#WomensMonth: Bluff supermom shares motivational story

WOMEN are inspiring, between having children and building a career, they still manage to hold high-powered positions across different industries and start their own businesses while raising families. Caitlin Hansen is one such woman, who at the age of 27, recently opened her very own physiotherapy practice on the Bluff and serves at a hospital in Hillcrest while also raising three sons.

Caitlin grew up in Wentworth and later moved to the Bluff with her parents. After matriculating in 2009 from Grosvenor Girls High School, she went on to study physiotherapy at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville and qualified in 2015.

“I did my community service after qualifying and later started working for another practice in the field. I grew up with the dream of becoming a doctor and before pursuing my studies I did some job shadowing in different fields of medicine including shadowing a dentist, a doctor, an occupational therapist, and a physiotherapist. One of the things the doctor said to me was that if I want to have a family, then being a doctor is going to be hard as well as require a lot of years of studying. At that time I had already had my first son and still wanted to grow my family and have a career. I told myself that I’m going to have to venture into something else that won’t be too strenuous or time consuming because my son deserves to have a mother who is present in his life.”

Upon shadowing a physiotherapist at Addington Hospital, Caitlin was amazed by how much gratitude people have after consulting a physio. “Patients start off very weak or barely able to move and after working with a physio, come out so much stronger than they were before. It makes such a difference in their lives and improves not only their physic but also how they go about in everyday life. Seeing such an impactful and positive change in people’s lives inspired me to pursue physiotherapy and I’m proud to say today that I love what I do. The fact that I get to change someone’s life means everything to me,” she explained.

She worked in a government facility in Phoenix while doing her community service. “I treated a lot of children who suffered from cerebral palsy or developmental delays. Turning their weakness into strength, felt like I was changing their lives. The satisfaction was so wonderful and it’s what keeps me going till this day.”

After being informed about the lack of physiotherapy services available on the Bluff by her son’s doctor, Caitlin bravely and boldly took the decision to open her own practice recently. The practice, which is managed by her supportive husband Branden, is currently open three days a week as she still serves at another hospital in Hillcrest. “I was terrified to open my own practice, however, support from the local community has been overwhelmingly positive and I didn’t expect to have so many people coming in to book appointments and appreciating the work that I do.”