In Focus

Banished from the Garden

Wounded Warrior

For the last two years, Dewey has struggled to paint and draw these pieces through a haze of incessant pain and the medication taken to alleviate that agony. Dewey suffers from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome (RSDS), an often-debilitating condition that occurs after a significant injury and causes severe discomfort in the arms, legs, and other parts of the body.

But things have not always been this way for Susan Dewey.

Twenty years ago, Dewey met Bill Catling, MFA, current APU professor of Art. At the time, Dewey was a high school student, and Catling was in his first year of teaching at Bridgemont Christian High School in San Francisco. Catling was impressed with her photography and artwork from the beginning. "She was very creative and energetic," he said.

Following graduation, student and teacher lost touch, but reconnected in 1988 when Dewey joined the Bible fellowship group Catling and his wife led, rededicated her life to Christ, and was baptized.

In Spring 1989, Dewey was underneath a sink in her San Francisco apartment when the fixture detached from the wall and collapsed on her. She suffered a severe spinal cord injury, causing extensive damage to her nervous system, pelvic bone, and vertebrae. Her pain lingered and worsened, eventually preventing her from leaving her home and even her bed. Doctors diagnosed her with RSDS in 1991.

After her injury, Dewey spent most of her time and energy coping with her daily anguish, and little if any, on her artwork.

Although Catling had moved from San Francisco in 1990, the two remained close. Catling offered emotional and spiritual support, as well as advice and books on art.

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