A superfit businesswoman whose career as a triathlete abruptly ended when she was mown down at the end of a race, leaving her severely injured and with PTSD, has told how a bizarre twist of fate saw her accident leading to love.
Diagnosed with the inflammatory bowel disease ulcerative colitis in 2010, Kat Parkin, 39, from Midsomer Norton, began swimming, running and cycling to attain peak fitness, so she was not reliant on endless pills to stay well, reports Somerset Live.
Competitive by nature, Kat was soon entering 70-mile triathlons all over the world. But on July 17, 2019, as she finished a cycling race in Horne, Surrey, she was hit by a vehicle – leaving her unconscious, with burns all over her body, a golf ball-sized hole in her left knee and battling post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that left her too frightened of traffic to cycle or run on roads.
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With her physical injuries healing, a mindset coach then worked with Kat to restore her confidence and in October 2019 introduced her to fellow triathlete Ieuan Hudson, 28, who runs a dog training business. They fell in love and she moved to Midsomer Norton, so they could be together.
She said: “I actually knew of Ieuan, as he was a bit of a star in our area. He texted me and we didn’t stop talking. I was still recovering and was just about mobile by the end of October, so we were able to go on a few dates together. He came to see me every weekend in November and we just clicked immediately.”
She added: “We were both passionate about sport and endurance racing. We were just on the same wavelength. But I think what was most important was that there was never anything to worry about with him. I just felt like I could trust him.”
Kat – who moved from her home in East Grinstead, East Sussex within three months of them meeting – says Ieuan helped to restore her confidence. In November 2019, as she struggled with PTSD, he took her to an airfield at an army camp, so she could cycle without fear of encountering traffic.
“It was so thoughtful of him," she said. “It was the first time I’d been on a bike since the accident and I was able to cycle away without fear of seeing any cars.
“Already, I felt that I was lucky to have met him. I completely trusted Ieuan from the start, which was just amazing.”
But the road to recovery was not easy for Kat, who had just completed a time trial bike race in Surrey on the day when she was run down near the finish line. The driver was later convicted on charges including failing to stop and driving without due care and given a suspended jail sentence.
Kat was rushed to East Surrey Hospital in Redhill, Surrey. She had surgery to pin together her broken right ankle and had a two-inch hole in her left knee. Left with burns all over her body and injuries that ended her career as a competitive triathlete, her worst problems were psychological.
She said: “I thought I’d be back on a bike in a few weeks and it never crossed my mind that I wouldn’t. But when I was discharged the following day, I was completely immobile and I was in constant pain all over my body.”
"I needed my friends to come and help with everything. I couldn’t stand on my own, I couldn’t go to the loo or shower and I couldn’t eat on my own. I lost my independence.”
As well as needing physiotherapy, Kat had months of specialist treatment for burns to her back, arms and shoulders. She fought short term memory loss and PTSD.
“For three months I was on my own, immobile and trying to overcome the brain side of things, which was the hardest thing," said Kat. " I thought, ‘Okay, the broken bones will heal’, but with your brain, you can’t know if it will.
“There would be times where I’d wake up in the night and I wouldn’t even recognise the house that I was in.”
Kat began made a desperate bid to “regain control” of her life. She said: “It was horrendous and terrifying. I would just sit at home crying. I got to the point I was trying to write everything down so I could remember everything.”
She was recommended a mindset coach by a friend in August 2019, who eventually introduced her to Ieuan a few months later.
Kat, whose health issues also saw her leave her job of 15 years said: “It was a really difficult time for me because I was just coming to terms with the fact that I would never become this top athlete I had been working so hard to become.
“But it was also an amazing time, looking back, because I met Ieuan through my coach after he put us in touch because we were both triathletes.”
They moved in together in January 2020, just two months before the first national Covid lockdown and soon added two rescue dogs, George a four-year-old Dalmatian and Peaches, a two-year-old Cypriot sausage dog, to their family.
Sadly, walking the dogs was tough for Kat, who still feared encountering traffic when she was out. She said: “We lived on tiny lanes and even walking along the lane, if I heard a car anywhere, even if it was miles away, I’d be terrified.”
Despite a lot of therapy she doesn't think she will totally overcome this fear and has now bought an off-road gravel Reilly bike, which has rekindled her love of the outdoors.
She said: “Lockdown was a great time for us, as we were in a beautiful part of the country and it was very quiet, so I made a lot of progress with cycling. On Christmas Day I took my new bike out for a ride in the rain and after five metres my love of cycling came flooding back.
“I’m still terrified of being hit when I’m on the road, but I’m not frightened of cycling off-road. I’ve had spectacular falls, but it’s not put me off and Ieuan and I love going cycling together.”
In 2021 when she adopted Darren, a three-year-old warmblood horse, and opened an equestrian outfitters We are Dappled in March this year.
She said: “I may have been to hell and back, but I now feel like I have unlimited potential and I’m so excited about the future I have never felt happier.”
