‘My accident got me though this’: Road trauma survivor Kirstey Whicker’s brave cancer battle

Three decades after she became Adelaide’s ‘miracle girl’, Kirstey Whicker has revealed her new, private battle.

Three decades after she survived being run down by a drunk driver, Kirstey Whicker is even more of an inspiration, after overcoming another battle – this time with cancer.

“Can you believe my life? – It’s ridiculous,” she says.

Ms Whicker is sitting in her new favourite local, Loaded Corner Cafe, in Adelaide’s East End close to her apartment.

On Wednesday, the 52-year-old was given the news that she is in remission.

Kirstey Whicker at Loaded Corner Cafe. Picture: RoyVPhotography

Kirstey Whicker outside court in 2001. Picture: Advertiser Library

In May she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after a blood test - before she was due to have sun spots removed - showed her haemoglobin was dangerously low.

For the next six months, Ms Whicker was treated with chemotherapy every 28 days.

She made the decision to only share her diagnosis with her family and close friends, but is now telling her story to Sunday Mail readers.

“I want people to see that no matter what happens to you, with a bit of belief in yourself, you can get through anything if you work hard and fight,” she says, adding: “I don’t have time for cancer.”

Ms Whicker is already an inspiration to many.

Kirstey Whicker today. Picture: Supplied

She is often recognised in Rundle St, and anywhere she goes, because of what happened in the early hours of September 8, 1996.

The eldest daughter of then-SANFL general manager Leigh Whicker, she had been at a 21st birthday party in Walkerville when, while waiting for a taxi, she was run down by a drunk driver, who then drove away.

Nicole Kate Bosisto, 21, also a guest at the party, pleaded guilty the following year to dangerous driving.

She received a suspended sentence, was banned from driving for a decade and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service with brain-injured road accident victims.

Doctors believed Ms Whicker, who suffered severe head injuries, three broken ribs, a fractured collarbone, a broken leg and torn leg and shoulder ligaments, would never walk or talk again.

However, the 24-year-old began to recover and became the “miracle girl”, winning the hearts of South Australians while her inspirational story was documented in the Sunday Mail and The Advertiser.

Kirstey Whicker in court in 2001. Picture: Michael Milnes.

In August 2001, she was awarded $3.7 million in compensation.

Today, Ms Whicker, who has a slight limp and slurred speech, says she is grateful for what happened to her 28 years ago.

“Everything happens for a reason,” she says.

“I was exhausted every time (after chemotherapy), but my accident happened to make me get through this (cancer battle).

“Nothing can knock me around like the brain damage I had … but I fully understand how it can (for other people).”

Grateful to her haematologist, Dr Anya Hotinski, Ms Whicker also feels “lucky” to have had non-Hodgkin lymphoma because it is “fully treatable”.

“I don't know where I would be if it was one of the scary cancers; my heart goes out to people with the more serious ones,” she says.

Kirstey Whicker and her mum Lynette Tucker at her home in Adelaide. Photo: Nick Clayton

Ms Whicker’s mother Lynnette Tucker, who was her greatest advocate after the accident, has again been by her side: “I wouldn’t be where I am without her”.

Her father and siblings Monique and Leigh, and his wife Heidi, have also been there, along with longtime friends, fashion designer Liza Emanuele and Bird in Hand’s Susie Nugent.

Ms Whicker’s personal trainer Kim Gibson – “the kindest person” – was also with her every step of the way, literally. When she could not socialise or go to the gym, because of her compromised immune system, her fitness buddy accompanied her for walks outdoors.

Debbie Deluca, Kirstey Whicker, Anna Cerone and Catherine Maglaris are the “Awesome Foursome” Picture: Supplied

Kirstey Whicker keeps the card her friends gave her in her purse. Picture: Supplied

And then there was Debbie Deluca, Anna Cerone and Catherine Maglaris, who work in boutiques along Rundle St. With Ms Whicker, they make up the “Awesome Foursome”.

“The first time I went to hospital they sent me flowers and a card saying ‘You got this’ and that was my inspiration (to fight the cancer),” Ms Whicker says, adding: “They are my saviours – them and my mum.”

Originally published as ‘My accident got me though this’: Road trauma survivor Kirstey Whicker’s brave cancer battle