After suffering a stroke Fran faced battles that had her thinking her life was over and had her arranging for services to come to her instead of going out of her house.
When she attended a workshop by Brain Injury Matters and listened to a lady speak she realised that people with acquired brain injuries could do more than she realised.
Fran joined BIM and with their help increased her confidence to not freeze in fear when asked about her experiences. She is now standing in front of audiences as a public speaker talking about her story and the importance of self-advocacy.
Fran is part of the NDIS Self-advocacy working group and a Peer Advisor with the Australian Self Advocacy Project (ASAP). She travels around Australia talking to members of Self-advocacy groups including the Sunshine Coast’s Loud and Clear self-advocacy group.
This work brought Fran to the University of the Sunshine Coast last year to talk to members of Loud and Clear, Spiral, Parent to Parent, QDN, WWild, Synapse and QAI.
As I was listening to Fran tell her story it occurred to me that I wished I had been able to video her so that others could hear her inspiring words. Unfortunately, I was so absorbed in listening I didn’t think to get my phone out and do so. Instead, I thought I would put a small overview together and add a photo for our Blog page.
If you ever get the opportunity to listen to Fran talk I hope you will take if after reading this