Archive for category: Barefooter Stories

Kathryn is such a lovely smiling face in the clinic and has a depth of character that means the more you peel the onion back the better she gets! Have a read of her answers to Caitlin’s questions 🙂

You’re originally from Canada but have called Aus home for a long time now. What are the biggest differences you notice, what do you love most about Australia and what do you miss from Canada (I know breakfast cereal is top of that list!)?

Definitely food. I miss the variety, especially in snacks. I’m not really a snack person, so when I do feel like something, I’m very particular. But more seriously, I miss the mountains and lakes. I grew up in Alberta and British Columbia and my best memories are snowboarding, hiking, camping, late afternoon swims at the lake, exploring the creeks, bonfires at the river with friends & family. I think we’re so tired of being cooped up all winter, as soon as there is any warmth we go outside as much as possible. The thing i love most about Australia is the outdoors too. I love the beach, and am happy to go anytime of the year. Hiking is also pretty good here too, as there is a huge variance in what type of terrain, or forest, and you can also do it most of the year. Sadly, hiking is something I have had to limit, hopefully just for the time being though.

Speaking of hiking – what is your favourite hike you’ve done and are there any particular hikes on your wishlist?

I’m working on getting back to hiking. I had begun training to do some overnight hikes. I was doing some longer distance hikes, and had done a few solo camping trips, to just get into that mindset. I was doing the Kangaroo Point stairs every day as well. I injured myself before my plans eventuated, but I am beginning to think about it again. I would love to do some hikes in Tasmania. And parts of the West Coast Trail in Canada/USA. I’m unlikely to ever get back to where I was planning to be, but we’ll see…Basically, any trip I did overseas revolved around hiking, and I hope to do that again. Arizona & Utah have some amazing spots. I cannot wait to go back. Locally, I used to go out every day to Mount Coolum or Mount Ngungun for exerciseand every weekend I would usually go do a new hike. One of my favourite ones in the past few years was Mount Warning. Lately I have only managed flatter, easier walks…getting there!

In a past life, you ran a business making custom motorbike seats. Tell us more about that and some of the cool people you met through it.

This kind of randomly happened. Feels like another life. My husband at the time wanted a bicycle seat for this custom bike he had. I know how to sew, and am good with making things, so we made a seat. Then since I figured out one, I thought I would do more and sell them. That lead to motorcycle seats. We began a process that was very long and dedicated, and we managed to make design for a sought after top-quality replica seat for a very niche market of vintage choppers. It is a great scene, with tons of amazing people. We got to travel to LA and Japan and few times for trade shows & motorcycle shows. I still keep up with a few friends we met from Malaysia & USA. Being in Australia is harder, since the scene is quite small here, but we met some amazing people, and I don’t regret a moment of that crazy work. I miss the creativity and ingenuity that work required of me. I miss being my own boss. It was hard, but rewarding.

You recently spent 2 days cooking up a Mexican feast for your own birthday party – can you tell us more about your cooking and what else you like to make?

I love mexican food (or american-mexican). I like making as much from scratch as I can, time permitting. Otherwise, when my body allows, I used to love to bake too. I have been getting into that a bit more. I love how learning new techniques help your other baking. Once you learn how sugar behaves, for example, you can trouble shoot in other recipes. I have my perfect pie crust recipe down, and have moved onto macarons lately. Which still turn out differently every time I try them! (that’s the fun part). Baking goes on hold over the summer though, it’s too hot!

You have solid experience with injury, could you share a lesson around this?

I’ve had some rough patches in my life, with 3 injuries each taking years to recover from. But each time I have come to a place where I find new activities I love, even if it means giving up something due to injury. I gave up running for hiking & baking, and now I am working though that process again. I’ve given up bootcamps for rest and slower movement. I think anything can become a new normal, even if it’s not what you had planned you can grow to love it.

Kate is a classic Barefooter… so friendly and lovely to have at the clinic and so many amazing stories to tell. We love that she speaks openly about Mental Health and advocates for people getting the help they need. We love when she comes to the clinic there is always laughter, especially when her dog Roxy comes along too! With all the amazing things she does we didn’t even get to ask her about her travels but made sure their were some photos in there 🙂 Questions by Caitlin

1. You wear many different hats, including being involved with Beyond Blue. Tell us what that looks like and why in particular this charity is important to you?

