Aged in her mid-forties, Mrs Carol Ford-Johnson was married with four children and worked full-time. Then Mrs Ford-Johnson experienced an aneurysm which left her with total left-side paralysis, and her life changed forever. As a keynote speaker at the annual occupational therapy students’ conference at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga, Mrs Ford-Johnson will share her experience of suddenly waking up one day with a severe physical impairment and the obstacles she had to overcome. Nineteen years later, she attributes her survival and personal triumph to stubbornness in the face of adversity, mixed with a large dose of humour. Mrs Ford-Johnson will speak of her time in a rehabilitation ward in Melbourne, and of her positive and negative experiences receiving therapy from a multi-disciplinary team. She has since completed a Diploma of Welfare and worked within a multidisciplinary allied health team at the MS Society in Melbourne. The keynote address to the 2010 Occupational Therapy Student Conference will be delivered from 8.40am on Tuesday 27 October in the Nowik Theatre at CSU in Guinea St, Albury.