Kylie Gee's daughter Siahn was just 18 months old when she was diagnosed with a tumour on her brain and severe autism.
Looking back, Kylie says she would often spend more time in the hospital than at home.
"To be honest, there were times when it nearly broke me," says Kylie, who's now based in Karratha, in Western Australia's Pilbara region.
Kylie says Siahn would have up to 500 seizures a day and would sleep very little. It was the hardest thing she has ever had to go through.
"I think the reason it was so hard is that no matter what I did, you couldn't change it. You couldn't make it easier. You couldn't make her better," she says.
This intense, stressful period led to a new passion for storm chasing that would help Kylie recover from the traumatic time in her life.
Kylie has always been into photography but remembers the first time she got hooked on taking photos of storms.
"We were living in Bencubbin [in WA's Wheatbelt] at the time, and I was hanging the washing out on the line and noticed a really big storm over the back fence coming in," she says.
"I just quickly ran inside and grabbed my camera and stood over the fence and took some photos and it probably started from there."
Her interest in photographing storms has grown into a full-blown passion and for the past 12 years she has been chasing weather.
When storms are firing up, Kylie, a mother of three, checks long-range forecasts daily before driving hundreds of kilometres to get the perfect shot.
"It's hard to pinpoint exactly why I get in the car to drive 300 kilometres … to chase a thunderstorm that might still be firing, just to get a handful of shots," she says, laughing.
"On the home front I'm making sure all the washing is done, the fridge is full of food, the house is immaculate, so I know I can just walk out and do my thing and they'll be fine at home.
"Shooting storms I don't get home until two in the morning so it's a case of just pulling the car very slowly into the driveway and unpacking without making too much noise … so I'm not waking them up."
Calm within the storm
Kylie explains how Siahn's tumour changed the part of the brain that regulates behaviour.
"It triggers your fight or flight response and behaviours, emotions, blood pressure, temperature, all of that is basically controlled by the hypothalamus, which is where her tumour is located," Kylie says.
She says the most debilitating symptom for Siahn is hypothalamic rage, which causes her behaviour to become violent without warning.
"It's like flicking a switch and it's not related to environmental issues. It's not related to moods. It is simply a chemical switch that goes off in her brain and causes her to become extremely violent," Kylie says.
For Kylie, outback storms provide a refuge from the challenges life has thrown at her.
"It's sounds ironic, but it's finding that calm within the storm. And for me, the bigger the storm, the more dramatic, the more bolts, the more severe, the more I forget all of that behind me and just focus on what's out in front of me," she says.
It's about standing out in the middle of nowhere by herself under a thunderstorm, listening to the thunder roll while watching the beautiful colours and smelling the rain.
"You know, 10, 15 minutes of doing that, it's almost like you get a recharge. You just feel energised, like you've been picked up and boosted a bit, and you take that home, it's awesome," she says.
'I was lost'
Siahn, now 22, lives in supported independent living with the Autism Association, which do an amazing job, Kylie says.
"It takes the pressure off me. She's an adult. She has a team of around about eight staff that look after her on a rotating roster," she says.
Kylie says this level of support ensures Siahn's safety and enables her to enjoy activities many of us take for granted.
But she says it wasn't easy putting Siahn into full-time care.
"I was lost. I just didn't know what to do with myself, I wasn't prepared for the guilt I felt," she says.
"You know, I probably drank a bit too much alcohol for a while, and probably wasted a lot of time, but I just couldn't find something to fill that void until I discovered storm chasing and that's when I literally got my life back on track."
Kylie's love of the outdoors is something she shares with Siahn.
She says Siahn enjoys swimming in the ocean and that it helps her state of mind.
'Do what makes you happy'
Looking back, Kylie says Siahn made her a better person.
"She forced me to realise what's important. What is important is not whether you've got a nice house or a nice car or anything like that. It comes back to, 'Are you happy, healthy?'," she says.
"Seeing what she has gone through made me realise that you only get one life. You only get one shot at life, and you have to do what makes you happy."
To hear more about Kylie's story, watch the Chasing Bolts documentary on YouTube.
