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Dianne Sims, a terminally ill Stratford woman living with end-stage multiple sclerosis, is raising money for her medical expenses by selling greeting cards featuring her hand-drawn sketches as well as commissioned paintings.
Diane Sims, a terminally ill Stratford woman whose doctors didn’t expect to live beyond the middle of last year, is raising money for her medication and other medical expenses by selling cards featuring her hand-drawn sketches as well as commissioned paintings. Recently certified as a wedding officiant, Sims is also using what time she has left to help bring joy to the lives of people looking to get married through her new business, Weddings on Wheels. Galen Simmons/The Beacon Herald/Postmedia Network
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When Diane Sims’ doctors told her last spring that she likely had only three months to live, the Stratford woman living with multiple sclerosis, who had undergone multiple surgeries over her lifetime to remove cancerous tumors from her lower abdomen, had to to make a choice.
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She can let her prognosis break her spirit and positive outlook on life, or she can continue to do what she loves.
As a journalist and author, Sims’ greatest passion has always been storytelling, but thanks to a lifelong love of art and some motivation and guidance from friend and renowned Manitoulin Island artist Ivan Wheel, Sims embraced a new creative outlet through sketching and drawing as a way to keep from thinking about his health.
“Before (getting my forecast) in June 2020 … (Ivan) convinced me to put brush to canvas,” Sims said. “He just saw so much creativity in me, he said I want you to do this.”
Sims said she initially resisted the idea because her 4th grade art teacher told her she was terrible at art, a comment that scarred her for life and prevented her from exploring the medium of visual arts . But when an artist of Weale’s reputation and talent suggests he take up the brush, Sims says it’s advice worth heeding.
About six months later, another friend sent Simms a copy of artist and writer Betty Edwards’ book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, which she worked on for seven months to learn to sketch.
“I knew I was sick that winter. My doctor couldn’t figure it out, but I knew it,” Sims said. ” … I had been a vegetarian since I had a bowel obstruction, and I ate whatever I thought was good for me. Finally (at the end of March 2021) they did a CT (scan) and the entire ascending transverse descending colon was full of fiber. Then they found out that one side of my intestine was stuck to the wall and that’s because… I had eight abdominal surgeries for cancer. … I had hundreds of adhesions (as a result of these surgeries).
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“And then there’s MS. … MS has really weakened (my gut). So one side can’t really do anything because it’s blocked, and the other side (is also) very weak now.”
Sims has been in and out of the hospital more than a dozen times in the past year and has nurses and personal support workers come to her home several times a week. While hospital trips and home care are covered by OHIP, she takes a number of medications prescribed by a world-renowned gastroenterologist in London that are not covered by insurance.
“And because of my condition, my medical expenses for medical supplies are very high every month,” Sims said.
With Weale’s encouragement, Sims decided to turn six of her favorite sketches—which she drew from memory and photographs she took on trips to Manitoulin Island and elsewhere in the province—into greeting cards, which she sold on commission at several retailers. site, including Turners on Little Current on Manitoulin Island, as well as Blowes Stationary and Office Supplies and Treasures in Stratford.
“What I love about Manitoulin are the split-rail fences,” Sims said, referring to the images included in several of the sketches she printed on maps. “… I’ll take more pictures up there.”
Although the greeting cards bring in a little extra cash, Sims also offers custom painting as a way to help cover her medical expenses. Anyone interested in ordering a painting can contact Sims by calling 226-921-4790 or emailing dianesims@rogers.com.
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And as if drawing, sketching and continuing to work as a freelance journalist and author weren’t enough, Sims also recently became certified as a wedding officiant and just launched her new business, Weddings on Wheels, not so much as a way to make a little extra cash , but as a way to inspire joy and gratitude.
“Part of life in gratitude and joy; it’s life-affirming,” Sims said. “I think being able to celebrate a couple is life-affirming. It had been on my heart for several years to take this course, so I took a leap of faith and now have the certificate and official state license.”
The name of her business, Sims explained, came after a friend told her that no one would hire a wedding officiant in a wheelchair. However, Sims took it as a challenge to prove that people with disabilities can achieve anything they set their minds to.
“So I called my business Weddings on Wheels out of fun,” Sims said. “My professional photo shows the angle of my wheelchair, but as you can see, (my wheelchair) lifts to a normal height. … I’m ready to go (and) I’ve been handing out business cards around town.
” … It’s part of affirming gratitude and joy, and my business card says, “Inspiring with joy and gratitude.” ”
For more information about Weddings on Wheels, call 226-921-4790, email dianesimsweddingofficiant@gmail.com or visit dianesimsofficiant.com.
gsimmons@postmedia.com
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