Yes, I do wear a lot of hats, it keeps life interesting. I am very honoured to be on two Project Steering Committees for Beyond Blue and love being involved in the great work they do to support to help everyone in Australia achieve their best possible mental health, whatever their age and wherever they live. My first PSC was Be You, a program that provides educators with knowledge, resources and strategies for helping children and young people achieve their best possible mental health. And, early last year I joined another of their fantastic projects to roll out The Way Back Support Service to more sites across the country, which supports people (for up to three months) who have attempted suicide or experienced a suicidal crisis.

In 2001 I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety which was extremely debilitating, I couldn’t work, couldn’t leave the house on my own and many days I couldn’t leave my bed. Without the support of my husband I am not sure that I would have made it through those really tough times. Thankfully, I got professional help and slowly got back my life. Over the past 20 years I have worked very hard to live a happy life and healthy life and a key to that is using my experience, skills and knowledge to help others.  

2. One of your other roles is with the UQ Human Research Ethics Committee – can you tell us more about that and how you got involved in it?

One of my amazing neighbours is doing her thesis and was complaining about having to submit a large and somewhat painful application to have her research proposal assessed by an ethics committee. I didn’t know anything about this so asked her more…it sounded very interesting to me as I’ve always been interested in philosophy, morals, ethics and human behaviour. So, I rang the number on the Ethics Committee webpage and spoke to the Coordinator who after looking at my CV invited me to join the Committee. So, the Committee’s job is to protect the mental and physical welfare, rights, dignity and safety of participants of research and minimise the risk of harm arising from research studies involving humans. I love it! I learn something new from each research proposal and even more from the discussions that our diverse committee has.

3. Beekeeping is one of your many hobbies. What is involved in keeping European honeybees and harvesting honey?

Bees are amazing and it’s so exciting how the ‘plight of the bee’ has become a passion for so many people across the globe. I have been fascinated by bees for decades and got our first hive about 7 years ago with the help of bee-mentors (Gordie and his Dad, Don). Our apiary has grown to six;  the last being a successful first attempt at a split; 2 were given to us because the owner couldn’t take care of them; 1 was a swarm that we caught; and the other two we purchased as nuc’s. It is a lot of work in the warmer months starting in spring to prepare for a busy summer, and slows by the beginning of winter when there’s less nectar flowing.

Harvesting honey is my favourite part of beekeeping because I get to admire up close the amazing honeycomb the bees have built and find out what this harvest is going to taste like. You may not realise but the honey tastes slightly different depending on what is flowering at the time, even in my backyard on the side of Mt Coot-tha, the honey tastes and looks different each time. Harvesting takes a full day for us, with a few rest breaks because it’s physically hard work. We collect the frames from the hives, use the hot knife to take off the capping, then spin the frames, then strain and store the honey in large buckets until we’re ready to bottle. 

Interesting Bee Fact: Australia is one fo the few countries in the world to remain free of varroa mite, which if they become established in Australia, our healthy population of honey bees and the pollination services they provide could be reduced by 90-100%. 

4. You have a condition call fibromuscular dysplasia which can effect a variety of systems in the body. How has it impacted you and what would you like the general public to know/understand about it?

Fibromuscular dysplasia, or FMD is a rare medical condition which creates abnormal cellular growth in the walls of arteries, most often renal and carotid. My FMD is in both carotid arteries and looks like a beaded necklace rather than the smooth straw appearance they should have. It is most common in women between the ages of 40 and 60. Complications and symptoms of the disease include aneurysms, dissections, high blood pressure, strokes/TIAs, headaches, pulsatile tinnitis as well as many other yet to be researched symptoms that are known throughout the FMD community.

I discovered I had it when I temporarily lost peripheral vision in my left eye which as you can imagine was quite frightening, although not as frightening as finding out that you have an incurable disease that is virtually unknown. I am blessed to have very few symptoms with medication and careful management of my health and stress. I am working on a book about my experience with FMD to try to raise awareness of the disease as we are in desperate need for research on the topic, so much is unknown and very few medical practitioners have even heard of it. I am extremely excited that world renowned FMD specialist, Professor Jason Kovacic has returned to Australia from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, to further his cardiac research at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute. Exciting times ahead.

