Celebrating International Women’s Day 2024.

Kath’s Story.

Fourteen years ago, Kath was in a horrible car accident. Kath spent three weeks in a coma, many long months recovering in hospital and six years in rehabilitation rebuilding her life. Kath sustained an Acquired Brain Injury during the accident which meant she had to re learn pretty much everything again, including learning how to walk and talk again.

Kath & I on her Wedding Day

How have you overcome challenges on your journey?

I am quite a determined person and looking back now, I think my achievements had a lot to do with having a positive mindset and setting goals. Through the years I worked solidly with a fantastic psychologist who helped me manage my thoughts, feelings and anxiety etc. I believe it is now clear that having a strong, positive mindset can help you achieve your goals.

What kept you going through tough times?

The support of my family, friends, carers and the team of therapists who I worked with at the McKellar Centre in Geelong. I also became involved with disability groups where I could spend time with other people going through similar life challenges. These groups included Skiing for the Disabled, Riding for the Disabled (horses) and Sailing for the Disabled. It was fantastic to be involved in things I used to do before my accident, just with some extra assistance.  

How has your journey shaped your views on inclusion and resilience?

I have learned that the best way forward was to treat everyone with an equal amount of respect and empathy.

Managing family, personal goals, and your health is impressive. How do you find balance?

Nowadays, I find balancing family demands, work (developing my App) and health the most difficult thing to achieve!! It is still a work in progress. I have had to learn to be kinder to myself when I can’t achieve EVERYTHING or when things don’t go as successfully as I had hoped. When this happens, I really try to stop, and appreciate the good things.

Something that I learnt from my accident is to try and enjoy the small things. Bad things happen in life, but we all achieve great things too. It is so important not to always focus on the bad things, but to recognise the good things, the little wins, and celebrate them.  

Kath is developing an App specifically for people living with a brain injury to help keep rehab on track, regain control of life and meet recovery goals. For more information, visit the website https://prepareme.com.au/