 It was March 22, 2006, when my world was turned upside down. A diagnosis of bone disease changed everything. Life before my diagnosis was chaotic, but I loved it. I was working as a nurse and had just finished my diploma in fire technology. I was also an active operational volunteer firefighter. A healthy young lady with the ability to run and walk was suddenly put into a wheelchair. I knew from my nursing background this wasn't going to be an easy road ahead. Life as I knew it would never be the same again. Over five years, I had five operations to reconstruct my hip. I endured an array of medication regimes and had a life-saving blood transfusion. I learnt to walk again five times. I found myself lost not being able to work or actively firefight. I decided to see what alternatives I could do to still help my community and still play an active part in CFA. I learnt there was more to CFA than riding around in big red trucks. It just so happened at the time our brigade secretary was looking for an assistant so I was asked to help out. I've been the brigade secretary now for five years. It's amazing what a tap on the shoulder can do. I've learnt a lot about administrative skills and the day-to-day running of a brigade. I'm also the lieutenant of the District 8 headquarters brigade. I took advantage of the courses on offer and focused on incident management training. I've been sent away to assist at floods, fires, major incidents and help out at a district level. My experience working behind the scenes has come in handy with my day-to-day job. I now work for the Fire Services Commissioner in Emergency Management at the State Control Centre. The work done behind the scenes helps the crews out on the fire front. We all play different roles but each part we play is vital in keeping the community safe. And it is a rewarding experience to know that we are helping people put the pieces of their lives back together again. It's hard to smile sometimes when things haven't gone the way you had hoped but the important thing is that your friends, colleagues and family are vital to help you through. You have to think creatively and look at the alternative or as they say in the CFA, plan, do, check, adjust. But the important thing is to not give up.