Sr Rebecca Returns to the Water - No Stranger to Pain

Today, on a beautiful Sydney Sunday morning, Sr Rebecca joined thousands of other swimmers as they took part in a Sydney Institution, the Cole Classic Ocean Swim in Manly. Over 30 years ago, at the age of 15yrs, Sr Rebecca won the race. Today she was satisfied with completing it, after many years out of the water.

Sr Rebecca, a member of the Parramatta Sisters of Mercy, is a former Australian Champion Swimmer, and after a number of years of success at the national level, was selected for the 1984 Olympic Team, before suffering a career-ending injury to her shoulder through over-training.

This experience of physical pain and deep personal disappointment, has provided Sr Rebecca with both empathy and a powerful motivation to help others, in her ministry as a physiotherapist working in the area of Chronic Pain Management and research. 

Sr Rebecca, one of the co-authors of "The Pain Book"  and "The Spinal Cord Injury Pain Book" , draws on her personal experience in bringing hope to those under her care, in her physiotherapy ministry. She has a keen interest in the relationship between the experience of Chronic Pain and spirituality in bringing hope and healing.

As a former winner of the Cole Classic, media interest in Sr Rebecca's return to the open waters has been high. To read more of the media coverage of Sr Rebecca's story on the Archdiocese of Sydney web site click here; in the Parramatta Diocese Catholic Outlook magazine click here (and go to page 16); in The Sydney Morning Herald click here; or to see her interview on the Channel Nine Sunday Today Show, click here.