Ciara Kelly has spoken candidly about the severe health struggles she endured following a freak accident several years ago.
The Newstalk presenter was away on work at the end of 2022 when she slipped and fell while stepping out of the shower in a hotel room.
"I broke my back. In September 2023, I had my right hip replaced, and that December I had my left hip replaced. In April 2024, I dislocated my right hip," Ciara told RSVP Live.
"I am not exaggerating when I say it got to a point where I couldn't walk across the room to turn off a light. I used to feel like my hips were pepper grinders, bone grinding on bone. I was in pain every day, all day. I limped."
Ciara revealed that strangers would approach her in the street to ask what had happened. "I found that really embarrassing. I had to sit down on the edge of the bath to brush my teeth, I couldn't stand for two minutes. I was in a leg brace, a back brace and on crutches three times."
One particularly harrowing day remains etched in Ciara's memory. "One day I came home on the Dart, I got halfway up the main street in Greystones and realised I couldn't take another step. I was about 250 yards from my house and didn't know how I would get there.
"I sat on a seat outside a shop and I actually cried because I couldn't get up. I rang my now 19 year old, who was 16 at the time, who was at home thankfully. No one else was there. He came down and took my bag, I leaned on him like a crutch. That was the day I decided to have the surgeries, before that I didn't want them."
Throughout her recovery period, Ciara received unwavering support from her children. "My kids were amazing during that time. They wouldn't let me carry a handbag. If we walked up the street, they would link arms with me. They are all really good to me. I am blessed."
The psychological impact of her injuries was impossible for Ciara to dismiss, and she remains deeply grateful for the progress she's made.
"I was afraid to think of the future. I didn't know what it held for me. I was very lucky the surgeries went very well and I worked very hard on the recovery. Now, walking is a gift to me. It was like I was given a second chance at life. I don't plan on throwing it away."
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