After the fires
Tales of survival from the 2009 Victorian Bushfires abound. Many teach us that even in the face of great terror or loss, we can recover.

Elke Gjergja
General Manager Restore

Returning to work after an injury requires individuals to draw on the same stores of resilience, determination, and hope.

Yet good news stories are not told often enough in the occupational rehabilitation field.

The story of former ResolutionsRTK and TAC client, Perla Tortosa, is an example of the kind of restoration that is possible.

After my motorbike accident the TAC put me in touch with ResolutionsRTK to help me get back into the workforce.

At first I was put in touch with Ashley and she put together a work plan with my existing employer. I tried that for a few months but the company I worked for decided to let me go, so then I went back to the drawing board to try and find a new job.

I required two more surgeries during that time, and realised that I could no longer cope working in IT as it involved long periods of sitting, including a lot of travel, which was not helping my injuries. I used to drive 80km to work and 80km back.

I was finally put onto Tracey. She was fantastic and had everything that I needed to give me new motivation. Tracey helped me to retrain as a Real Estate Agent by getting my training approved by the TAC. This job allowed me to do a variety of tasks, which meant that I would not be sitting or driving for long periods of time. I underwent the training at REIV in February during the bushfire season which was a very stressful time, but I did not want to let myself or Tracey down after all the hard work we had put into getting the training approved. This included driving from Warburton to Camberwell everyday, and during that time I even had to evacuate and stay with my in-laws for a while.

It was all worth the effort because I completed my training and received my certificate on 13 March 2009. After that Tracey worked with me, providing valuable support and motivation so that I kept up with my job applications despite many rejections. Finally in May 2009 I got a job in a local Real Estate Agent where I am still working today.

Tracey was fabulous, she was always upbeat and ready to help me in any way that she could. She would email me appropriate job ads, help me revise my resume every time I found a new job to apply for. Without her enthusiasm and motivation it would have been so much harder to keep applying for jobs after getting so many rejections or no replies.

Perla Tortosa

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Both Perla and the TAC consented to the publication of her story.

© ResolutionsRTK 2009