Latest / Unbalanced with Cerys Davage / 48. Pursuing my veterinary dreams (ft. Katrina Tsang)

Transcript

48. Pursuing my veterinary dreams (ft. Katrina Tsang) · Unbalanced with Cerys Davage

0:09
Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of Unbalanced
0:12
with Me, Kera Savage. How are you all doing?
0:15
I'm back today with another interview episode and today we
0:19
are meeting Kat. Hi Kat.
0:21
Hi, how are you doing? I'm doing well, thank you.
0:25
How are you doing? I'm doing really good.
0:27
I'm excited for our chat today. We were connected through
0:30
Muscular Dystrophy UK, so you do have a type of muscular
0:34
dystrophy. But before we get into all that,
0:36
tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from and what do
0:39
you do? So I was born in Hong Kong but I
0:42
grew up going to International School in Shanghai because of my
0:45
parents job. So I moved here to the UK for
0:49
university. I did veterinary medicine so I
0:53
am now working as a vet in the UK.
0:55
Amazing and you're here to stay in the UK, which is great news
0:58
because that is how we got connected through and the UK.
1:02
Can you give us a bit of background about your health
1:06
journey or diagnosis journey growing up?
1:08
Yeah, so it was actually a really, really frustrating
1:11
thing. I think from the age of two or
1:13
three my parents could already tell that I wasn't walking quite
1:16
right, to never run a day in my life to start with.
1:19
But I've been seeing orthopaedic surgeons since I was probably 3
1:23
or 4. The system in Hong Kong and
1:25
Shanghai, it works a bit differently.
1:26
So instead of like in the UK, you see AGP who then refers you
1:29
on you just contact the specialist directly.
1:32
Of course, because I was walking with a limp, my parents first
1:35
call was to speak to the orthopaedic surgeons.
1:38
So from then until maybe when I was 17, honestly I've only been
1:42
seeing my orthopaedic surgeon. He always thought it was just a
1:46
bone thing. So I've had surgeries when I was
1:49
9 on both my feet and also surgery when I was 1617.
1:53
And none of those surgeries ever fixed the issue.
1:57
So it wasn't until I was 17 and I I've never been able to do the
2:01
monkey bars. And that's not something that
2:03
you can explain as being a leg orthopaedic issue.
2:07
You know, I've never been able to get up from the ground
2:09
easily. Again, that's not something that
2:11
you can explain away with orthopaedics.
2:13
So I sort of pushed my parents to take me to a neurologist.
2:16
And then as soon as I saw the neurologist, she was like,
2:18
you've. Got muscular?
2:19
Dystrophy and then it kind of went from there.
2:22
Wow, so you had those surgeries? Were they needed?
2:26
Did have some malformations, so the surgeries at 9 definitely
2:30
helped a lot. But the surgery I had at 17,
2:33
which is when they thought it was still my right ankle, and
2:36
they basically broke down my right ankle and rebuilt it.
2:38
So now my ankle just doesn't work properly.
2:41
It only goes up and down. It doesn't really go left or
2:44
right. So my ankle's now fixed in the
2:46
wrong position. Actually, if the dystrophy had
2:50
been diagnosed before, I would not have had that surgery done.
2:53
Wow that is insane. You could easily have a bit of
2:56
anger towards the doctors or the people trying to help you
3:00
diagnose you with something that you just didn't have and putting
3:04
you through that surgery that you didn't need and actually
3:07
made you end up a little bit worse.
3:09
How? How did you feel about that?
3:11
Well, I mean, what's done is done, so there's no point
3:14
looking back and being upset about it.
3:15
It definitely did make me slightly worse because it was
3:18
such a major surgery. I ended up being in a wheelchair
3:21
for six months because obviously with the dystrophy I couldn't
3:24
use crutches. I just didn't have the muscle
3:26
strength to use crutches. So I was in a wheelchair for six
3:29
months, which then made the atrophy in my was a lot worse.
3:32
So six months later there was even less muscle than I already
3:36
had. It's been a long time building
3:38
that back up and I'm now on the wait list here on the NHS to try
3:42
and see if they can do something else to get my ankle thwarted.
3:45
But trying to weigh up whether it's going to make my dystrophy
3:48
worse versus how bad it currently is because now I've
3:52
got severe arthritis in my right ankle.
3:55
Wow. OK.
