When we first heard Karen’s story, the word that first came to mind was inspirational.
This particular word gets bandied around a lot these days with ‘inspirational’ quotes posted to many a social media account and it is at risk of losing its way a little bit.
However, Karen is without a doubt, the epitome of inspirational and she overcame hurdles during her life. While others would have given up, she was determined to keep going and her story is one that touched us in the Her.ie office.
Karen is paraplegic (meaning she is paralysed from the waist down) after an accident while on holiday in Spain.
However, she didn’t let this prevent her from becoming one of the joint first Advanced Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health in Ireland.
In addition to this, she set up the Woman’s Preventative Healthcare Unit in Tallaght, founded and chaired the Nurses in Colonoscopy Clinics in Ireland (NICCIA) and sits on the board of the Adelaide Hospital Society, based in Tallaght.
As a young adult, Karen was a keen traveller and also participated in a wealth of adventure sports. While working in Saudi Arabia she provided immunisation, visited prisons and ships and headed up the naval base clinic half-way between the cities of Jeddah and Mecca.
A hugely impressive CV when all is said and done and we spoke to the woman herself to find out more about this amazing life story.
Karen volunteers with Spinal Injuries Ireland and the above photo shows her taking people out for a spin from Dún Laoghaire
When did you catch the travel bug?
I always loved seeing new things and learning about different cultures. Even as a child, going on trips and sun holidays with parents and then as I got older too. It seemed the more I saw, the more I wanted to see.
Were you always interested in adventure sports?
When I saw people skydiving, I always wondered what it would be like and thought to myself I’d love to try that. I didn’t do that many really but I loved it. Scuba diving too was a hobby of mine. Where I lived in Jeddah, you could walk out and look at the Red Sea with all the coral and stunning fish.
Moving from Ireland to Jeddah must have been quite the culture shock?
It was amazing, but it’s important to note the huge difference between the two places and culture change. Even to see the women who were covered completely in black, from head to toe.
You’d hardly see them passing by sometimes, they weren’t allowed to drive and it really made me appreciate the freedom that we have as westerners.
We lived on a compound with a gate so it was private but when I went out, I wore the abaya (a cloak) as a mark of respect to the culture. I put my hair up too. Red hair attracted a lot of attention!
Was it difficult to come back and settle in Ireland?
Well, I miss the nice weather. 17 degrees in Jeddah and you would think it was freezing whereas here that is warm. Also the social life, living with 7,000 people, you never have to plan a social life. When you’re living away though, you really miss family and friends and it’s great to be back with them. That’s the main thing. I was away for nine years in total, between time in Australia, England and Saudi Arabia.
How did the accident happen in Spain?
I fell off a wall, which was a few feet high on one side and a few metres on the other. I landed on a motorboat in a concrete courtyard. I was lucky though, it was at night time and beside an old folk’s home. One of the night nurses heard me squealing and other than for her, it would have been a different story.
What was life like after the accident?
I was in rehab until I was fully independent and able to drive again etc. I was also very lucky as there aren’t many sit down nursing jobs and my area of expertise fit into this category.
I’m the person at the hospital that people really don’t want to see. Most people who come to see me have been referred on from their GP or a family planning clinic because they have had abnormal smear tests.
What challenges do you face as a nurse during the wheelchair?
I was very worried about how my patients would feel. I had one patient in particular who I knew quite well before my wheelchair days and I asked her how she felt about the fact that I as her nurse, was in a wheelchair. She looked at me and she said, “I didn’t even notice that you were in the wheelchair, I was so worried about myself”.
There was another patient too who said the same thing. They both came back to me a few weeks on and gave me a hug, saying that they felt awful that they hadn’t noticed I was in a wheelchair. Patients don’t seem to mind, they’re worried about their health and just want somebody who’s competent at their job.
I even asked another person who pointed out that the wheelchair is more of a distinguishing feature, much like pointing out “the girl with the blond hair”, you might say “the girl with the wheelchair”.
What do you enjoy about your job?
People are coming in and I’m either able to reassure them that it’s a mild abnormality which has a good chance of regression. We can keep a good eye on them and look after things. Or if it’s of high risk, we run a clinic and the abnormal cells can be removed.
So, basically the problem that they have presented with is dealt with at the first hurdle and that gives me a sense of job satisfaction, to be able to help.
I’m also on the board of The Adelaide Hospital School of Nursing, based in Tallaght Hospital. It’s an important part of life for me, we believe in dignified care for everyone and raising the standard of healthcare in general.
Drawing from your personal experiences, can you offer any advice for those with disabilities?
Concentrate on what you can do and accept the things that you can’t. I was actually fortunate, as before I had to use a wheelchair, I knew a guy who was quadriplegic (paralysis of the body from the neck down).
Maybe if I hadn’t known him I would have been concentrating on the loss of my legs, but I knew there was no comparison between my situation and his.
I can drive, I can work, I can travel, I can feed myself. I concentrate on the positives but if I hadn’t know him, it could have been different.
I’m paraplegic but my arms are fully functional, 100%.