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Jayde is a hilarious pocket rocket that does some pretty cool things on the weekend. We love hearing all her stories so asked her to share a bit about her life with us. Questions by Sal

1 – Superstar Jayde! You have some sweet adventurous weekends… can you explain what VMR is and what you do in it?

VMR stands for Volunteer Marine Rescue, and our base is in Southport next to the SeaWorld Resort. I find the easiest way to describe what we do is like RACQ, but for boats. We provide towing to people who have broken down or run out of fuel or cannot return to their boat ramps due to any issues with their boats. We have also been involved in searches for missing people in co-ordinance with the Water Police. I’ve been with the organisation for about 10 years now and joined as I wanted to acquire more life skills. When I was growing up, our family had boats and I’ve always enjoyed being out on the water. The organisation is amazing as you learn so much through all their training modules about the waterways, how to operate a boat and lead a crew, and obviously about the boats themselves. About 8 years ago, VMR and the QLD ambulance Service joined forces for to create a role in the service for First Responders. The role was set out to provide a higher level of care until paramedics were able to arrive on scene. Obviously being out on the water, an ambulance cannot get to you quicker than on road, so these crew members are able to be dispatched for immediate care and then another crew transports the ambulance personnel to the scene of the accident. About 5 years ago, I joined the First Responder group and haven’t looked back since. I have also worked my way up to a VMR crew ranking of inshore skipper which meanss I can take a boat out with a crew on my own.  The knowledge and extra skills I have learned through both organisations have been paramount and I am thankful to be part of 2 awesome communities.

2 – Still on weekends and adventures, we know you’re a 4WDing maddog – can you tell us about a recent trip you did? (Where did you go, who did you go with and some highlights)

My first big annual trip last year was out through the Simpson Desert. 3 weeks on the road, 6300kms and the most amazing experiences. The family I travelled with have done the desert crossing about 8 times, so I have complete trust and faith in the awesome people I travel with. I started out from Brisbane and met up with everyone in Birdsville. We were in the desert for about 4 days before arriving into Kulgera (first and last pub in SA). Hot showers and a meal that we didn’t need to cook was very welcomed! From there I split from the group and headed out to Ayers Rock to go and experience all its magnificence. It was a very humbling experience to have it put into perspective just how tiny and fleeting we are in this world when you see this massive rock in the middle of nowhere. I met back up with the group and we then ventured north through Boggy Hole, Palm Valley, Hermannsburg and into Alice Springs. We spent 2 nights there and I visited the National Transport Hall of Fame. I work for a transport company so it’s amazing to see the heritage that logistics and trucks have in our country. From Alice Springs we headed up to Boulia then down through Bladensburg National Park and Winton into Longreach where I spent 2 days in the Stockman’s Hall of Fame. Another extremely humbling experience that makes you proud to be an Australian. From there it was homeward bound sadly. On our last day of travel, we witnessed 2 drover runs of cattle and after the extraordinary journey we had just completed, I had to fight back tears. After a big trip like that, it definitely takes you a week to get your headspace back to civilisation! Camping for me is an opportunity to leave behind the hustle of life, nothing beats a campfire and being surrounded by quality and likeminded people.

3 – Now there is a special 4-legged creature in your life – Tell us about Chloe – what kind of dog is she, and what do you two get up to together?

I adopted Chloe 3 years ago from the QLD Staffy and Amstaff Rescue. She is 6 and a half years old and we believe an Amstaff X Bull Arab. She is the sweetest, gentlest dog and the biggest sook. She loves people and would lick you to death if she was given the chance! She loves camping with me, car rides and going on trips out to the beach, Bunnings or the pet shop (more cuddles). She has gotten me through some very dark days and knows exactly how to cheer me up when I need it. I promised her a life of love and adventure and I spoil her rotten – I always joke that she eats better than I do (which is true!). She always makes me laugh with her goofy antics, she loves to rough house with the cat and is always up for snuggles. She has the most amazing eyes, which I have found to be the most expressive as well. She’s taught me patience, a depth of love I didn’t know existed and to live in the moment. Nothing beats waking up to the wagging tail and her smiley, loveable face every morning!