3:56
Yeah, because, well, any major surgery would require a lot of
4:00
rest, And too much rest is actually bad for your muscles
4:03
when you've got muscular dystrophy, because you need to
4:05
keep them active. If I didn't have the dystrophy
4:07
and I could use crutches, that would have obviously been a lot
4:10
better because at least I would be moving around.
4:12
But I just, I don't have the strength.
4:13
My arms can't hold myself up with crutches.
4:16
Carrying your whole weight on your arms, that is just
4:18
something that we just can't do with muscular.
4:21
So could you give us a bit of an insight on your actual diagnosis
4:25
with muscular dystrophy? So you said you went to the
4:26
neurologist. What, what was it like?
4:28
Because obviously you were a little bit older by then, you
4:30
were a teenager. What was it like getting that
4:33
diagnosis? That sounds slightly bad, but
4:35
honestly, I think the feeling that I had was vindication.
4:39
Like I've been right this entire time, that there was something
4:42
else apart from just the bones being wrong.
4:45
And so as soon as the neurologist told me it was just
4:48
the first consult, she asked me to do a few things.
4:50
And she was like, you've got dystrophy.
4:51
Like, I don't know what type just yet.
4:52
I can't give you a specific diagnosis, but she was like,
4:55
you've definitely got dystrophy. I bet it was kind of a relief
4:57
knowing finally they figured out what's wrong after years of
5:01
trial and error I guess. Definitely.
5:03
At one point the orthopaedic surgeon had told me it was
5:05
because I hadn't kept up with the physio after the orthopaedic
5:09
surgery and I was like, I can't have just been that.
5:12
No, no, definitely not. Surely you know, surely there's
5:15
something else and it's beyond your control.
5:18
I've I've had a lot of similar experiences with my orthopaedic.
5:22
Just saying. Oh, oh, yeah.
5:24
And the reason why your right knee turns in is because your
5:27
ankles are slightly not at the right level.
5:29
So I'll give you some insoles. And that didn't work.
5:32
And then he gave me like a knee brace to stop my knees from
5:35
giving way to falling, but my hips were too weak to support
5:39
that. And then we realised it was
5:40
actually due to my muscles being weak and I had already had the
5:43
diagnosis by then. We knew what I had, but he still
5:46
thought that it was an ankle problem, which it totally
5:49
wasn't. Because it's such a rare
5:50
condition, it's hard to know what's the right thing.
5:54
Well, like in my case, because I've got Bethlehem myopathy,
5:57
which one of the things is ligament tightening.
6:00
So the orthopaedic surgeon just told me that my bones were
6:02
growing at a faster speed than my ligament.
6:05
I don't know if that's true or not, but it definitely is to do
6:08
with the Bethlehem because ligament tightness is literally
6:12
one of the diagnostic indications.
6:15
Everything is just sort of added together when I got that.
6:17
Diagnosis. It was like alarm bells ringing.
6:19
Like finally. Yeah, obviously you had quite a
6:23
bit of a medically, but growing up with, I guess this
6:26
undiagnosed condition, how did it affect you?
6:29
Well, to begin with, because I didn't have any specific
6:31
paperwork for the school, they still made me do PE.
6:35
Oh no. Like obviously they knew there
6:36
was something wrong with me because I was limping, but
6:38
because I didn't have specific paperwork to say that I could
6:41
opt out or I could stay out PE, I still had to go to PE and I
6:45
still had to get marked in PE. They obviously changed the mark
6:49
scheme for me, but it was just the fact that I still had to do
6:51
it and I was obviously extremely tired afterwards.
6:54
When we have sports day at school, I just couldn't
6:57
participate. I just stand on the side.
6:58
You know, when we go on field trips and things, I was always
7:01
just trying to catch up because when you, you know, we've got
7:02
the whole class walking on the side of the road.
7:04
I was just always at the back. And then it'd be whichever
7:07
parent chaperone was was with the field trip and they just
7:11
have to stay in the back with me and I'd get left behind.
7:13
Growing up, we used to go to horse summer camp with my
7:16
cousin. They'd already started jumping
7:18
and I was still just walking and trotting because I was too
7:21
tired. And then they just thought I was
7:22
really bad at riding. But no, it's just because I
7:25
don't have the muscles to do it. Oh, that must be so frustrating.
7:29
And not having a reason behind the fact that you were slower
7:32
than other people. And I guess at that age and at
7:35
that point in life, it's very easy to blame yourself and think
7:38
like, why can't I catch up with everyone?
