Reinventing Emma - from therapist to patient

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One woman’s extraordinary journey from therapist to patient.
Resilience. It’s a word that is bandied around in everyday conversation, but it isn’t until one overcomes unimaginable adversity that we truly understand its powerful meaning. Emma Gee is the poster girl for resilience.
An Occupational Therapist and avid long distance runner, Emma’s life was turned upside down when she suffered a debilitating stroke following AVM surgery 10 years ago, at age 24. Reinventing Emma is Emma’s honest account of her extraordinary determination and courage to recover and reinvent herself.
Emma takes the reader through her sudden transition from therapist to patient and her book is a must-read for all healthcare professionals. After reading Reinventing Emma, I was thrilled to be able to interview Emma and learn more about this inspirational woman’s incredible journey.
In Reinventing Emma you draw the reader into your world. Was it difficult to share this painful and terrifying time in your life?
Yes, reliving my journey has been such a gruelling process but also amazingly therapeutic. It has taken me a lot longer to write largely as I needed to live as a survivor, reinvent myself, which took time and I needed to be ok with what I’d been through before I could effectively and authentically relay my own journey. Knowing that it hopefully will educate, empower and inspire others makes it all even more worthwhile.
Your rehabilitation was at times excruciating. Did you ever feel like giving up?
Yes, I did feel like giving up many times. In fact, I don’t think I didn’t. But at those times, I have been so fortunate to have others advocating for me – whether a coffee with a friend, a cuddle from my niece or just doing something I enjoy, like swimming or yoga.
Having a stroke can be bewildering, painful and traumatic. Being an OT and a stroke survivor you are in an ideal position to facilitate positive change. Where are the gaps in care and how can hope and dignity be restored to survivors of stroke?
Acquiring an injury is certainly devastating and my experience only highlighted the HUGE gaps in our system. Definitely education, both amongst health professionals and the community at large needs to be enhanced in every stage of the recovery process for it to be more holistic. Also support is definitely a huge chasm – this is vital to ensure each transition is smoother for each survivor and their supporters. Having a network around you also means that sustaining a balanced lifestyle into the future is possible.
Hope and dignity can be restored. When a person has survived a stroke, unfortunately they also often have to rebuild their lives. Whether battling with physical or cognitive deficits, the emotional toll this takes on theirs and others’ lives is huge. I felt vulnerable, fragile and worthless. I no longer fit and was so reliant on those around me to help rebuild my self-esteem.
When those around me considered ways that we could avoid likely obstacles, it meant that I didn’t have to contend with unnecessary failure. Also carers eliciting a ‘positive spin’ when I encountered a difficult incidents and in my ‘victim mentality’ I felt engulfed in the problem and couldn’t easily do this, definitely restored my hope and belief that things were going to be ok.
Being person-centred in one’s care - feeling heard and valued and engaging in something that is meaningful to each person, is also so important in building these attributes.
You talk about the huge physical effort you make just getting to your public speaking engagements and other commitments. What motivates you to keep doing this work?
It is a huge physical effort for me but nowadays most things are. In continuing to do these speaking engagements I feel that I can hopefully educate and empower others and like I said before, make my journey worthwhile.
Overtime, the importance of balancing tasks, reaching out to my support and delegating to others means that this has become less physically taxing. Sustaining balance is a constant challenge, but I ensure I incorporate times in my day so I can refuel my own motivation – I know that unless I’m motivated, I can’t motivate!
Anyone who has read your book will be wondering how your life has changed in the time since you wrote Reinventing Emma?
My life’s largely the same. I have ‘reinvented’ myself but sustaining my new lifestyle is my new challenge. I think many people perhaps see your journey and the obstacles you’ve endured and overcome and think that battling life as a stroke survivor is done and dusted and you can sit back and relax. My body’s still broken but I have found meaningful ways to manage that. I have not gone on to do anything remarkable, I’ve just lived. I want to share that; to say that living with a disability is enough of a feat!

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“I’ve walked in the shoes of a patient… I’ve realised how much health professionals really don’t know about what it’s like to be a patient, and how even the little things they do without noticing can affect someone else’s path to recovery.” Emma Gee

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For further information or to speak with Emma, please contact Debbie McInnes at DMCPR Media.
T: 02 9550 9207
E: debbie@dmcpr.com.au