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Chesapeake's Kara Blanchard doesn't let a diagnosis dim her light

<p>Kara leads the Cougars' huddle during a Thursday practice with a smile.</p>

First, it was numbness in her feet. Then, it was blurry vision.

Longtime basketball and lacrosse player Kara Blanchard began experiencing strange physical ailments last April while on the field, playing for Chesapeake High School. She was alarmed by the numbness in her feet, but doctors expected the feeling, or lack thereof, would fade away with time. But when December rolled around and she began struggling to see things clearly on the court, she made a return visit to the doctor.

The verdict at the end of 2016 was crushing: Kara has Multiple Scerlosis.

She's learned how to maintain physical health through things like diet, and her long-term prognosis is good. Through the entire process, she's been the rock most would expect a teenager would need to lean on during a time like this.

Photo credit (in video): Julie Persell, Chesapeake High School parent

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