7:40
Why can't I be as strong as other people?
7:42
Obviously at that age that you want to stay with your friends,
7:45
but either my friends would have to stay back with me and then
7:48
we'd all just be left behind or I just be left behind with like
7:52
the one parent volunteer or something like that at.
7:55
That age as well, it's hard to ask your friends like oh, can
7:58
you stay behind with me because you don't want to be an
8:00
inconvenience, but you also don't want to be left out of
8:03
things as well. Like it is quite easy to feel
8:06
left out of things when you just can't keep up with other.
8:08
People, yeah, I think The thing is, because I didn't have a
8:11
proper diagnosis, so I couldn't, I couldn't explain it away.
8:14
You know, like teachers, they'd ask me like, oh, why can't you
8:17
participate? And I was like, I've got a leg
8:19
problem. Like, I don't know what it is,
8:20
but I've got a leg problem. And then I couldn't really go
8:22
beyond that. Yeah, it was frustrating for
8:25
all. Of us yeah where your friends
8:26
and family quite understanding yeah I.
8:28
Think my parents definitely were super understanding, but again,
8:32
because we didn't have the diagnosis, I think they started
8:34
off thinking that maybe I was just being lazy and I didn't
8:37
want to go any faster and I was just really tired, you know?
8:40
And they told me to hurry up. I couldn't physically hurry up.
8:42
The older I got the more they were like wait a second, it's
8:44
not actually you being lazy. That must have been so nice to
8:49
finally get a diagnosis and be like, see, This is why I can do
8:52
these things. Definitely.
8:54
How are you affected now? Like how does it affect you?
8:57
And now that you've had the diagnosis, is it a condition
9:00
that worsens or is it quite stable?
9:02
It is stable. I think it's one of the more
9:04
stable dystrophies, but it will decline with age.
9:08
It's really hard to say because my neurologist asked me this all
9:11
the time. Like can you feel it getting
9:12
worse? And I'm like, well, not compared
9:14
to a month ago or like a year ago, I can't feel a difference.
9:16
But compared to five years ago, yes, I think it is slightly
9:20
worse. I think I can walk less.
9:22
I've got less energy overall, but I couldn't, I couldn't give
9:25
you yesterday. It felt.
9:27
Better or worse, But I know it is progressing, yeah.
9:30
It's, it's like a slow decline over many years.
9:34
And that that's the joy of muscular dystrophy.
9:37
So how, how does it affect you now?
9:39
Like, are there little things in your daily life that you find a
9:42
bit of a struggle? I can do stairs if I've got a
9:45
Bannister, preferably a person on the other side so that I can
9:50
press up on either side to get up and going downstairs is not
9:54
easy, but it's much better than going up.
9:57
Same with going uphill. All my friends know they've got
9:59
to push me if we're going up the hill.
10:02
It's too exhausting trying to go up.
10:04
Obviously can't run, can't squat.
10:06
To be honest, I think because I've been like this my entire
10:08
life, I've adapted quite well. Like I know what I need to do to
10:11
get around, but it's definitely affecting the career choice that
10:16
I've made because it is a pretty physical job being a vet.
10:20
We will get to that in a minute, but it does sound like our
10:22
conditions are very similar. Even though you've got best of
10:24
myopathy and I've got limb girdle muscular dystrophy, we do
10:28
have some very similar experiences.
10:30
Like I can't run, I can't do squats anymore.
10:33
I used to be able to, but now definitely can't really struggle
10:36
getting up from the floor. I've got like my own specific
10:39
way of getting out. Just like little things like
10:41
that, things that maybe a lot of people would take for granted,
10:43
but I just struggle with a lot more, like lifting my legs from
10:46
a seated position or, you know, getting it from a chair.
10:49
I just sign that. We've got very similar
10:51
experiences in that. Yeah, like I've got my own ways
10:53
to get up from a siege position because I can't just use my
10:56
thighs to get up. I've got to like lean forward.
10:59
A special way that I know how to do, but I wouldn't be able to
11:01
explain it. But it's just the only way that
11:03
I can do. These things exactly, well, I
11:06
completely understand because yeah, I'm exactly the same.
11:09
I find it easier to push down on things that that really helps me
11:12
get up a bit better. So yeah, I do want to get into
11:16
talking about your experience in university and getting into your
11:20
job now. So what was your experiences in
11:22
uni like first of all? Literally first week in I
11:25
already got pulled into a meeting.
