A local nurse has found her career left in a standstill and her family in financial need following a diagnosis that has left her fighting to maintain use of her body.

Kari Roles Naum moved to the area from California when she was 4 years old. She attended kindergarten in Columbia before moving to Waterloo, her family bouncing back and forth between the two communities.

Naum graduated from Waterloo High School in 2004, stepping into higher education as she received an associate’s degree in political science from Southwestern Illinois College – though work also kept her plenty busy.

Her education ultimately culminated some years later as, having returned to school, she earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Maryville University from 2018 to 2021.

The road to earning that degree, as she explained, was far from straight, as work kept her busy even as she was actively working toward her degree, taking classes when she had the time. Naum noted it was thanks to her husband’s company offering a scholarship for working adults that she was able to ultimately get her degree.

As part of her nursing education, she did an externship with St. Luke’s Hospital in Chesterfield, Mo., getting experience in pre- and post-op surgical as she was hired on as a student nurse associate.

This title came as she was studying for her board certification. She was hired at St. Luke’s as a graduate nurse and, upon passing her board, she was brought on as a full registered nurse.

While she spent some more time at St. Luke’s, budget cuts led to her ultimately finding a job elsewhere at Saint Louis University Hospital in the OR.

This relatively brief but still substantial nursing career came about, as Naum explained, as she was “bitten by the healthcare bug.”

“I was working at an attorney’s office at the time, and I thought I wanted to go to law school,” Naum said. “And then I found more interest in healthcare. At one point I was considering going for a physician’s assistant… but I realized that nursing was more of the path that I wanted to go down instead.”

Offering further background on herself, Naum said she and her husband Jon had their daughter Cecili in 2021. The couple having been married at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church, Cecili was likewise baptized there.

She also noted her love for Taylor Swift – a passion she shares with Cecili – as well as how she enjoys spending her time with friends and family and finds great enjoyment being outside, on the beach or at concerts.

Further, Naum mentioned her passions of shopping and travel, with more musical loves being Eminem, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Post Malone and Alexandra Kay.

She’s also found a love for singing and is hopeful about learning the guitar.

These interests and her budding nursing career have been upended in the past year, however, as Naum has found herself in a battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, better known simply as ALS.

She recalled how, near the end of March of last year, she was experiencing motor issues with her left hand after coming inside from the cold. Things were otherwise normal as she stayed warm, however.

From August to October, things got worse as she began to notice other motor difficulties, with dexterity issues making it hard to open things – a particularly big problem in the OR – and her index finger bending down as if constantly contracted.

Seeing a doctor, an electromyographic nerve conduction test was done in October, with the results indicating ALS and a series of blood work leading to a diagnosis soon after in November.

Naum was then referred to the Washington University ALS clinic, with quarterly visits set.

She explained that she is also pursuing other avenues to help address her symptoms.

“I’m also seeing a functional medicine doctor and clinic, and we’re doing other things besides just, ‘Hey, here’s a pill for ALS,’” Naum said. “We’re trying dietary changes, vitamins, supplements, just different therapies that have been shown to help slow the progression of ALS. I’ve also gotten some other testing done as well, and we’re kind of following a protocol with that.”

Naum offered further details on how her body is being affected, with the impact largely felt with her left hand as her index finger is essentially fully bent alongside her middle finger.

She also noted muscle wasting and atrophy on her left hand and arm, with her fine motor skills heavily impacted.

Her right arm, she said, is comparatively better, though she still feels that it’s slightly weaker.

In general, she noted that she tends to get tired much easier lately. Walking and breathing haven’t been impacted, but she has encountered muscle spasms in her arms and occasionally her legs.

Medication, therapy and supplements seem to be having a positive impact.

With her and the family’s day-to-day life heavily affected as Naum has been forced to step away from work, a GoFundMe campaign was started thanks to her sister, and a few other fundraising efforts have likewise begun in the community.

These fundraisers have been united under the umbrella of “Kari’s Fearless Era Tour,” so named given Naum’s love for Taylor Swift.

These have included a gift card raffle in both Waterloo and Columbia and an upcoming dinner and mouse race fundraiser.

Naum expressed her appreciation for the support the community has shown her, also speaking more on the genuine need for the support.

“The reason that we’re asking for help is because I’ve been unable to work,” Naum said. “All of the alternative treatments and therapies that we’re trying – not just the $5-a-month medicine right now – the other medication is, like, $15,000-a-month… Insurance doesn’t cover anything except for the basic medication. Out of pocket costs are totalling $3,000-a-month.”

She emphasized that she and her family are by no means taking the diagnosis lying down. On her end, she has pushed to find work she can do at home, with TikTok (karmic224) and Instagram (kari_naum) proving to be good creative outlets as she tries to spread the word and ask for support.

“Basically, my husband, my family, my friends, everyone, we’re doing anything and everything we possibly can,” Naum said. “We’re not just taking this diagnosis for what it is.”

Naum further emphasized her hopes and plans to fight ALS as hard as she can, pointing to cases where the disease has been slowed or reversed in recent years as a source of hope.

“I’m living with the thought that this isn’t the end of my journey, it is somehow just a crazy new beginning to something that maybe I am meant to do,” Naum said.

Those looking to support Naum and her family can do so through the GoFundMe campaign at gofund.me/944a1223.

A trivia night in Kari’s honor takes place March 22 at Andre’s in South St. Louis County.