Nicole Cassandra Kullen (15 April 1980 – 6 August 2018)
was an Australian equestrian
paralympian
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...
.
Personal life
In August 1996, Kullen contracted
meningococcal meningitis
Meningococcal disease describes infections caused by the bacterium ''Neisseria meningitidis'' (also termed meningococcus). It has a high mortality rate if untreated but is vaccine-preventable. While best known as a cause of meningitis, it can a ...
sepsis
Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...
.
Kullen spent the next six weeks on
life support
Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basic ...
in an
induced coma
An induced comaalso known as a medically induced coma (MIC), barbiturate-induced coma, or drug-induced comais a temporary coma (a deep state of unconsciousness) brought on by a controlled dose of an anesthetic drug, often a barbiturate such as ...
. After coming out of the coma, she spent a further six months in hospital recovering from the illness and undergoing rehabilitation.
[ Due to the illness both her legs were ]amputate
Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indi ...
d, giving her restricted arm movement, limited strength and no function in both hands and wrists. Her internal organs continued to cause health complications due to the effect the illness had on her organs.[ In 2000, Kullen lost all function in both ]kidney
The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...
s and relied on peritoneal dialysis
Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a type of dialysis which uses the peritoneum in a person's abdomen as the membrane through which fluid and dissolved substances are exchanged with the blood. It is used to remove excess fluid, correct electrolyte prob ...
four times a day.[ In 2003, her son Kyle was ]born prematurely
Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 weeks, very early preterm birth is between ...
, but he later died following complications of the birth.
Career
In 2000, Kullen started competing in dressage competitions with the Equestrian Federation of Australia for able-bodied riders and the RDAA for riders with a disability.[ Her finished international competition was the First International Combined Festival of Dressage at the International Para-Equestrian Competition in Belgium in 2006.][ At the 2007 FEI World Para Equestrian Dressage Championships, she won a silver and bronze medal.][ At the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, she finished fourth in the freestyle and eleventh in the championship.][
After Kullen's retirement from international duties she focused her time to her ]Arabian horse
The Arabian or Arab horse ( ar, الحصان العربي , DIN 31635, DMG ''ḥiṣān ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is ...
s at Nikshar Stud. Her mother, Margaret Kullen, started entering her stallions in shows at which Nicole would show them from her wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...
. She posed a question to the board of the Arabian Horse Society of Australia (AHSA) saying that, "there was no rule regarding showing horses from a wheelchair".
Death
Kullen died on 6 August 2018 at the age of 38.Death notice: Nicole Kullen
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Recognition
*2005 – EFA NSW RDA Rider of the Year Award [
*2007 – The Horse Magazine ‘Eqvalan Rider of the Year’;][ Finalist in the Australian Sports Awards run by the Confederation of Australian Sport in the category of "Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability" ][
*2008 – Finalist in the Elders Nicoll and Ireland Sportsperson of the Year;][ Awarded the NSW Institute of Sport ‘Ian Thorpe/Grand Slam International – Outstanding Achievement Female’ award at NSW Institute of Sport Awards Dinner ]
References
External links
Equestrian Federation of Australia Athlete Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kullen, Nicole
1980 births
2018 deaths
Child amputees
Paralympic equestrians for Australia
Australian female equestrians
Equestrians at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Australian amputees
Sportspeople from Sydney
Sportswomen from New South Wales