The 7.30 Report on ABC [Australia] last Wednesday night featured an interview with Thérèse Rein, wife of the Prime Minister of Australia, the Rt Hon Kevin Rudd MP. The interview was conducted by Kerry O'Brien.
Whilst not specifically about transplantation, nor the illnesses associated with this, Ms Rein nonetheless did have some very interesting and worthwhile things to say about identifying one's health strengths and then running with those - rather than being fixated with the negatives.
- Broadband version of interview
- Dial-up version of interview (very thoughtful of the ABC to provide this!)
- Transcript of interview
Ms Rein grew up with a father who did not let his paraplegia get in the way of developing an aeronautical engineering career. She later built up an international business specialising in job placement of disabled people.
Ms Rein's words about taking stock of one's limitations and then running to one's strengths are very worthwhile.
When confronted with a chronic illness - such as are often associated with organ transplantation - one can sometimes forget that one still has many strengths and skills that one can develop and utilise.
[...] something that I actually heard [...] what Paralympians do - and my dad was a Paralympian. What Paralympians do is they don't focus on what doesn't work, they focus on making what does work, work to the max. And that's what my dad did. And I think I've learnt a little bit about how to do that from him.
Indeed, I try to get this across to my students at TAFE; although not in the context of chronic illness, some experience other feelings of negativity after arriving in a new country or being out of the workplace for many years or just not being confident enough.
My message is to certainly learn what you can in your classes - but to also take stock of your existing skills and strengths and to use those as well.
So cheers to Therese Rein - I shall play the first part of this interview in my classes in the future.
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- Image credit: Website of the Prime Minister of Australia
