Community
29 March, 2024
‘I can walk again’
AFTER 15 years limited to a wheelchair, 24-year-old cerebral palsy patient Lily Catelan is walking again thanks to her unyielding spirit and support of her personal trainer.
Aiming to get fit and make friends, she decided to join a gym and with her cheerful personality and friendly demeanor – and with the hand of her personal trainer – the Bayview Heights resident conquered her biggest dream six weeks ago to walk again.
At age 21, Ms Catelan was questioning if her life was becoming too isolated.
So with the encouragement of her parents and the desire to go out more, socialise and get fit, she started personal training with seasoned trainer Mike Gardi.
“I started walking when I was four. I always said to my mum: ‘On my fourth birthday I’m going to walk’ – because I’m the youngest of three siblings and I wanted to be like them,” Ms Catelan said.
“Then I had surgery in 2013 and it took a long time to recover, then I had two years where I did nothing, and I thought I would never walk again,” she said.
“Training with Mike has been a journey. I thought I would never walk again but Mike said: ‘You’re going to walk one day’.”
Ms Catelan persevered and has spent countless hours at the gym.
“What I like the most about training with Mike is that every day is a challenge, a different adventure and I like doing all the hard work knowing that it’ll mean something in the future.
“Six weeks ago, I was at home, and I said to myself, ‘I’m going to walk over there’ and I did. It’s a very big achievement and Mike was a big part of it because he believed in me.”
Since then, the pair have been working tirelessly to get Ms Catelan stronger and to achieve her ultimate goal to walk into the gym by the end of the year.
“It took me three to four months to organise a program that would work for her condition. Lily couldn’t extend her knees so that was my main goal,” said Mr Gardi.
“Seeing her walk was so exciting, it took us so long to figure it out, but I always knew she would walk, we just had to take it one step at a time, and she knows I support her in everything she wants to do.”
Cairns Hospital advanced paediatric physiotherapist Dr Lynda McNamara was Ms Catelan’s physiotherapist when she lost her ability to walk about age 9. She was a big advocate in helping Ms Catelan get the surgery that would allow her to stand up back in 2013.
Dr McNamara said it was exciting to see a former patient reaching a momentous goal.
“Lily’s wonderful story of goal attainment is inspirational and showcases the effectiveness of goal directed training for a specific functional goal that is most important for Lily,” she said.
“The importance of Lily choosing her own meaningful goal is also backed by research, so Lily is leading by example in how to achieve success with specific goal setting and choosing interventions to help achieve her goals.”
Ms Catelan said she couldn’t do it on her own. “I couldn’t have done it without Mike who’s always encouraging me, and without my mum who drives me to the gym every day,” she said.
