KIRO traffic reporter Kimi Kline reveals something very personal

You may know Kimi Kline for the sweet voice booming over your radio every seven minutes as she delivers your traffic. But to us, she’s also a friend and colleague.

We’ve recently learned that Kimi is battling Multiple Sclerosis. She’s doing it with grace and determination – and she’s doing what she can to help the experts find a cure.

Read about Kimi’s journey and how you can get involved in the Walk MS 2014… and then join Kimi’s team.

I’m about to reveal something not many people know about me. I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when I was 25. Young enough to slow the progression. But also at an age where my adult life was just beginning. Talk about a buzz kill. The symptoms were scary: temporary blindness, numb feet & hands, tingling, fatigue, loss of balance & vision, etc. I self injected my medicine 3x a week for the first few years. It sucked. But thanks to research and new drugs, I am able to take a single pill a day. No more needles! It’s truly amazing. And I’m somewhat stable, which means the drugs are working. But there’s no cure – at least yet.

I don’t talk about this to many people. I guess I don’t want to show weakness. And I definitely don’t want sympathy, because everyone gets dealt something real crummy in their lives. This was one of mine.

I really believe we are close to finding a cure – but it takes research. That takes money. Please consider donating to our team. From the purest, deepest part of my heart, I thank you for your support.

xo kimi

Kimi said she was just finishing up her degree and working full time, so she wasn’t too worried about not feeling great. But when the numbness began spreading to her abdomen, she knew something wasn’t right.

“Did a whole bunch of tests and basically, at the end of it they said ‘you have Multiple Sclerosis.'”

Kimi said she didn’t know anything about MS and she started off giving herself treatments a few times a week to slow the progression.

Since then, the number of treatments have increased and she’s able to take a daily pill.

“One of the symptoms I had when I first started working for you guys in the airplane – I went blind in one eye for a whole month.”

Kimi has been keeping this to herself for about eight years – “I don’t want to seem weak, I don’t want people to think ‘Ugh, so she’s going to have issues later, let’s not keep her around.’ I didn’t want people to sympathize..That’s not what I’m looking for. So many other people have it worse than me.”

She said it was a tough decision to post something on Facebook and she’s cried a lot today from the outpouring of support.

Kimi said she’s still processing the reaction, but she believes increased awareness and dialogue can only help find a cure…or cause.