In December 2004

Karen Holmes was on a training ride as part of her preparation for the forthcoming Coast to Coast event.

As she biked across the Tauranga Harbour Bridge, Karen was clipped by an articulated truck with the back wheels running right over her. Her shoulder was broken in two places, she broke her collar bone, broke ribs, broke her sacrum and hip, dislocated her knee, broke her ankle and a bone in her foot. Incredibly these weren't her worst injuries - her femoral artery had a jagged tear in it and her blood pressure was dropping alarmingly.

Fortunately for Karen, following several cars behind the truck was a leading Tauranga urology surgeon who identified her arterial bleeding and saved her life.

From there, Karen was taken to Tauranga Hospital, then airlifted to Waikato Hospital where she spent five days in intensive care and another fortnight in post-operative care, before being transferred back to Tauranga Hospital in January.

That month (after an approach made by her sister to race organiser Robin Judkins), Karen received a letter advising that she was able to transfer her 2005 $835 entry fee to the 2006 event. "I was gutted because I was only six weeks away from the Coast to Coast but straight away I knew I was going to give it a crack next year."

Leeder Health's Involvement

Karen came under the care of ACC who chose Leeder Health to undertake her initial 'Return To Work' workstation assessment. Karen found the service to be fantastic and very reassuring and she was confident that in Leeder Health, she had an advocate partner for her recovery.

Soon after, Leeder Health was asked to develop an Activity Based Programme for Karen. "Leeder Health went the extra mile to support me, talking to others who had done the Coast to Coast to get a full appreciation of what was involved; and never saying anything negative. They were 100% behind me, they tuned into what motivated me and they pushed me but without breaking me." said Karen.

In February 2006

Karen Holmes completed the two-day Coast to Coast event, a huge achievement which she attributes to the people who supported her and believed in her throughout her recovery period.

Footnote: In April 2006, Karen applied for a position at Leeder Health for which she was successful. Her personal attributes made her a stand out candidate!