Debbie Kingan

Debbie Kingan is, by her own definition, a clothes-alcoholic.

Her personal disclosure is soundly affirmed by the 4 regular closets and the 10 by 12 walk-in closet where this clothes horse systematically stores the garments she has collected for over 15 years.

In addition Debbie estimates that she owns somewhere around 40 coats, 80 pairs of shoes, 70 pairs of sneakers, 60 purses, and 90 watches.

In fact her devotion to clothes and accessories is so complete that she pinpoints some of her significant life moments by items of apparel.

“When I was 12 years old, I used the first babysitting money I ever earned to buy a pair of burnt orange, wide wale corduroy pants and a black criss cross top.”

” When I got divorced in 1974, I splurged and bought myself a pair of one hundred and fifty dollar fur boots, which was a lot of money in those days.”

” And when I die, I’m planning on being buried in sequins.”

When asked why what she wears is such a significant part of her life, Debbie’s eyes sparkle and she replies with a warm and inviting smile.

“It’s part of my image.”

The image to which the 63 year young Buffalo native refers includes her long running professional identity as a jewelry appraiser and salesperson at the Gold and Pearl Studio in Hamburg.

There Debbie advises and cares for customers who often return because of her warm-hearted presence.

Yet truth be told, people also stop by the South Towns jewelry studio to check out her outfits du jour. Debbie’s penchant for donning brightly colored ensembles with perfectly matching accessories is renown throughout the Hamburg area.
In fact, during the holidays it’s not unusual for this fashion maven to go beyond stylish apparel and alter her hair color to Valentine’s Day red or add Halloween witches and pumpkins onto her nails.

 And she does it all with one singular purpose.

“I’ve always thought that it would be a shame if you died and nobody missed you. Nobody sent a card or remembered you as someone who made a difference.”

” So if people think of me as that lady who wears all those crazy clothes, that’s not a bad thing. At least I’ve made them smile.”

However, the fact that Debbie continues to dress flamboyantly and accessorize to the nines is really most remarkable due to the fact that in April of 2004 she was involved in a car accident that broke her back.

As a result, the formerly 5’2″ dynamo now walks in a bent over position, despite the support of a wide molded plastic brace cinched around her waist.

She also lives with pain every moment of the day.

“I’ve had three surgeries so far to correct the problem,” Debbie explains.

“In the first surgery, right after the accident, they inserted 8 pins and 2 titanium rods in my spine. But a short time later, the pins on the top of my spine started to come out.”

 So I had two more surgeries in September of 2004. The first time they took out a rib and fused part of it to my spine to try and stabilize it. Then 10 days later they replaced the pins and rods with new ones.”

Within 30 days of the second round of corrective surgeries Debbie’s spine once again began bending.

And now a year and a half later, the condition has worsened to the point that when standing or walking her upper body is bent almost parallel to the ground.

It is a situation that has forced this WOW! Woman to consider drastic measures.

“I decided that I could chose to end up with my knuckles scraping the ground or I could take a chance on surgery one more time.”

That one more time will be May of 2006 when her surgery will include the insertion of 24 pins from her shoulders to the base of her spin into another new titanium rod.

That operation will then be followed a few days later with a bone graft onto her pelvis to help stabilize the rod in her spine.

Part one of the two-part surgery alone will require more than 10 hours to complete.

The risks in both procedures are life threatening. The recovery period will be long and painful.

Yet none of these factors deter this positive minded lady.

“I’m very apprehensive. I know what the pain will be like afterwards and I’ve thought a long time before deciding to undergo these surgeries.”
“But if something goes wrong then I’ll just have to get a designer wheelchair. I’m sure they have something with designer stripes!”

Today Debbie maintains her trademark sense of humor by injesting 30 milligrams of painkilling morphine twice a day.

Equally as significant, this clothes horse maintains her unique fashion style by shortening the front of all of her pant legs to compensate for her bent posture.

She says laughter also helps her to deal with the tough realities.

“My life is definitely different than it was and there are days when I hate it. I’ve become the kind of person I used to feel sorry for.”

 ”Like when we go to the Bills games my husband pushes me to our seats in the wheelchair section, and I hate not having mobility.”

“But could it be worse?  Well the guy across from me at the Bills games has no legs. So yeah, it could be a lot worse.”

Debbie acknowledges that main life-sustaining element in her brave new world is her husband, Dennis.

“I am so grateful to my husband. A lot of guys would have walked away and wouldn’t want to deal with pushing a woman in a wheelchair. And in that respect, I am probably the luckiest person in the whole world.”

While she awaits her spring surgery Debbie continues to take care of customers at the jewelry studio, attend Bills games, undergo therapy, drive around in her sassy Corvette, go tanning, volunteering, and of course, dressing to kill.

In her spare time, you can also find her  running errands, making phone calls and dropping a line to brighten someone’s day.

“My life has definitely changed, but really it’s only my back that got changed. I’m still me and everyday I try to do something to help someone, try to put some sort of mark in the world by doing funny things or good deeds, making a difference.”

Not surprisingly, this WOW! woman already has a complete wardrobe planned for her May hospital stay.

She also has a pretty good idea of what she’ll be doing the night before her surgery.  It’s an activity she describes with a twinkle in her eyes and a devilish grin.

“I’ll probably sucking up some Manhattans with my husband!”

And no doubt garbed in a perfectly appropriate outfit to match!