Hey readers,
This post is being written from my sick bed, it’s now day 6 of bed rest and quarantine. Needless to say I am going a lil stir crazy. Over the past few days I have been pretty sick, in pain and feeling sorry for myself, I just want to feel better and get back to normal.
But as miserable and as sick as I’ve been, I know I am going to get better in the coming days, I just have to ride it out. While on that note, it got me thinking about a speaker I had heard recently at the annual Shoalhaven Women’s Conference held in my local area.
Every year, Council sponsors a table at the event and ladies within the organisation are nominated to attend. This year I was one of those lucky women. It was a great day and there were many remarkable key speakers. The highlight for me, was hearing from Turia Pitt.
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| Turia Pitt - before the fire and after |
For those of you who may not be familiar with Turia’s story, Turia is a former model, originally from Ulladulla (NSW South Coast of Australia). After her completing studies, Turia moved to Western Australia to become a Mining Engineer at the Argyle Diamond Mine.
As a dedicated runner, it was always a dream of Turia’s to compete in the “Racing the Planet’s Kimberley Ultramarathon” (a marathon race in outback Australia) and was given the opportunity to enter. However due to the high entry free, she originally decided not to enter. But two weeks before the marathon, she was invited by organisers to compete for free.
During the race, a wild fire swept through a rocky gorge and despite trying to escape, Turia became trapped.
Turia and several other competitors were seriously injured and suffered burns covering more than 60 per cent of their bodies while running in the 100km race in WA.
As a dedicated runner, it was always a dream of Turia’s to compete in the “Racing the Planet’s Kimberley Ultramarathon” (a marathon race in outback Australia) and was given the opportunity to enter. However due to the high entry free, she originally decided not to enter. But two weeks before the marathon, she was invited by organisers to compete for free.
During the race, a wild fire swept through a rocky gorge and despite trying to escape, Turia became trapped.
Turia and several other competitors were seriously injured and suffered burns covering more than 60 per cent of their bodies while running in the 100km race in WA.
This was Turia’s recount of the race during her speech at the Women’s Conference:
"I remember running, looking down at the ground and being exhausted. Hearing what I thought were trucks on a highway. I remember looking out and being face to face with a wall of flames, I remember the split second decision I had to make. Do I run up the hill, knowing that fires go faster uphill? Do I stay on the valley floor knowing the shoulder high grass will be perfect fuel for the fire? In the end, I chose the hill and started running. I had already run about 30k’s that day and the heat and noise of the fire was adding to the stress of my body. In the end I was just too exhausted to keep running."
“I thought I was going to die and all I thought about was Michael and the life we were going to have with each other. I felt cheated and robbed. I suppose I felt a bit confused as well, after all this wasn’t supposed to happen to me. I was Turia Pitt. Tough as nails.”
“After the fire had past, I must have gone into shock, because people have asked me if I was in excruciating pain and I don’t really remember that. All I remember is the waiting and waiting for 4 long hours, and the Kimberly sun burning my already my burnt skin.
“The helicopter got there just on dark and I had to walk to the chopper, as they couldn’t get a stretcher to me.”
“The doctor’s at Kununurra Hospital put me in an induced coma and I woke up a month later in Concord Hospital.”
The race and fire were in September 2011. Flash forward to May 2013. The lady who stepped on stage to give this speech was incredible; I was completely humbled by her. Turia had such an aura about her, she was positive and full of life, even after everything she had been through.
Turia’s speech inspired me. Throughout her speech, her motto was “never give up”. It reminded me of the fact, that when life deals you a blow, you have 2 choices. You can either choose to let it define you and wear it as a chip on your shoulder. Or like Turia, it can be used to grow from and learn, while giving you the determination to keep pushing forward and to never give up.
Not once during her speech was Turia negative, angry or spiteful. She was full of a positive outlook on life. There were many times Turia could have given up, but in her words “"I could've thrown in the towel, but I didn't, I accepted my appearance and told myself I'd be beautiful again and I focused on the things I could do. I'd push myself further, and now I can run steadily, take three stairs at a time and swim half a kilometre in the pool, but I'm not giving up there."
Turia is an incredible woman and such an inspiration with her never give up attitude. I look forward to watching her story and seeing all she will achieve on her road to recovery.
Turia is an incredible woman and such an inspiration with her never give up attitude. I look forward to watching her story and seeing all she will achieve on her road to recovery.