11:27
So I don't know if if you'll know this, but just with the vet
11:30
degree you're not allowed to only do small animals, you've
11:33
got to do all animals. So in order to graduate you've
11:36
got to be qualified to treat all animals.
11:39
I actually really, really like farm vet work.
11:41
So when I went into vet school, I really wanted to do mixed
11:43
practise because I really enjoy the the farming side of
11:47
veterinary. But the very first week that I
11:50
went in, I already got pulled to speak with senior staff members
11:54
of the UNI because they were saying they don't know if I'm
11:56
going to be able to get through the degree is a physical degree.
11:59
We've got to within the first two years, we have to go lambing
12:02
for two weeks, we have to go do two weeks of milking, we've got
12:05
to work a week on a pig farm, we've got to do 2 weeks and with
12:09
horses. Yeah.
12:10
So the first two years they were saying they don't know if I'm
12:13
even going to get through those placements, let alone the actual
12:17
vetting bits. But I was really confident that
12:20
I could do it because even before uni I'd already done some
12:23
of this stuff in order to get the experience to get into vet
12:26
school. So I just told them, you know
12:27
what, like yes, it's going to be difficult, but like I'm sure
12:30
I'll be able to do it. And in the end it was just me
12:32
having to figure out how to do loads of different things my
12:35
way. So for example, during lambing,
12:37
because we go with two students to like 1 farm, my friend would
12:41
be the one who was catching the sheep and then she put the sheep
12:44
in a smaller pen and then that meant that I didn't have to go
12:47
catching the sheep, I could just do the actual lambing bit.
12:50
Or like with milking for example, actually it ended up
12:53
not being that bad because the milking parlour was sort of set
12:56
up in a way that I could do it anyway.
12:59
Yes, I was significantly more tired, but I ended up being
13:02
fine. That's good.
13:03
So not only did you prove your lecture was wrong, that you were
13:08
able to do this course, you also just found your own ways of
13:12
doing it. You didn't have to conform to
13:15
the exact ways of doing every single little part of betting.
13:19
You just found your own ways about it.
13:21
And that is the whole point of living with muscular dystrophy,
13:23
is to just find your own ways of doing normal things that other
13:28
people can do, but just adapting it to yourself.
13:30
It's all about adapting, isn't it?
13:32
Adapting yourself and adapting the environment around you.
13:36
So how did you find that? Adapting and maybe not doing
13:39
things a certain way, Maybe doing it your own way.
13:42
Yeah, so I think I had to convince some people throughout
13:45
the five year course that my way would also work, especially, you
13:49
know, when I turn up at a farm trying to vet the animals.
13:53
Obviously the farmer sees me in my walking stick and he's like,
13:56
you want to treat my sheep? And I'm like, you know what, I
13:59
can do it. So I think it was just the same
14:04
of having to prove to other people that my way also works.
14:08
And yeah, it's a bit more cumbersome.
14:09
You know, I'm not going to be able to hop a fence really
14:11
quickly. But, you know, give me a bit of
14:13
time. Either I will very slowly be
14:16
able to go over the fence or I'm just going to have to walk a bit
14:19
further and open the gate. Yes, I might have taken a bit
14:21
longer to do certain things, but the lecturers, the clinicians,
14:25
the, the farmers, they figure out pretty soon that I am
14:29
actually capable. I just need a bit more time.
14:31
Time that's really good and I'm glad that people have been
14:35
understanding in that way because there is always a bit of
14:38
a prejudice around people with mobility aids or people that
14:42
just can't quite keep up. But very quickly you prove them
14:45
wrong. So well done for that.
14:47
That's that is amazing. I I only had one time on a
14:51
placement where a farmer was a bit weird with me.
14:54
I was trying to give a vaccine to a cow, and he was like, oh,
15:00
you know, cows are different from cats and dogs.
15:02
Like, Are you sure you can do this?
15:03
And at that point, in all honesty, I had vaccinated more
15:06
cows than I had cats and dogs. So.
15:09
It was a bit like, I know what I'm doing, I did it right, did
15:15
it fine, did it right the first time and what, what's the farmer
15:18
going to say? You did the right job so he
15:21
can't say anything now. Exactly.
15:23
Yeah, I'm, I'm sure it is difficult to, you know, come
15:26
across people that doubt you a little bit at first, whereas if
15:29
you didn't have a disability, then they probably wouldn't have
15:32
questioned you at all. There's something so satisfying
15:35
about being able to prove them wrong.
