Katie's journey is a devoted mother’s story of strength and transformation.
Katie’s life took a turn after finding herself dealing with breast cancer - while pregnant.
Katie chose to prioritise her unborn child's health over her own treatment, not starting radiotherapy until after David’s birth.
This decision marked the beginning of a difficult journey.
Katie had no doubt about the choice she had made though:
“I wanted the child inside me to have the best possible chance that it could,” she said.
But it came at a price, leaving her exhausted and struggling to remember much of David’s early months.
And as her little one grew up, developmental delays became apparent, leading to a diagnosis of autism when he was four.
Katie and her husband adapted by learning new communication methods like the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) to help David express his needs.
Although Katie recovered from the cancer, she faced enormous challenges caring for her son David.
She said: “During that time David couldn't speak.
“We eventually found a system where you use pictures so he pointed to a card to tell me that he wanted something to eat or whatever.”
Despite the emotional and physical toll, Katie remained steadfast, prioritising her son's well-being above all.
As David grew older, his increasing size and strength made it difficult for Katie to manage him alone.
After discussing with her husband, they decided that Katie would re-enter the workforce while he retired from driving taxis to take on the primary caregiving role.
This decision was driven by the need for a change in their family dynamic and the practical necessity of always having someone with David who could cope with him physically.
“David is taller than me, he's bigger than me and I'm just finding it quite hard to manage him because of his strength”, Katie said.
As you can imagine, Katie's feelings about returning to work were mixed.
While she was excited about the prospect of getting back out there, she also felt daunted by such a big change.
Katie discovered Routes to Work through an internet search. She liked the idea that they would build her confidence and skill set first, not just throw her in the deep end right away.
Kevin, a Routes To Work support worker, soon became a pivotal figure in her story, helping her build confidence and acquire new skills, particularly in areas like Excel, which she had not used before.
Kevin’s support was instrumental in Katie's journey. He helped her enrol in a confidence-building course and arranged Excel training through Pitman's Training.
Kevin explained:
“So Katie had mentioned Word and Excel were two areas that she felt she might need some improvements.
“We looked through Word on my laptop and almost everything we looked at Katie could remember - obviously Word hasn’t changed that much over the years.
“When we looked at Excel however, I think we both realised that Katie could probably sharpen her skills on it.
“So we used a company called Pitman's Training, booked Katie in to do a course there,” Kev concluded.
This helped address Katie's self-doubt about her skillset.
Kevin’s encouragement and practical support, such as interview preparation and boosting her morale when they met, played a vital role in her becoming more self-assured.
And Kevin noticed a change in Katie: “I really feel I've seen Katie come out of her shell over the length of time we've been working together!”
“Kevin looked into different aspects of it to see if he could get me some training and to give him his credit he did come back quickly and I'm actually doing my course just now” Katie explained.