Kelly Molkenthin has been with the Action Duchenne team since March. She’s sharing a bit more about how she got here, what she’s been up to and what she’s working on.
It has been just over 3 months since I joined the Action Duchenne team as a Support Worker, although in the best kind of way it feels like much feels much longer. The team here are an amazing bunch of people; welcoming, friendly and great fun. We all work remotely, which has taken a bit of getting used to (I need to stop eating all the biscuits in the house), but everyone is on hand virtually to help at any time.
How it started
So what brought me to apply for the job in the first place? I’ve actually been involved with the charity since 2016 because a very special little man in my life has DMD. My good friend Lizzie (who works here too!) and I have known each other for far too long. She has two sons – Sebastian’s 9 and Toby’s 6. Sebastian was diagnosed with DMD in 2016.
As with any diagnosis of this nature, it was a huge shock. However, Action Duchenne were there to listen and support Lizzie and her family and friends in many different ways. My family and I decided that we wanted to give something back to this fantastic charity that was doing so much for the Duchenne community. I have two sons (Samuel is 15 and Elliot is 12) and a husband who likes to run (a lot!). My sons and I did some cake sales outside our house to raise money but we still wanted to do more. That’s when my husband Stuart, had the crazy idea of running the London Marathon for Action Duchenne. In 2018 he completed his challenge, in the hottest race they have ever had. Together we raised £5000 for Action Duchenne. Ever since then we have carried on raising money in the form of cake sales at schools and more recently in 2022, I hiked the Yorkshire 3 Peaks!
In my professional life I am a Person Centred Therapeutic Counsellor and I have been running my own private practice in Lincoln since 2018. I have done this whilst working for a local domestic abuse charity and as a family support worker in a primary school. I started to look for the next challenge and that’s when I came across the support worker role with Action Duchenne. It was such an exciting opportunity, and I really felt that my career has led me to this point. I wanted to work for the charity that had done and continues to do so much for families and those living with DMD. In January I was successful in securing the role and on 1st March 2023 I joined the team in Welwyn Garden City at Roche Pharmaceuticals for a collaboration day. It was fantastic to meet the whole team on my first day with Action Duchenne and I came away so excited to get started!
How it’s going
Along with supporting families over the phone, via email and video calls, I have also had amazing opportunities to get out and about in our community. On 19th May I went to Sheffield to an event organised by Isaac. Isaac lives with Duchenne but that definitely does not define him. He’s a fantastic chef and has an avid interest in 70’s/80’s synth pop music! The evening was a quiz night with a 3 course meal, which was delicious!
Another highlight was travelling to The Calvert Trust in Exmoor for a 3 day residential trip with a group of brilliant young people. This was an adventure weekend full of abseiling, archery, canoeing and much more as part of our Yes I Can programme. This project provides much needed support for young people Iiving with Duchenne during their transition into adulthood. It was such a privilege to be part of the weekend and to meet some of the incredible young men in our community.
I have also had the opportunity to go to one of our amazing Science on Tour events in Lincoln. These events are an introduction to the science behind DMD and how its occurs. It also gives us the opportunity to get into our communities and talk to families, friends, school professionals and pharmaceutical companies about what we are doing as a charity and the support we can offer.
What’s to come
I am excited to be project lead for a new and exciting programme, funded by the National Lottery, which offers group counselling for adults. I am thrilled to be able to offer this new online provision which will be at no cost to the adult attending the sessions. Any adult affected by the complex reality of Duchenne, including parents, grandparents, family members and friends, will be eligible to access it. We will be running the sessions online, over an 8 week period starting in September/October 2023. I am still finalising all the finer details of the programme so I’d love you to get in contact with me so I can tailor these sessions to be as accessible as possible.
Group talking therapy is a supportive and safe environment to share how you are feeling and how your life and close relationships are affected by DMD. The 8 week block of sessions will cover topics such as anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, learning coping skills and anticipatory grief.
If you would like to have the opportunity to be considered for this free group counselling please send me an email titled:
“Expression of interest – Group counselling” to kelly.molkenthin@actionduchenne.org
So as you can see my first 3 months at Action Duchenne have been very busy and extremely fulfilling. I am really looking forward to meeting more of our community at our Annual Conference in Hinckley, Leicester on 10th/11th November 2023 when I’ll be on hand for anyone who’d like support.
Please just drop me an email, text or whatsapp and I will be more than happy to chat with you.
Thanks for reading!
Kelly
kelly.molknthin@actionduchenne.org
text/whatsapp/call: 07507611617
