A webinar organised by Physical Disability Australia features contributions from people who have encountered challenges and unfairness, professionals, government representatives and academics in the disability access space.

Carol Taylor might have thought nothing could be worse than suddenly finding herself quadraplegic after a terrible car crash 24 years ago.

In 2001 the car she, and her newlywed husband Robert, were driving in hit some black ice and rolled twice. On that second roll, the roof collapsed, severing her spinal cord. In that split-second Carol’s life utterly changed. She was quadriplegic, completely paralysed from the chest down and unable to use her hands.

Through incredible determination and supported by the strong love of a wonderful husband - and later a child - a family emerged from that wreckage. Carol began a career as a mother, lawyer, and later entrepreneur. But, of course, she always remained in that wheelchair . . . and that still continues to frame who she is, for so many people she interacts with.

This is the story Carol brings to Physical Disability Australia’s special webinar.

How simple, yet vital, it was for her to overcome the unconscious bias that could have prevented her - as a ‘cripple’ - from receiving the mammogram that identified the cancer that was beginning to creep through her body and that could have killed her.

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When Carol arrived at the radiology centre to have her mammogram, she was met with blank stares. She was in a wheelchair; it could not be done. Simple as that.

The story of what happened next is both long and simple. It would have been so easy fo her to just collapse and accept that it “could not be done”, yet she didn’t.

Eventually, getting a scan proved to be easy. All that was required was surmounting the massive obstacle of ‘established procedure’ and yet this stood obstinately in Carol’s way, blocking her from what eventually became a life-saving diagnosis.

How Carol managed to overcome the negativity and her refusal to accept the dismissive response will be considered in the webinar organised by Physical Disability Australia to support people who find their path ahead in the healthcare system blocked by simple obstacles.

The aim of the webinar is to inspire and equip participants with ways and methods that will inspire and allow everyone to find their own way to achieving proper health outcomes.

It will include not just Carol’s story, but also contributions from Dr Dinesh Palipana, Dr Yi Yang, Mandy Frier, and Jeremy Muir.

Information on the 5 August webinar, focusing on how to achieve inclusive healthcare for people with disability, can be found using the second link.