to deal with her new circumstances and to move forward with her life. “I had never been in such a low place,” she recalls. “I was galvanized to action. The idea for a labyrinth germinated from that dark place.”
Since her diagnosis, Jami has presented many programs on the healing and spiritual powers of the labyrinth. She brings a portable labyrinth made of canvas to conferences and shows participants how to do finger labyrinths using a small diagram. She initiated the campaign to build a permanent labyrinth in Columbia because it would allow for more programs on the healing powers of meditation.
The mother of two teenagers, Jami does not want to be perceived as “sick.” Most people can’t even tell she has MS because her symptoms -- tingling, skin sensitivity and loss of feeling in her legs -- are invisible to the outside world. Fatigue that she describes as “beyond all understanding” is the most debilitating part of her illness. Energetic by nature, Jami has learned to rest when necessary, but still manages to run three miles every morning and work full-time at a local church as a communications and learning ministry associate. Volunteer work has also remained an important part of her life.
Jami says having MS has forced her to take better care of herself. “I am more compassionate toward others with chronic illness, I spend more time in spiritual pursuits, and I value each day as a gift.”
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