Karen has no memory of the accident that changed her life

Karen Holman has no memory of the accident that changed her life.

She was only six months old. Her mother had placed her bassinet on a seat in their parked car as she chatted to a mechanic about having a child seat installed when a car ploughed into them.

"I flew out of the bassinet and hit the windscreen," Karen, now 52, tells 9honey.

She was left living with chronic back pain.

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"It's just been something that I've had to live with all my life," the Perth woman continues.

"I don't ever remember not having back pain. So I can wake up in pain, but definitely during the day, the pain gets worse.

"I don't take anything for it, because I think if you've got that pain every day, it's a slippery slope to a painkiller addiction.

Instead, Holman has done her best to stay on top of her health, in particular her weight, to ensure her back isn't under any unnecessary pressure.

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Pregnancy at 24 proved challenging, as did a subsequent diagnosis of Crohn's disease, which caused weight loss and then medication-induced weight gain.

She underwent a bowel resection and has managed her back pain and Crohn's disease as best she could ever since.

"By my thirties, I was able to control the autoimmune disease very well with diet," she says.

Maintaining her mental health throughout her health challenges has proved challenging for Holman.

This was worsened by the loss of her older sister, who died in a car accident at 18, and the death of her best friend in 2020.

"I just basically gave up on myself. I was so depressed and traumatised, I had PTSD. I really stopped caring what I ate," she says.

"I was in survival mode and I was just getting through each day, and that meant I ate junk food because I didn't care what I put in my body. Of course, I gained weight.

"At the same time, my daughter Ashlea discovered she was pregnant. So I was trying to be happy, because I was going to be a grandma but also dealing with the worst depressive episode of my life."

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Holman was able to pull herself out of it with "good mental health support."

Then last year she lost another sister, this time to cancer. Holman nursed her during her final days.

"I've got five sisters, my fourth sister had lost a lot of weight and I asked her how she did it because she's two years older than me," she says.

"She told me about Moshy [a tailored weight loss program for women] and that it just turned everything around for her.

"I think the catalyst was my sister dying. She had taken such good care of herself and beat cancer four times, but still couldn't stop dying.

"I just have to look after myself better. She did all she could and still couldn't make it.

"I haven't been looking after myself, and I owe it to my family. They can't lose another family member. My daughter and my granddaughter deserve me to be at my best."

That was exactly a year ago. Holman worked on both her mental and physical health and today, she is in enjoying life again, particularly when she is with her granddaughter Kaia, three.

"For me, I took it slow. Because I was grieving, I still wanted to find joy in eating and I wanted to eat good food and go out with friends and things like that," she says.

"I think what was lovely was that because I lost a significant amount of weight quickly, like about 10 kilos in three months, I was not where I wanted to be the end goal, but I was already in a great place."

Holman had been working as a dog walker for several years and with her health improved, she was able to fully enjoy it again.

"Immediately losing a little bit of weight meant I had a percentage less back pain. I have a very active job, I work with animals, I do doggy play dates and adventures and pet sitting," she says.

"So it's very active and if I'm overweight, I'm more sluggish and I can't run up the hills and it is a lot of hard work."

Spending time with all of the fur babies keeps her fit and helps her core strength, which also helps to alleviate her back pain.

"They really are excellent companions. And as I started feeling better, I found loving what I do again too."

If you or someone you know is in need of mental health support contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit Beyond Blue.

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