My Story
Hey there!
Welcome to my website.
I’m not sure if you’ve been lookin’ around the other pages or came straight to this one.
Either way, I’m glad you’re here.
On this page, I wanted to take a few minutes to give you a quick overview of ‘what happened’.
“What happened to you?”
is a question I get a lot.
I’m guessing they’re not asking about my coffee order or choice of font.
So I assume it’s my disability and the approximately 14kg of wheelchair under my butt.
Or it could be some of my other physical disabilities and scars – since you can’t see the invisible ones.
Personally, I don’t usually mind talking about my disabilities because:
1) I’m a chatterbox
And
2) It can help to demystify stigmas and stereotypes that disability is the ‘Devil’s work’ (and other bullshit along those lines) and that disability and disabled people are scary or evil (as Hollywood sometimes portrays us).
Now, back to what I was saying…
I’d describe myself as an optimistic realist who knows that gratitude is so much more than a hashtag.
I’m stubborn AF, fiercely loyal and have been known to sometimes call people by their Instagram handle instead of their real name.
I’ve spent many years climbing
At first it was rock climbing in Thailand, then climbing the corporate ladder after university, and then suddenly I found myself climbing my way out of a massive health crisis.
I can’t really explain what happened in a simple sentence except to say “I got really sick and became really disabled”.
But if you’re interested, the longer version goes something like this…
I had a brain haemorrhage early one morning as I stood at Melbourne airport and prepared to fly home and see my family. I was aged in my early twenties.
It was caused by Streptococcus-A, and that’s when my whole world changed.
Forever.
I was rushed to hospital where I spent the next three weeks in a coma and two months on life support. Intensive care specialists controlled pneumonia, heart attacks and uncontrollable seizures as all of my organs shut down.
So the proverbial had really hit the fan by then.
Technically, I died twice in hospital but was resuscitated (obviously!) to keep living out a life I love.
That’s when things really got interesting.
My climb was really only just beginning.
I was awake now and conscious of what was happening to me.
Oh boy, was I in for a ride!
I spent over a year in hospital, the first time, and underwent over a dozen operations and procedures including heart surgery, the amputation of one leg, all my remaining toes and nine fingertips.
I’ve since returned to hospital numerous times for all sorts of things including a total hip replacement and open heart surgery.
The brain haemorrhage (not to be confused with an intellectual disability) has affected my speech and memory, leaving me over 25% blind, epileptic, and frequently fatigued with a certain type of nerve pain.
So, you may wonder why on earth I’m going into so much detail here.
I talk about the good and bad realities of my life all the time on socials, but if you skip the captions and just look at photos, you’re not getting the full story. Some amazing stuff has happened since I became disabled, but it’s not all sunshine and roses every minute of every day.
I had to hit the restart button on so many areas of my life.
Early on, it was things like moving, speaking and eating that I had to relearn – even brushing my teeth was a challenge! Then it was bigger things like my career and relationships which all had to be completely re-established.
I’m not a victim and I’m not sharing what happened as part of a “poor me” story of woe. But I understand what it’s like to start over, to start with really small goals and go from there. I understand what it’s like to feel different or know that the future seems overwhelming and exciting at the same time.
Self-confidence, motivation, adapting to change and learning to believe in myself again after my body had literally ‘given up’ and died in hospital are just some of the things I love to talk about when I’m not on my soapbox about disability inclusion.
I never planned to have my world turned upside down, I never planned to be disabled and I never planned to lose a lot (including some body parts!).
But I did choose to always make the very best of what I do have and focus on what I can do, rather than what I can’t.
As I said in my TEDx Talk, “I’m not supposed to be here today” so you can bet I’m grateful for my life. But of course not every person with a disability is going to feel the same way I do.
I never would have thought I’d be writing this today… A published author, TEDx speaker, business owner, happily married and more.
People with disabilities are capable of so much more than we give them credit for. Life is beautiful so let’s make beautiful memories while we can!
Photo credit for some of the professional images on this website must go to Kate Luke Photography. Wearing: Styling You The Label.