Heather Coombes has devoted her life to helping others, firstly as a librarian and later as a chaplain for people with intellectual disabilities and those in palliative care.
More recently the 69-year-old Thornlands retiree has published 2 books offering practical help to people living with a physical disability. In ‘Marathon Wheeler: Living with Physical Disability’, Heather shares her educational experiences in Australian schools. In her second book ‘The Many Faces of Grief’, Heather uses her personal experiences of bereavement as a springboard to discuss aspects of grief in an honest and empathetic way.
Heather’s story starts in 1954 when she was born in India to Australian parents who were working as missionaries. They returned to Australia and Heather and her younger brother drew on their parents’ wisdom and emotional support to navigate new school systems. At just 11, Heather was admitted to a rehabilitation hospital to undergo a series of operations. “It made me realise there were a lot of people much worse than I was and they still had a massively positive spirit so that helped me develop my independence a little,” Heather said.
“Being away from home for 6 months was quite isolating and so I had to learn to grow up very quickly. “I know my outside appearance can be a bit scary for some, but over the years I’ve grown my inside to cope with what the outside does to others.” Heather says her faith has played a huge role in developing love and acceptance of all people. It set her on a trajectory that would see her go on to spend her life serving others.
As a 1970s university graduate in a wheelchair, Heather struggled to get employment, so she took up an offer of a librarianship. This career path saw her work for The Australian Council for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled, which was renamed in 2007 to National Disability Services (NDS). “I was the librarian there for about 5 years, and then I received a call from a ministry and did 3 years at the Uniting Theological College,” Heather said. “After that I become ordained as a minister.”
Heather’s ministry career gave her opportunities to work alongside people with intellectual disabilities and later in the aged care sector as a chaplain. There was a lot of palliative care work involved, including hospital visiting and family support,” Heather said. “And I think it was my favourite place, it just fit like a glove.” “My aim was to help people find peace, but you can never tell what influence you have.”
It wasn’t until 2016 that at age 62, Heather connected with NDIS. She said:
“I would not know where I would have been without it.”
