By Paul Dobbyn
THREE days into her pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, Karen Gerrard wasn’t travelling well.
Her knees felt as though they were about to give out after her trek down part of the Pyrenees in this early stage of the Camino Frances (the French Way).
Stretching out ahead of her were 30 more days of walking and over 700km across some difficult terrain.
Mater Townsville Hospital’s executive director of nursing was doing some serious thinking.
“Surely I can’t be already looking at chucking it in?” was her primary thought.
“Perhaps I was foolish to ever think of such an undertaking, especially only a year after being given the all-clear on my throat cancer,” was another.
But Karen was about to witness the spirit of the Camino in action.
“An exercise physiologist I’d just met on the pilgrimage said: ‘Keep going, you can walk through this.’
“She helped tape up my knees to support them.
“Someone else had knee pads they gave me after deciding they wouldn’t need them.
“I saw similar examples of helpfulness throughout the walk – there were people carrying bags for others, and so on.
“Also I didn’t hear one bad word or complaint the whole time on the pilgrimage.”
Like many others, Karen and husband Mick first thought of the pilgrimage after seeing Martin Sheen’s 2010 film, The Way, which was set on the Camino de Santiago (the Way of St James) and directed by his son Emilio Estevez.
Sheen played an American doctor who travelled to France to pick up the remains of his son who had died in the Pyrenees during a storm while doing the walk.
He decides to complete the pilgrimage in memory of his son and the movie follows his adventures as he meets a multitude of other pilgrims.
The stories of the pilgrims were essential to the movie’s simple charm and so it proved in Karen’s experience.
“There were so many fantastic people we met,” she said.
“One who comes to mind was Hamza, an inspirational young Iraqi man.
“I’d never met an Iraqi before – Hamza was a Christian who had worked with the army as a teenager and had been awarded a military medal for saving an American soldier.
“He was only in his mid-twenties when we met him and yet he had already lived such an amazing life.”
In May 2014, Karen and Mick departed the southern French town of St Jean Pied de Port to head across the Pyrenees Mountains, aiming to reach the shrine of St James the Apostle in the Cathedral at Santiago de Compostela.
Their path, the Camino Frances, was one of many dozens of possible routes to their destination.
Karen embarked in a spirit of gratitude.
“I discovered I had throat cancer, in the tonsils, in 2011,” she said.
“Working in a hospital probably gave me a higher level of anxiety at the diagnosis – we often see outcomes that aren’t good.
“Then a year or so later it was gone.
“I think everyone’s prayers helped – it’s true the cancer was in a more treatable area but it still feels a miracle to me that it’s healed and completely gone.”
Once the two-year period for cancer clearance was up, Karen decided to act on the inspiration she had first felt on seeing The Way.
“I felt this was a way I could thank people and move on completely from the illness,” she said.
“Doing the walk, I could spend time thinking and praying for those who had said prayers for me – the Sisters of Mercy, my family, my workmates – they were always in my mind along the Camino.”
At first she wasn’t sure if husband Mick would come with her, “but he came to see it as a chance to be away from his busy life and also for us to spend some time together”.
“The commitment my husband had shown getting me through the treatment for cancer continued on the walk,” she said.
“He was by my side for three months of treatment and also by my side every step of the 800km walk.
“Not only did Mick help me get through some very dark times during treatment, he kept me going when I felt I couldn’t walk another step.
“This is what marriage is all about and we certainly experienced the ‘for better or worse’ in both situations.”
The first couple of weeks were gruelling but after initial misgivings, Karen became confident she would finish the 800km journey.
“You’d think walking 30 to 40 kilometres a day would get a bit hard or boring but, no, Mick and I just got up each day and went,” she said.
“There were so many highlights but it’s the simple things which stay with me.
“For example, sitting at a table in the evening with 20 or 30 people sharing stories.
“Despite our many different backgrounds, and sometimes different languages, we found could still communicate.
“Then there was the magnificent Spanish countryside spread out before us.
“I also remember messages written on walls and signs such as: ‘If all politicians could do this walk there would be world peace.’”
Also unforgettable was the first sight of their destination, Santiago de Compostela.
“The day before arriving, we could see Santiago in the distance,” Karen said.
“Tears came to my eyes at seeing the city.
“I was thinking: ‘Wow, so many pilgrims for so many centuries have walked this same path.’
“Reaching the city’s cathedral was absolutely incredible.
“As you enter the great cathedral and the Portico de Gloria, there is a central column which has Christ in Glory flanked by his apostles and underneath him St James sits as an intercessor between Christ and the pilgrim.
“Over centuries millions of pilgrims have placed their hand on the column and have worn finger holds in the marble as a mark of gratitude for their safe arrival.
“Even though the service was in another language, I still felt very emotional.”
It’s nearly a year since Karen returned to Townsville and back to her role as executive director of nursing.
“I’m in excellent health these days – I would do the Camino again tomorrow if I had the chance,” she said.
“I’m also constantly amazed how many people I’ve spoken to who have done the walk.”
Karen is now thinking of using her learnings from the pilgrimage in a presentation project linked to her role as a member of the Townsville Mater’s leadership team.
“As part of this team, I attended three formations presented by the Sisters of Mercy over about a year,” she said.
“Each of us will prepare a project on this formation and present it, referring to sessions including Catholic leadership, theology and mission.”
Karen said her camino would provide much rich material for such a project.
“In many ways it was a life-changing experience,” she said.
“When I came back I said, I don’t need all these belongings in the world to be happy; after all, we survived on two changes of clothes for a couple of months on the road.
“I also discovered what really matters is people.
“Everybody has a story. Take time to listen to their story.
“That’s a big understanding I took from the Camino de Santiago experience.
“Also there is little point in gaining peace along the Camino, if it is left behind in Santiago; it needs to continue in the pilgrim’s daily life.”