For more on Turia’s speech at the Shoalhaven Women’s Conference, I’ve included an article from the South Coast Register below. Enjoy the read.
Till next time,
Sarah x
Turia Pitt inspires with her courage
By Kathy Sharpe
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NOT GIVING UP: Burns victim Turia Pitt from Ulladulla and her partner Michael Hoskins. Photo: Karisa McCauley
CLOTHED in a compression burns suit, the young Ulladulla woman who had contemplated death amid a wall of flames spoke bravely of the day her life nearly ended in a Kimberley grass fire.
What Turia Pitt said prompted tears and a standing ovation from the 300-strong audience at the Shoalhaven Women's Conference last Thursday.
The admiration was as much for what she didn't say - there was no self-pity or bitterness or blame about the incident that changed the course of her young life so dramatically.
There was only hope, and a clear determination to "never, never give up".
"I stared death in the eye and came out on top," said Turia, who had flown in the day before from a clinic in France where she has been receiving treatment for her burns.
"I should be dead. I should be six feet under," she told the conference.
"What was it that made me survive? It's my 'never give up' attitude."
Turia's determination had already served her well prior to September 2011.
After leaving school at Ulladulla, she had initially struggled at university, but through hard work went on to become a Rio Tinto scholar and graduated with first class honours.
By the time she took up a position as a mining engineer at the Argyle Diamond Mine in WA, life was seemingly perfect.
"I was beautiful, intelligent, had a great boyfriend, great friends - and I was earning good money," she said.
A keen runner, Turia had already decided not to take part in the Kimberley Ultramarathon due to the high entrance fee.
But two weeks before the race, she received an email inviting her to take part, for free.
"I said 'bloody oath!'"
She recalled how excited she was the morning of the race, unaware that by 1pm that day she would be engulfed in a raging grass fire that would leave her and several other runners badly injured.
"My memory of the event is a little patchy. I remember running and looking down at the ground and being exhausted.
"I remember hearing what I thought was the sound of trucks on the highway.
"I remember looking up and being face to face with a wall of flames."
She had to make a split second decision, whether to run up the hill or to stay on the valley floor where there was more fuel to burn.
"I chose the hill and started running. I had already run 30 killometres that day and the heat and stress of the fire was too much for my body. In the end I was too exhausted.
"To all of you who think you can outrun a fire, you can't.
"All I thought about was Michael and the love we were going to have together. I felt robbed. I thought I was going to die."
After the fire passed she was left "waiting for hours and the Kimberley sun was burning my already burnt skin".
Finally rescued by helicopter Turia was flown to hospital where she was put into an induced coma.
She had suffered burns to 65 per cent of her body.
"In hospital it took me a while to come to terms with what had happened to me. I was a vivacious and independent woman and now I was reliant on the people around me," she said.
"I've had to claw my way back into life - learn to walk, to talk - all the things I had taken for granted before became seemingly impossible tasks."
But she didn't give up.
"Each day I was hospitalised I pushed myself a little bit further. I patted myself on the back when I could walk five metres.
"I accepted my appearance and told myself that one day I would be beautiful again. I focused on the things I could do, not on the things I couldn't do."
To date Turia has had more than 20 surgeries and expects to continue treatment for the rest of her life.
"There is a lot more hope for burns survivors," she said.
"I put up with the operations to get a better result."
In the meantime, Turia is continuing her studies and planning her future with Michael, a future which she knows will include one day running another ultramarathon and returning to surfing.
"Getting angry and resenting other people doesn't make me any better, it doesn't make me heal any quicker, it doesn't make me run any faster or swim any further.
"You can get upset for a little while but you can't carry hurt around with you every day.
"I think of all the things I want to do. I won't do them next year, I might not do them in the next five years, but I will do them.
"Life can deal you some rough cards at times but it's how you play with them that's important."
In the audience on Thursday was Turia's partner Michael Hoskins and her mother Celestine who had travelled from Ulladulla to surprise her.
Michael said Turia could have stayed on in France for more treatment, but wanted to come home because she had committed to speaking at the conference.
For the support and generosity shown to her by the people of the Shoalhaven, Turia said she and Michael were "so, so grateful".
"The Shoalhaven community has been bloody brilliant with supporting me," Turia said.
"It's the best thing in the world to know your community is behind you. Please know that I will never give up."
