A Very Inspiring Woman

Hello everyone , hope this finds all well in your part of the world.

Last week I attended an International Women Day Lunch which was a fundraiser for The Clifford Craig Foundation , a local charity supporting health research , improvements in medical treatments and enabling high quality medical care in our region. I was fortunate to have been invited by Yeltour (the store I took part in their TV ad last year) so thought it only appropriate I wore garments purchased there over the years. My outfit  for the lunch was a black blouse by Coop , bought several Summers ago and worn with a new this summer tiered Mocha coloured M.Dainty skirt , a fancy recycle belt , simple black earrings and bangles and black patent leather Sergio Rossi platform sandals.

The keynote speaker was Sam Bloom , who was a truly inspirational speaker. I will attempt to tell a little of Sam’s story .

Sam had travelled the world , achieved her dream and became a nurse , was happily married and mother to three young boys but on their first overseas holiday in Thailand in 2013 a freak accident changed her life forever.  A safety rail on an observation deck gave way and Sam fell twenty feet to the tiled floor below.

Sam suffered horrendous injuries , a fractured skull , both lungs ruptured and her spine was shattered in two places.Once Sam was stable enough she was  flown back to Sydney where she spent many months in hospital . It was during this time Sam was told she would never walk again.

After seven months in hospital and rehabilitation Sam returned home but found her new circumstances very difficult as her home viewed from a wheelchair a major challenge. It pained her greatly that she no longer was the same wife and mother and instead of providing care she was the recipient of that care.

In Sam’s words the guardian angel that saved her life was a baby bird. Her son , Noah, rescued an injured baby magpie chick that had been blown out of a giant Norfolk Pine. No local vets were interested in taking on the injured bird so he came home to round the clock care .  The boys named this tiny fluffball Penguin. In the early days Penguin required two hourly feeds and constant care and became Sam’s constant companion and over time she bought laughter back into the house again.

From this , Sam found a renewed sense of purpose in taking up competitive paracanoeing , placing 13th. in the world and winning two Australian titles and representing Australia in Italy in 2015.

Sam’s love of surfing has returned and she has represented Australia in Adaptive Surfing , resulting in gold medals in 2018, 2020 and 2023 at the World Para Surfing Championships.

Sam’s husband , Cameron, is a professional photographer who documented their experience with his beautiful images forming the basis for a bestselling book , Penguin Bloom, which was also transformed into a film produced by Naomi Watts , who also played Sam in the film.

Sam’s inspiring speech was accompanied by the most wonderful images by Cameron.

I have heard many wonderful and inspiring speakers over the years but this was most certainly one that will stay with me .