Son’s accident inspires mother to help him graduate medicine and to for her to keep helping others

CHITHRANI Palipana had to sacrifice much to help her paralysed son graduate with a medical degree now she is going on to help others in the community

Helping her son Dinesh Palipana finish his medical degree has led mum Chithrani to become a rehabilitation counsellor for people with disabilities as she completes a Graduate Certificate in Case Management, which will lead to a Masters in Rehabilitation Counselling at Griffith University.

CHITHRANI Palipana is a shining example of the sacrificial love of a dedicated mother, who has given up years of her life to see her son achieve his dreams.

Now, she is using her experience with deep suffering to help others.

In 2010, the lives of Ms Palipana and her medical student son, Dinesh, 32, changed forever when he was involved in a car accident which left him paralysed from the chest down.

She made a decision to always be at his side, which she has honoured, supporting him in every way she can to help him achieve his dream of becoming a doctor.

Earlier this year, Mr Palipana, made headlines with his triumph of qualifying and registering as a doctor. He is considered to be one of the best interns to have ever graduated from Griffith’s School of Medicine and works as an intern for Queensland Health in the area of vascular surgery.

Now his mum is continuing on her journey towards becoming a rehabilitation counsellor for people with disabilities as she completes a Graduate Certificate in Case Management, which will lead to a Masters in Rehabilitation Counselling at Griffith University.

Clearly, the raw pain of seeing and helping her son cope with tragedy has equipped her to empathise with others and counsel them.

“Of course there have been many times since the accident where I have found myself teetering on the edge with my emotions and the enormity of what we have had to deal with,” she said.

“I wondered if I even had the capacity to deal with such a devastating life event, but I have coped.

“I have always had a passion for counselling and on the day of Dinesh’s accident, I sat my last exam for a diploma in counselling. I was lucky that I could draw on a lot of coping strategies that I had learnt.”

Ms Palipana said she was determined to help her son get though medical school at Griffith.

“Now I am dead set in supporting him in his medical career. He has had many dark times too, but overall his positive outlook to life is so contagious that you can’t help but feel that anything is possible,” she said.

“In many ways, Dinesh has been my inspiration. Broadening my understanding of disabilities and the disabilities sector has been one of the positive things to come out of this.”

With very limited spare time on her hands, the amazing mum also works as a Justice of the Peace at Australia Fair, at the Gold Coast University Hospital and at the university.

“Dinesh and I are so grateful for the support from Griffith and the local community, which has compelled me to take my counselling goals further with my study,” she said.