For Katrina Banks-Thomas, the keyhole of solace beats the knob on death’s unrelenting door.

The 49-year-old Bristol resident has cast a shadow on that door. Long afflicted with Multiple Sclerosis, she’s watched the disease, which attacks the central nervous system, take a tremendous toll on her health. A paraplegic with limited upper-body use, she spends seemingly endless hours confined to her bed.

Yes, it’s a far-from-easy life — but not an empty one. Above all else, chalk that up to her two children: Elizabethton High athletes Ethan and Autumn Thomas.