Road to recovery: UL graduate turns life-changing accident into future career

A life changing car accident put a University of Limerick student on the path to a future career that is now helping to change lives.

Kirsty O’Connor from County Tipperary graduated this week with a postgraduate certificate in ‘Posture, Seating and Wheelchair Mobility Across the Life Course’ from UL’s Faculty of Education and Health Sciences. She is one of over 3,600 students graduating as part of UL’s Autumn Conferring ceremonies.

Kirsty always loved working in the community and with older people. In 2004, after completing her Leaving Cert at St Ailbe’s Secondary School, Tipperary Town, Kirsty studied social care before enrolling in a degree in Mental Health Nursing at University of Limerick in 2008.

In November 2009 during the second year of her studies, Kirsty’s life changed when she was involved in a road accident during bad weather. “I was driving to UL one morning to attend class. It was pouring rain, and I was unaware of a huge flood that had formed at the base of a mountain near where I live. My car hit the water, spun and hit a wall,” she recalls.

The accident resulted in a spinal fracture and a traumatic brain injury. She was left in a coma for six weeks and when she woke, she was paralysed from the waist down and lost sensation in the left side of her body. Her vision was impaired due to nerve damage in her right eye.

“When I woke up I was told I would probably never walk again and to forget about driving or going back to college. The doctors didn’t know how I was going to recover.”

Kirsty’s mother Sonia was by her side throughout her time in hospital, while also looking after Kirsty’s two-year-old daughter, Abi.

After two months in hospital, Kirsty regained feeling in her body and was able to walk again with crutches. She was then sent to the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dun Laoghaire for help with her recovery.

“This was where I met an occupational therapist who made the biggest impact on my recovery journey. When you’re the patient, people are always telling you what you can’t do, but the occupational therapist in Dun Laoghaire turned that around by asking me what I wanted to do and what I wanted to achieve and we started working on those goals.”

Kirsty needed to be able to look after her daughter independently again and wanted to go back to university. With the help of her occupational therapist, she started working through everyday tasks step-by-step, as well as planning future tasks.

“I knew then that I could get better. I really have to credit her for my recovery. It just gave me so much hope.”

After four weeks of working with the team at the National Rehabilitation Hospital, Kirsty was able to walk out of the hospital, and three months later was able to drive again.

Less than a year after the accident, Kirsty returned to UL to recommence the second year of her degree in mental health nursing, but was still feeling the effects of her brain injury which affected her memory.

“At home I had post-its on the wall to help me remember things for college, I used alarms on my phone for reminders, just repetition, repetition to get things into my long-term memory.”

Kirsty was helped through this difficult time by the Disability Services Office at UL. She was assigned a support officer who put plans in place with Kirsty and her lecturers.

“My support officer was someone I could talk to when I was overwhelmed. He organised a Dictaphone for me to record my lectures. This really helped as I could listen back the next day. I had help with IT issues, setting up exam accommodations, and the little day-to-day things I now found difficult.

“I remember there was one occasion when I had to complete a SUSI grant form, and he was so kind and patient and helped me get the task done, taking away any embarrassment or helplessness I felt. And that’s what you need, someone to help and support you but also help you see that you can achieve and do it yourself.”

In the summer of 2013, after completing her degree in mental health nursing, Kirsty worked in an acute psychiatric ward at University Hospital Limerick. However, her time at the National Rehabilitation Hospital deeply impacted her and she decided to return to UL the following year to study for an MSc in Occupational Therapy.

“My own experience inspired me to pursue occupational therapy. I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives, just like the occupational therapist at the National Rehabilitation Hospital had helped me. She showed me what occupational therapy is all about by putting the patient first and being truly patient-centred.”

While on work placement in the community, Kirsty discovered how much she enjoyed working with people with dementia, their loved ones and caregivers.

Kirsty was managing well overall but still had ongoing issues with her short-term memory which caused her anxiety when giving presentations at college. “I would get scared that I would forget my script during presentations and lose my train of thought, and that would make my memory worse. With practice and support, my confidence began to grow when I was invited to speak at the 2017 UL Annual Symposium.”

Upon graduating with her master’s degree in occupational therapy in 2017, Kirsty worked with an agency which provided occupational therapy services to hospitals, care homes and people’s own homes where she would regularly conduct seating assessments and recommend suitable equipment.

She saw how poor seating for people in long-term and acute care could cause detrimental effects to health, and how correct seating could prevent injury, increase comfort and reduce the cost of care.

In January 2023, Kirsty joined medical device company, Seating Matters, where she now works as their Clinical Training Manager. After completing some in-house training in the area of seating and postural assessments, Kirsty had the opportunity to secure funding from her employer and the Springboard+ scheme to return to UL once again to complete a postgraduate certificate in ‘Posture, Seating and Wheelchair Mobility Across the Life Course’.

“I undertook this course because I wanted to increase my skill and confidence when conducting seating and postural assessments and ensure patients are getting the best possible outcomes.

“As this course was taught via blended learning, I found the workload very manageable when working full-time and managing my own household. The course work was so easily accessible and with only a few in-person days on campus, this was really manageable with my work diary.”

Kirsty’s research project focused on seating practices in long-term care settings for people with dementia.

“I would encourage anyone working in healthcare, especially those working in the area of seating, to consider completing this course. The coursework and resources are very accessible online and students are well supported by the lecturers if there are any queries or questions.

“There were people from many different areas and professions taking the course, from occupational therapists to physiotherapists, to seating specialists and engineers. It heightens your knowledge on seating provision and seating assessments and boosts your confidence in your practice.”

As part of her role with Seating Matters, Kirsty conducts seating and postural assessments all over Ireland.  She has continued to develop her presentation and public speaking skills and now presents at international conferences and training events and engages in research projects and clinical trials in a variety of settings all around the world.

One of her career highlights was being awarded ‘Best Free Paper’ for a presentation she made at the 2023 UK Posture and Mobility Conference. Another happened last May, when she travelled to West Virginia University Hospital to train staff in their neurological wards on correct seating and positioning.

Kirsty is now looking ahead to speaking at the upcoming National Bariatric Solutions 2024 conference in Fort Worth, Texas in October, before getting married to fiancé Kevin in July next year. She also hopes to carry out further clinical research work in the area of seating practices for people with dementia through a Professional Doctorate in Healthcare Practice at UL.

Kirsty credits her family, her occupational therapist at the National Rehabilitation Hospital and the support she received at UL for her recovery and career success.

“Looking back, I am still blown away by the transition of where I was in 2009, and where I am today. My experiences have shown me that with the right people around you, you can achieve amazing things.

“Thanks to opportunities given to me by UL and all the people I have around me, I am so lucky to work in a job that I love getting out of bed for every day. The cherry on top is seeing that I can help change so many lives, just like that occupational therapist did for me.”