15:37
You know exactly what you're doing.
15:38
You're very experienced. You're like, this is literally
15:41
your life that you want to get into.
15:43
Having people maybe doubt you at the beginning and then proving
15:46
them wrong will give you a bit more of a thick skin going out
15:48
into the world as a vet. Definitely, yeah.
15:51
And to be honest, like now that I'm actually working as a vet, I
15:55
struggle. It is a bit harder doing large,
15:57
large bouncy dogs because I can't just squat down, you know,
16:01
get back up when they move. But it the clients have been so
16:04
kind and understanding. Either the clients offer to hold
16:07
their dogs for me, which they want to anyway because that's,
16:10
you know, their dog, they like holding their dog anyway.
16:13
Or I just say, sorry, I'm disabled.
16:15
Can I sit on the chair? And if you bring your dog to me,
16:17
then I can do everything from a seated position.
16:20
Everyone in my practise is just amazing and so understanding.
16:24
I just put my head out and see if there's a nurse or someone
16:27
who's or another vet who's just got a couple of minutes of free
16:30
time. If they can come in and just
16:31
help me hold the dog. They're just a fantastic
16:33
practise and I can't say enough good things about my colleagues.
16:37
No, I've not had any issues at all with clients being funny
16:41
about me being disabled. Like everyone has just been so
16:43
understanding. I did have a bit of a rough time
16:46
when I first started because it is really physical.
16:48
I am walking loads and I ended up having to go go on like extra
16:52
painkillers every day that I worked.
16:54
Now that I think my body is starting to get used to it, I'm
16:57
still on extra painkillers, but just slightly less.
17:00
Of a dose but. Like it's all been going quite
17:03
well. That's so good.
17:05
I'm honestly so happy for you that you have such an amazing
17:08
support system around you and work because that's so, so
17:11
important that people value you as a member of staff but also
17:16
are willing to help you, willing to adapt things around you.
17:18
That was one thing I wanted to ask about the squatting down
17:21
because I imagine there's a lot of like bending down, especially
17:24
with like smaller animals. I'm glad you told me how you
17:27
adapted to that because that's something I would definitely
17:31
struggle with. Unbalanced is proudly sponsored
17:33
by the Cure LGMD 2I Foundation. The foundation was created by
17:37
the Brazzo family when their daughter Sammy was diagnosed
17:40
with limb girdle muscular dystrophy type two I at the age
17:44
of 2. At that time, there were no FDA
17:46
approved therapies for two I. So they created this nonprofit
17:49
organisation with a mission to spread awareness, provide
17:53
advocacy for the patient community, and to raise funds to
17:56
support research for LGMD 2 I. To find out more or to donate,
18:00
visit curelgmd2i.com. And thank you so much to the
18:04
foundation for sponsoring this podcast.
18:06
What I think about maybe in the future becoming a mum, like how
18:09
I'd be able to like deal with the baby being on the floor all
18:12
the time and stuff. But you, you just adapt and you
18:15
have extra help around you and the way you've done it just,
18:19
it's very inspiring. My workplace for example, they
18:22
for me specifically bought a brand new like spinny wheelie
18:26
chair for the consult room. So the wheels are fantastic.
18:32
So it means that I can stay sitting down and I just wheel
18:35
myself around on the spinny chair if the dog is, you know,
18:38
if the odour can lift the dog up onto the table.
18:40
And that completely works. The really huge dogs, I mean,
18:43
they're huge anyway. Like I had a Saint Bernard in
18:45
the other day, didn't even need to bend down, takes up in the
18:48
Saint Bernard. He was like 70 or 80 kilos, like
18:52
a golden retriever sized dog. Yeah, I just sit on the chair
18:54
and then the owner sort of pulls their dog over to me.
18:57
Or for example, if I'm needing to get blood off a biggish dog
19:01
that can't go on the table, I just end up sitting on the floor
19:04
and doing it that way because the nurse has to help you hold
19:06
the dog anyway. So the dog's not going anywhere.
19:09
I can just sit on the floor. It's all about experience, isn't
19:11
it? You're going to encounter so
19:12
many different types of animals, but the more you practise, the
19:16
more you know exactly like what position you need to be in with
19:19
types of animals and things. But your whole process getting
19:22
into work sounds so positive. And congratulations for
19:26
graduating and for getting into that because it does sound very
19:29
intense and it does sound tough. But you're, you're just someone
19:32
that people can take inspiration from.
