By Joanne Jamrosz
Like hundreds of other skaters, Christie Kievit was thrilled to compete at the 2020 Midwestern Adult Sectional Figure Skating Championships in early March. It was one of the few significant competitions held before the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was also a personal victory for a very determined young woman.
Kievit, a member and Learn to Skate USA coach at the Winter Club of Indianapolis, has lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Lupus is an autoimmune disease where the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue and organs.
“For me, it attacks the skin, joints and digestive system, ” Kievit said. “Though I was diagnosed in 2016, we think I expressed symptoms as far back as 2008. At the time, we did not know why or understand why I wasn’t feeling well. Toward the end of college and just after college is right when it started to take a turn for the worst.”
Kievit had severe, immobilizing joint pain, abdominal pain, fainting and was in a constant state of flu-like symptoms.
The year 2014 was also the last time she competed on the ice. Kievit started learn to skate classes at 7 and graduated to private lessons at 10. In college, she skated for the University of Delaware Intercollegiate Skating Team and competed in junior short and championship freestyle events.
“I spent about three years being almost completely house-ridden,” Kievit said. “I was so fortunate that my boyfriend, Jordan Griffin, now my husband, was able to work from home sometimes. He often had to help me get up and down the stairs because my joints were so stiff. Words can’t express the shock it was for me to go from practicing triple jumps while training in Delaware to needing assistance to stand.”
After her diagnosis, Kievit’s rheumatologist told her she would probably never return to skating. The news was crushing.
“I had planned to compete in adult skating and become a skating coach and choreographer after college,” Kievit said. “Skating was everything to me. The love of skating is the thing that helped me through some dark spots in my childhood, and now I didn’t have it anymore. I ended up fighting through a very dark depression, and it even got to the point where I contemplated taking my own life.”
However, Kievit drew on one small hope. As a child, she was always known as a bouncy, energetic kid who always ran around telling people to never give up and stay positive.
“Despite everything I was going through as an adult, that positive attitude kid was in there in me somewhere. So that’s when I decided I was not going to let this disease get me down,” Kievit said.
She put all her efforts into making some daily lifestyle changes that worked for her.
“It took years of trial and error to find out what my lupus triggers were,” Kievit said. “The process was far from easy. Like a roller coaster, there were many ups and downs.”
“It was all about embracing change,” Kievit said. “You can accomplish the same goal but in a different way or a slightly different version of your goal.”
In 2019, Kievit felt well enough to join the Winter Club and was approached by coach Patty Hagen to join the Circle City Adult Theatre On Ice Team.
“I’m so glad I did. Patty and the rest of the team were so supportive. I often had to take breaks in the middle of practice and sit out sometimes, but they all made me feel welcome.” Kievit said.
This year, Kievit reached a point where she could get through a masters dramatic showcase program and committed to going to Adult Midwestern Sectionals.
It wasn’t difficult to choose a program. Skating to the song “Head Above Water” by Avril Lavigne, Kievit dedicated her program to those suffering from lupus.
“The song itself is about her fight with Lyme disease, which is another debilitating condition,” Kievit said. “I decided to take the same message and apply it to lupus. I wore purple butterfly wings because the butterfly is the symbol of lupus warriors. It resembles the malar skin rash on the face, which is the classic symptom of lupus. Purple is also the ribbon color for lupus.”
Kievit was thrilled for her second-place finish and looked forward to performing the program once again at the 2020 U.S. Adult Championships in Newark, Delaware, until it was canceled.
“Practicing acceptance during this very difficult time has been very important, and I’ve really been focusing on it because we haven’t been skating right now.”
Kievit shared her program on the Adult Competitive Skaters page on Facebook.
“I’m happy I was able to share my routine on social media because I think the message extends to everyone during this hard time,” Kievit said.
She credits the many people who have supported her through her lupus journey, especially her husband, Jordan.
“At heart, I am a storyteller,” Kievit said. “Though it may feel like it, life is not set in stone. Like a butterfly, it can change. It might be a messy and difficult change, but it is worth fighting for.”
