Raising money to pay medical debt, local artist see’s community support on recent map project
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IDAHO FALLS — She leads a life full of color and expression, but complicated by health issues. A local mother of three and artist is selling her digital creations to help pay her medical debt while connecting with the community through her work.
Krystal Leonardson, owner of Krystal Leonardson Art, draws on an iPad and has been creating since she was young.
She told EastIdahoNews.com she creates art as a calming reprieve at the end of the day while dealing with various health complications.
A complicated diagnosis
It wasn’t until 2018 that she was officially diagnosed with Marfan syndrome. According to the Marfan Foundation’s website, Marfan Syndrome is a chronic condition that affects the body’s connective tissue.
Due to this condition, what might’ve been a small injury became more severe. One of the most recent injuries Leonardson sustained was tearing her labrum and the rotator cuff on her right side. Leonardson said that she had a stroke in 2014 and has had multiple surgeries.
The syndrome also affects her vital organs, which has caused her to have multiple surgeries over the years. Some of these were on her kidneys, which were connected in a horseshoe shape.
She had three surgeries for this while she was pregnant with her third child, which required her to be awake to protect the baby. This also had complications, as Leonardson also has a protein S deficiency, which led to her getting septic.
Another health complication Leonardson has is a patent foramen ovale closure, which is typically a small, pin-sized hole inside the heart, but hers was about the size of a dime.
To surgically repair that hole, a metal mesh is inserted, but due to the size, it required a large metal mesh to be placed in her heart. This would cause another complication if an automatic external defibrillator had to be used on her.
Diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, which has caused her to pass out in the past. She said that if a good Samaritan uses an AED to try to save her, it could have the opposite effect.
“You have to live your life differently, like with a lot of precautions and a lot of reservations about what you’re capable of doing,” Leonardson said.
Healing by creating
When she makes art, Leonardson said, she has to be careful with her posture to avoid pain as she draws.
Earlier this month, she underwent surgery on her neck to treat a series of bulging discs she has in her back, from C1 to T1.
“There are some times that I can’t draw because of those physical limitations,” Leonardson said.
She started selling artwork to pay medical bills from the surgeries she’s had over the past couple of years and to help her family.
Since January, Leonardson has been selling her artwork at the Idaho Falls Farmers Markets, where she sells prints and personalized pet or house portraits.
This year, she has enjoyed meeting and connecting with so many people at the market, which has enabled her to connect with three other community members with Marfan syndrome.
“Between the four of us now, we have just about every Marfan surgery that has to happen for a human being,” she said, laughing.
However, hearing their stories and connecting with them has humbled her, as others have faced even more difficult times because of Marfan syndrome.
“It’s unfortunate that we have to share the similarity, but it’s incredible being able to connect with them,” Leonardson said.
Finding success
One connection that surprised her came when she posted a drawn map of Idaho Falls, which generated interest on Facebook, with over 20,000 people seeing it.
Although she had the idea for a while, she wanted to make something unique that shows the city’s buildings.
Doing her drawing digitally let her take photos of buildings like the Idaho Falls Zoo and the Museum of Idaho and place them on the map without losing detail.
She said it takes her about two to three hours to draw each building.
Because of this initial map, she has partnered with the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce, the Museum of Idaho, the ARTitorium and the Colonial Theater to create a new map to sell or display at their businesses.
The new map will be similar to the Idaho Falls one but will feature downtown businesses.
A one-time $100 fee is required to feature a business on the map. For those who want only the building drawn, the fee is $50.
“I really want to take the opportunity to put these businesses on the map and build up our community, one building at a time, of this amazing, rich, historic downtown,” Leonardson said.
Family first
While she is grateful for the community’s support, she also expressed appreciation for her family and the support they have given her to pursue this goal, whether it’s support from her husband, Randy, or comfy days with her children, Aspen, Rylee and Colt, doing easy, non-physical activities like puzzles or drawing.
While it frustrates her that she can’t be the mom who can run around with her kids in the backyard, Leonardson finds joy when her children see her run her business.
“I want to give my kids every opportunity in life,” Leonardson said. “(It) just makes my heart so happy that they can see that there’s success in it and anything that you want to pursue.”