A Rude Awakening
Recovering from Trauma
Published on 29. January 2025
114 pages
979-8-7652-0141-1 (ISBN)
Description
Competitive sport and veterinary medicine have always been my life's passions and have given me opportunities to travel the world. I 've competed internationally in sport climbing, cycling and triathlon. In 2015, I returned to Australia on a high as my all-female cycling team had won the prestigious cycling event Race Across America. We had been interviewed on The Morning Show and our documentary was released to the public. A few weeks later, I went off on a final training run before competing in the half ironman World Championship.
That run was my last memory for 30 days as I had been involved in a hit and run accident caused by a speeding cyclist on the Anzac Bridge footpath. I sustained major head trauma and was placed in an induced coma. After waking up thirty days later, I spent three months in rehabilitation and was not allowed to drive or cycle for at least six months.
The next two years were very traumatic as my memory was still affected and I had lost my purpose and direction. With strong support of friends and family, a year later, I returned to work as a veterinarian and continued to represent Australia in triathlon. I also got pregnant at 43 years of age and had a mini-me daughter.
Seven years later, I was attacked by a dog at work resulting in a carotid artery tear, brain bleeds and ongoing seizures. Again, my life was changed in an instant. Using a lot of resilience, I was able to return to work seven months later.
I am now regaining my purpose and identity. I hope my experience of managing recovery after trauma will be of help to readers who have struggled with their own life events.
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01/2025
Balboa Press Au
€13.00
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Person
Dr Sarah Matthews was born in Australia but spent her childhood in Wales and later in central England. She became motivated to be a vet at seven years of age. She was one of very few state school students to be offered a vet student place at her college at Cambridge University. Despite the tough academic course, she took up rowing and represented the University in the Oxford Cambridge Boat race and in a pre-Olympic Regatta in Atlanta. As a veterinarian, she became the first female Fellow in Equine Surgery in Australia. She next went on to represent Australia in three different sports. This is Sarah's first book but she has featured in two documentaries - the first involved Vets Beyond Borders for which she was Project Manager for a year. The more recent is RAAM Bam Thank You Mam about her team winning the prestigious cycling event "Race Across America" (RAAM). Sarah sustained major head trauma in a hit and run by a cyclist on a footpath while preparing for World Championships (70.3, Half Ironman) in 2015. She was in an induced coma for a month and then in Rehabilitation for a further three months. Drawing upon her inner resources, she recovered to continue to represent Australia in endurance sport and to work as a Veterinarian. Sarah was mauled by a dog at work in 2022 again suffering major injuries. She has continued to work as a veterinarian since but is keen to transition into working in the human health care industry to give back to those who have helped her. She is also open to doing some Motivational Speaking to help others manage their direction after sustaining physical or emotional trauma.
