It has taken over 10 years for a Mayo woman to move home and live independently following a devastating cycling accident, writes Séan Dunne.
A morning in October 2013 would change Geraldine Lavelle's life forever when on a routine morning cycle, the Mayo woman was left paralysed from the chest down when she was involved in a collision with a lorry on the main Longford Road.
The disability rights activist and author moved back to Castlebar in recent months into a specially adapted bungalow which is located a short distance from her family.
It has been a long road to recovery and independence for Geraldine.
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Living independently
"My wheelchair when I was in the hospital signified entrapment or I suppose loss of power or loss of youth," Geraldine said.
She said that being able to live independently has brought a newfound happiness to her life after spending several years in a care support setting in Co Sligo.
"I don't really see the wheelchair anymore; I just see me. I see it as a means of me being able to do my day-to-day tasks," she said.
Accident
A graduate of the University of Galway, she recalled the early days after her accident as she recovered in hospital and the impact of the accident set in.
She would go on to spend time at the National Rehabilitation Hospital where she spent time with the doctors and nurses who would set her on the road to recovery.
As the month's passed by, Geraldine's new reality of living with a disability set in and when the time came to move on from the NRH, she was not able to return home to Mayo because of the extent of her injury.
She moved to a care support setting in Co Sligo, where she would remain for several years, before eventually returning to her hometown of Castlebar late last year to live independently.
"It was the last missing cog in the wheel for me, in redeveloping my life as much as I could. I wasn’t sure if living independently was possible for me and I suppose I had lost courage in myself because every point after that I became scared to leave the care setting or I had my hopes dashed so many times that I didn’t think that I would ever leave and return home."
After fighting for almost a decade for a home in the community, she is enjoying her newfound space in the house in Castlebar allocated to her by Mayo County Council.
Sense of home
"I have three bedrooms, and a lovely big bright, open and warm, cozy self-decorated home. The light is so lovely compared to my dark and dreary old-fashioned room in the care setting.
"It’s worlds apart and the difference it’s made to my mental health and mindset has been unbelievable. I can [be] and am independent.
"The carers come in, but I feel better in myself, and it shows more in your life. I have my own little garden and flowers and a bench out at the back for when my nieces and nephews are over, we can paint out the back.
"Compared to where I was, that absolute darkness and a darkness that I never saw myself moving out of has lifted. For 11 odd years I couldn’t have my friends over and now I can.
"Now I have space and I say the more the merrier can visit. These are things you take for granted but everyone should be allowed to live their life," she said.
Moving forward
Out in her backyard, Geraldine said that the space and brightness brings her great joy, and she now has space to entertain family and friends.
A few years ago, like many other young people Geraldine signed up to some dating websites as she saw more and more of her friends settling down, she also hoped to find love.
Navigating the online dating world with a disability is not always easy.
"Dating in a wheelchair was definitely an eye opener. I suppose dating at the best of times is challenging.
"My friends were great supports and encouraging and they could see all the wonderful qualities I had to give at a time where I couldn’t."
She said that simple things like cutting up your food or lifting a glass were challenging when on dates and she said some people had different reactions.
"I was tired of going to weddings and seeing other people of a similar age getting on with life. I have been going out with my current partner for three years now.
"For the want of a better word, I guess I feel more normal now and someone my own age. I had shut myself off to so much of my life or my potential life and I realised that it’s all still there just in a different way," smiles Geraldine.
She said she is looking forward to her future now back home in Mayo and is busy working on her second book.
She added that looking at different work opportunities is a new focus now that the battle to regain independence has been won.