19:34
Your job is very, very physical, but you just find your own ways
19:37
of adapting it. And it could inspire other
19:39
people that might have muscular dystrophy to not give up on
19:43
their dream maybe, and not give up on certain careers that they
19:46
want to get into because they think, oh, it's too physical.
19:49
It's just not for me. Do it anyway.
19:50
Nowadays people are so ready to adapt to different needs.
19:54
That's been really good to. Hear the good thing about
19:56
veterinary is that if I end up getting sort of even worse,
19:59
there's so many different places that you can go with with this
20:03
degree. So like going into salmon is
20:05
something that I'm quite interested in because it is
20:07
farming, but it's very different type of farming.
20:10
Seeing as I live in Scotland, there's a huge salmon industry.
20:13
I mean, I don't know when or if I'll even make the move over,
20:16
but I'm quite happy where I am doing cats and dogs at the
20:19
moment. What's next for you?
20:21
Do you think you'll stay there for a while?
20:23
Is there something else that you want to maybe achieve?
20:26
Career wise, I've only just started so hopefully I'll be
20:29
there for a while. I'm still in a graduate position
20:32
so that there's still so much to learn.
20:34
Otherwise I don't know. I mean, I'm training my
20:37
assistant dog in training at the moment.
20:38
He's he's sitting his exams end of the year so that he can help
20:44
me with things. I've got a pretty big dog, so
20:46
he'll hopefully be able to help me race.
20:49
And there's a special harness that I'm going to train him on
20:52
once he's passed his health testing.
20:53
And that will mean that he can sort of help pull me up hills or
20:57
upstairs or just forwards if, if I'm really quite tired.
21:00
And hopefully that means I don't need a person with me if I need
21:03
to go up a slope and I can just have my dog with me and that
21:07
will be enough. And then I've just started
21:09
riding with riding for the disabled.
21:11
That's really exciting. Those are sort of the two main
21:13
things that I do. My life just revolves around my
21:16
dog and other animal related. Things really so cool that you
21:20
can train your dog to help you. I mean, I have a dog um, with my
21:23
family and my family home. He's a staffy.
21:25
He's quite a sturdy, stocky dog and I can't really take him on a
21:30
walk on the leash anymore because he is so strong.
21:33
He would just pull me over. Luckily he's very obedient and I
21:36
don't really need to take him on the lead anyway.
21:38
I've always thought about maybe if I got a dog in the future I
21:41
would need to get a small one that I'd be able to maybe
21:44
handle. But actually there are ways of
21:46
training dogs to help you. So that is something that I
21:49
could maybe look into now that you're doing it.
21:51
It was. Quite the struggle at first,
21:53
especially when he was going through his adolescence, teenage
21:56
phase because my dog is big, he's strong, he's supposed to,
22:00
you know, eventually let me put my weight on him.
22:03
But that also meant that during the teenage phase he was awful
22:06
because he would pull and I've, I've fallen down several times.
22:09
He's pulled me off benches so going through the teenage phase
22:13
was absolutely horrific and I couldn't take him on a walk
22:16
alone if we went anywhere. I couldn't let him off the lead
22:19
because his recall was horrific, but that also meant he was
22:21
pulling all over the place. Thank goodness he's now over
22:24
that. His recall is now I'd say 99.9%.
22:28
We can just drive to a park. I park my car right right at the
22:32
start of a walk and I just let him off lead and I have the
22:35
confidence that he'll come straight back.
22:37
I can now take him on a walk by myself and that was a huge
22:40
breakthrough for us. You each other out by now?
22:42
Yeah, definitely. And yeah, my dog has knocked me
22:45
over several times and at that moment it's really easy to not
22:49
be able to forgive your dog. But obviously a dog doesn't know
22:51
any better. Yeah.
22:53
Well, he doesn't know I'm disabled so.
22:55
Well now my dog is getting a bit older.
22:56
He doesn't really run off as much.
22:58
Like he knows to stay with me a bit more.
23:00
I don't know if that's just because he's older or because he
23:04
knows that I'm a bit slower now. I don't know.
23:07
I like to think that he understands me more and that he
23:10
wants to just stay with me because he knows I'm a bit slow.
23:12
But who knows, he might just be lazy.
