Kathy Jo Thompson Facing Challenges by focusing on God

By Marilyn Stewart, Regional Reporter

COVINGTON – Pretty and petite, Kathy Jo Thompson jumped at the chance to be athletic trainer for the LSU football team in what turned out to be their 2008 national championship year. Now battling a debilitating condition, Kathy Jo faces an even greater challenge, though it’s a journey she says she doesn’t regret.

“She’s my hero,” said Delos Thompson, Kathy Jo’s father.

A loss of balance and numbness of hands during Kathy Jo Thompson’s final semester at LSU brought back a diagnosis of neurofibromatosis, type 2, a genetic disorder that typically produces benign tumors in the brain and spinal cord.