Biography
K. A. Taylor also known as Katrina Ann Taylor was born on February 24, 1981 in Meridian, MS to David and Shirley Taylor. Taylor was raised in a small nearby town as an only child. At the age of 8, Taylor began piano lessons, the later dance and gymnastics at Newton County Dance and Gymnastics where Taylor continued lessons until the age of 15. Taylor has won numerous awards in all three areas and had thoughts of attending a school in PA for Arts.
At the age of 18 Taylor lost her father to a stroke on Christmas Day 1999 before the family had completely unwrapped all of the gifts to each other. Soon after the death of Taylor's father, she married to Newell Palmer soon after and had a son October 2000 and named him after her father, David. Taylor divorced soon after the birth of her son and continued college at East Central Community College working toward a nursing degree, originally wanted to be a neurologist.
At the age of 22, Taylor graduated from Meridian Community College from the registered nurse program. Immediately after graduation Taylor worked on the women's unit at a St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson, MS. Taylor rotated through different units toward the end of her two years to gain much experience to eventually leave St. Dominic Hospital to travel nurse. While working at St. Dominic, Taylor married March 26, 2004 to Mark Hale in New Orleans, LA. September 1, 2004, they had a son, Nathan Hale.
June 5, 2005 Taylor and her family began the travel nursing experience. Taylor’s first assignment was for a 13 week contract in Little Rock, AR.
Multiple Sclerosis
Memorial Weekend 2006 Taylor had her first symptom of multiple sclerosis while working at a hospital in Phoenix, AZ; she woke up with her entire left leg numb and tingling. She ignored her symptoms and went on to work for her regular shift as a post-surgical nurse. Taylor was soon sent to the emergency room after her morning shift began since the numbness and tingling was spreading up her body. She was then admitted to the hospital on a telemetry unit for tests and treatment of a complicated migraine.
The month of June went well for Taylor and she moved to Gilbert, AZ to work for Banner Health in Mesa, AZ. Taylor was assigned to Mesa Hospital, but she would also work at the other three facilities in Mesa and did travel back to Phoenix for a few shifts.
July 2006, Taylor became sick again with numbness of her right left and severe migraines which her left to cancel many of her scheduled shifts. Taylor soon went downhill with her health with difficulty walking, dizziness, fatigue, migraines, numbness/tingling from the waist down. Taylor worked until she collapsed at the nurses’ station. She was taken to the emergency room by her husband, Mark Hale on August 1, 2006 and she was then diagnosed with multiple sclerosis by a MRI, Lumbar Puncture, and physical assessment were all abnormal. Multiple lesions were discovered. Taylor’s MRI was not abnormal just a few months prior to her diagnosis.
September 2006 Taylor and her family moved back to her hometown in Mississippi. “MS brought me back MS” jokes Taylor. Taylor and her family moved in with her mother, Shirley. Taylor tried time and time again to go back to work but failed until her August 2007 attempt at a facility in Meridian, where she worked for nine months until the day in April 2008 when her legs quit working while at work. Taylor was wheeled off the floor in her own wheelchair.
Mark and Taylor separated August 2008, when he left her taking both sons because of Taylor’s severe depression and nervous breakdowns from her illness. The divorce was final February 4, 2009.
April 28, 2008, Taylor was declared disabled by her physicians. Taylor finally won social security disability after three denials and one appeal with the help of her lawyer in February 16, 2010.
Writing
Taylor wrote her first book, Accidentally Awake: Tragedies beginning July 2008 when she originally wanted to write a book about her life. Taylor wrote about her father’s death January 3, 2000 and then turned her story fiction soon after the first few chapters in her book. It took Taylor eight months to write Accidentally Awake: Tragedies.
“I named my book Accidentally Awake: Tragedies because that is the way I felt, accidentally awake. It was like my life was not my own anymore. I was watching from the outside as this movie was playing and I had no control over it, my own life,” writes Taylor.
While inpatient seeking treatment for her nervous breakdown before her divorce from Mark was final, Taylor began writing poetry. Taylor says, “Writing in my journal helped me live, so did writing my feelings through my poems helped me survive through this mess of my life.”
After Taylor’s boyfriend left her, she decided not to become depressed but to write a book of 50 poems since the company which published, Accidentally Awake: Tragedies also published poetry. Taylor wrote 30 poems in one week, she finished her poems late September 2009 in which she began the book with only 11 poems in August 2009. She titled her book of actually 52 poems, From Inspirational Thoughts to the Heart’s Struggles.
Recently, Taylor has been working on a second Accidentally Awake, subtitled Loneliness. While working on her new book, she has also written and published a total of 51 poems in which she titled, Deep Emotions of Reality.
Taylor is now focusing on finishing Accidentally Awake: Loneliness. Taylor has rekindled her relationship with her ex-boyfriend Chad Case and Nathan lives primarily with his father, Mark. Taylor has full-custody of her older son, David.