23:16
So to finish off, I want to ask you a question that I ask all my
23:21
interviewees. Is there a piece of advice that
23:23
you would give to your younger self or maybe someone that wants
23:27
to get into betting or just a physical job that might feel a
23:32
bit held? Back don't give up on it.
23:35
That's just so important. I think is, is to just not give
23:38
up. Um, knowing that it is physical,
23:40
but there there are ways. I mean, the world is catching up
23:43
now to, you know, equality and sort of disabled rights and
23:48
stuff like that. I'm sure if I was born 100 years
23:51
ago, I would have never been a vet because I wouldn't have been
23:54
able to have those adaptations put in.
23:56
In today's day and age, I see no reason why anyone else with with
24:00
a physical disability shouldn't be able to do veterinary.
24:03
Yes, it's going to be an uphill fight.
24:05
Going to have to have a really thick skin, especially going
24:09
through the large animal side of things, doing farm visits, stuff
24:12
like that. Things will be said, people will
24:14
try and you know, question if you're actually capable.
24:18
But I think if you're able to work with the school, work with
24:21
the clinicians, work with the people in charge, like there is
24:24
a way around things and just to not give up really.
24:28
You're kind of like a beacon of hope for people that might not
24:31
know whether they're doing the right thing and trying to push
24:34
for the career that they want. But like you said, nowadays
24:37
it's, you know, companies are trying their best to accommodate
24:41
for everyone. So surely it shouldn't hold you
24:43
back just because something you can't help.
24:46
Surely you could still be able to do what you want and you have
24:49
definitely proven that. So congratulations.
24:51
Thank you. Yeah.
24:52
I mean, even for the company that I work for, like, yes, as
24:55
an adaptation, the only thing they had to really pay
24:58
themselves was to get me a new chair.
25:01
That was enough to make my job significantly easier.
25:05
So I think companies now are definitely more willing to help
25:09
people that are disabled. I love the idea of that the the
25:13
spinny chair as well because it's kind of like a wheelchair
25:15
but for the workplace and you can just kind of spin around
25:17
everywhere. Sounds great.
25:19
Oh, it was so good. It was actually slightly
25:21
dangerous the first time I got in because the wheels were so
25:24
good. I was holding onto a dog and sat
25:26
on the chair and as soon as the dog like lunged forward, I went
25:30
flying with the dog on the spinny chair.
25:33
Yeah, my practise manager was like, I warned you that the
25:36
chair was spinning. And I was like, yeah, I know.
25:38
You warned me. Oh, that's hilarious.
25:42
But now you're used to it, so that's fine.
25:44
I've got it. I know how spinning it is.
25:46
I know how to not go flying. It's all about adapting, isn't
25:51
it? Is there anything else you want
25:52
to add before we finish? Just that I hope I can inspire
25:56
other people with physical disabilities to not only
25:59
veterinary, but anything that's physically demanding that there
26:02
is a way to work around things and that if that's really what
26:05
you want to do, like we'll all be able to find a way you've.
26:08
Said it perfectly there. I really hope that you continue
26:12
to raise awareness and despite your story in different places,
26:16
it is just such a a nice refreshing story to hear someone
26:20
actually achieving what they really want to do despite their
26:23
condition telling them otherwise and despite a lot of authorities
26:26
telling you otherwise as well. So you've kind of defied all of
26:28
that and you still pushed and got your end goal anyway.
26:33
So I really do admire you for that.
26:35
And thank you so much for sharing your story on my podcast
26:38
today. No, thank you so much for having
26:40
me on the podcast. So happy we got to sit down and
26:43
chat. If you you guys listening
26:44
enjoyed our chat today, then don't forget to leave a comment
26:48
in the Q&A box underneath this episode.
26:50
Let us know what you thought. Kat.
26:52
Can we find you on social media? Yep, um, you can follow my dog
26:56
because I do a lot of posting about disability and assistance
27:00
dog awareness on that page. So it's at Knox the spoo.
27:03
So Knox the SPOO. I will link Knox the spoo on the
27:09
episode description as well for you guys to check out.
27:12
Don't forget to follow Imbalance and to rate the podcast 5 stars.
27:15
It really helps me out and keep sharing, keep spreading the
27:20
imbalanced word. Thank you so much Kat again for
27:22
coming on today. I hope you all enjoyed listening
27:25
and I will speak to you guys very soon in another couple
27:27
weeks, but until then, bye.