Kerrie McDonald gets back in the saddle

This post was contributed by Glenn Power.

Kerrie McDonald’s life changed in May 2018, after an unlikely encounter with her pet lamb landed her in a coma with a rare flesh-eating bacterial infection.

The altercation with the lamb left her with two missing limbs: her right leg from the hip and part of her left leg from the knee.

Ms McDonald cannot recall all the details of the accident, but she can remember loading a trailer of sheep, and a pet lamb jumping from the trailer and running at full speed, colliding with her right leg, just above the knee.

“It didn’t even hurt, I was a little sore, but I just kept working – then it drastically went downhill, and I ended up with necrotising fasciitis,” she said.

“It’s a rare, flesh-eating bacterial infection that spreads quickly through the body and can cause death.

“I was very sick, it only took a few days, and if it wasn’t for Bernie at the Tailem Bend Hospital, I would have died.

“I was rushed to the RAH, where doctors put me into an induced coma for eight weeks; they did a wonderful job of keeping me alive, however they had no choice but to amputate my right leg.

“I then lost two toes from my left foot, and many bits and pieces of veins, muscles, and digits.”

From the South East to the Solomon Islands

Born in Kingston, as a small child Ms McDonald moved with her family to Mount Gambier and, after leaving school, began working in the local pharmacy before moving to the Solomon Islands.

“One day, I jokingly asked my boss’s mate, Ted Williams, who owned a pharmacy in Penola and one in the Solomon Islands, if there was any chance of getting a job in the Solomons,” she said.

“Ted replied straight up, ‘yep, you can start tomorrow if you like’.”

She had always wanted to travel, and her primary goal was to get the travelling bug out of her system before taking on university studies and becoming a teacher.

After a few years of island hopping, Kerrie moved back from Honiara to Australia, settling in Sydney for a year.

Upon some advice from a friend, she decided to enrol in an early childhood degree, for which she transferred to James Cook University in Townsville.

After securing her first teaching position back in Mount Gambier, she worked in everything from kindergartens to teaching at TAFE during her 20-year career.

“I was a junior primary school teacher at North Gambier for a long time before becoming the principal of a new arrivals program for refugees arriving from Myanmar/Burma and the Democratic Republic of Congo,” she said.

Her main and closest support is Kym, her partner of 10 years.

“After meeting my partner Kym, yabbying in the middle of nowhere at Cockatoo Lake, which is just outside Naracoorte, I moved to Wellington, to a small farm,” she said.

“From our new home base, I would travel to Oakbank Area School, where I worked with children from the Inverbrackie Detention Centre.

“I then worked at the Strathalbyn R-6 campus and the TAFE campus in Murray Bridge.

“Everything changed after my trauma; the National Disability Insurance Scheme allocated me a support coordinator and I was so lucky I found Genuine Support Services Australia as my preferred NDIS provider.

“They had just started up and I recall I was their 20th client.

“Transport is my main issue, and as I now have my driving licence back, I cannot wait until I have the hand controls fitted to my car.

“For now, my support worker drives me to the gym in Murray Bridge two to three times a week – Donna’s team at Inner Soul is just brilliant and my physiotherapist, Mark Zadow, is outstanding.

“There’s always a lot of driving, back and forth through the Murraylands, all over the place, really.

“I have medical appointments everywhere and I love watching my cousins’ children at their SAPSASA activities in Adelaide.

“Once a month I catch up with my friend Dianne, from Mount Gambier, for lunch in Hahndorf or Mount Barker; but the most enjoyable day of the week for me is Mondays with my horse Bella and support worker Julie from GSSA.

“I’m finally back in the saddle thanks to the Riding Patch in Strathalbyn – Kathy is an amazing lady, an angel.

“Holly from Genuine Support helps me with a little in-home care, mainly cleaning.”

Ms McDonald said her quest for independence kept her remarkably busy.

“I don’t get much of a chance to do a lot in the community, although there’s a horse arena opening up soon down the road, which I hope to be involved with,” she said.

“Thanks to all the support I receive, I have not needed any high-intensity help, but I do love my gardening – unfortunately though, my gopher loves running over plants.

“I do not qualify for any NDIS respite, but I am sure Kym could do with a rest on occasions.

“I dream of one day riding again with my friends on the Fleurieu Peninsula; I used to trail ride regularly near Victor Harbor.”

Relationships mean a great deal to Ms McDonald, and it is those that keep her moving forward.

“There is no doubt that it is my friends and family who keep me going – I would be lost without Kym, Mum, Bella, my border collie Poppy and my funny cavoodle Oakley,” she said.

“It seems that I’m always doing something, but I consciously try to make time every day to maintain my relationships – it’s so important to me.”

She continues to focus on improving her horse-riding skills, but also knows that life will change course once the NDIS approves the hand controls for her car.

She was also extremely excited about giving lessons to the staff at Genuine Support Services Australia, tutoring them in commercial writing and report writing.

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