Dickens, 43, is in Italy to \ufeffcontest a range of events across the disciplines of biathlon and cross-country skiing.<\/p>\n
READ MORE:<\/strong> Gould's plea to refs as NRL issues warning to all clubs<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Iran all but pulls out of World Cup over 'wicked acts'<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Great grills Eels over 'reckless' $2.6m play for Origin star<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n She has become Australia's oldest female Winter Paralympian on her Games debut.<\/p>\n It's testament to just how resilient she's been since a range of concerning symptoms began troubling her at 36, and the admirable way in which she's taken to biathlon and cross-country skiing since her life-changing diagnosis.<\/p>\n "It got pretty dark," Dickens, who's carved out a career in the Navy, recalled of her battle with alcoholism and mental health in an interview with Wide World of Sports.<\/p>\n "I had a house in Sydney. Being in the military, you're kind of alone and isolated because you don't have a lot of family around you.<\/p>\n "I worked in a workshop with a lot of boys who tried their best to help me, but the way we bonded was over beers, so I started drinking. I wasn't a big drinker before that, but I just started drinking, and on the way home from work I'd grab a couple of bottles of wine and would drink at night to help me sleep.<\/p>\n "I just had no purpose really because I didn't know what was coming for me. I was not sure if I would be able to stay in the Navy."<\/p>\n Watch the Winter Paralympic Games Milano Cortina 2026 live and free on Channel 9 and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a>. Plus, every event live & on demand, every medal in 4K, and exclusive international coverage on<\/strong><\/em> Stan Sport<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Dickens now works in administration with the Navy. Prior to her diagnosis, she worked as an electronics technician.<\/p>\n \ufeff"I was a fitter and turner. I did a mechanical trade in my 20s and then moved on to the electronics in my 30s. I had known nothing else other than working with my hands," Dickens said.<\/p>\n "So having vision distortions and things like that, and not being sure about what I'm seeing, was quite concerning.<\/p>\n "And being told that motor neurone disease [MND] could be a thing, or MS [multiple sclerosis], when you don't really have anyone to lean on, you've got no family around you, it was hard.<\/p>\n "Unfortunately, alcohol helped me out, but at the same time, alcohol might have kept me alive, too."<\/p>\n Six months passed between symptoms arising and doctors delivering her the diagnosis.<\/p>\n She had become so dependant on alcohol that she was binging after work every day, often grabbing a six-pack of beers and a couple of bottles of wine on her way home.<\/p>\n She'd then sit at home and try to drink her demons away.\ufeff<\/p>\n She knew she was desperately in need of seeing a psychiatrist. She also knew she was in desperate need of spending time in a mental health unit. She booked in to see a psychiatrist and requested exactly that.<\/p>\n "I think I was well pickled by the time I got to the hospital," Dickens said, finding humour in her darkest hour.<\/p>\n Her sense of humour shone through a couple of times in the chat.\ufeff<\/p>\n "\ufeffBombs and blindness don't really go together," she grinned, reflecting on her move from electronics to the office.<\/p>\n "It was good to be able to say I've had enough [of the alcoholism], I need more help than what I'm getting, and I need to go to a hospital.<\/p>\n "It's all a part of it, right? It's all a part of coping and moving forward and just dealing with things.<\/p>\n "I'm really glad that I was able to pull myself out the other side.<\/p>\n "I wish more people could do it," she added, reflecting on the mental health care she received.<\/p>\n "I wish it was available for more people. I'm very fortunate, being in Defence, that it's something that's available for us if we need help."<\/p>\n Dickens has a guide dog. Her name is Gigi.<\/p>\n In competition, she's guided by Lynn Maree Cullen.<\/p>\n For Dickens, her battle with \ufeffcone-rod dystrophy began with a bad headache that wouldn't abate.<\/p>\n "I just thought I had a migraine, the sparkly kind of vision stuff, and it just didn't go away," she recalled.<\/p>\n "So I just went to the doc and got some help with that, and it took them about six months to work out what it was.<\/p>\n "I was pretty happy with the diagnosis, compared to some of the alternatives."<\/p>\n When Dickens pushed off for her first event of the Paralympics, tears began rolling down her face.\ufeff<\/p>\n Speaking from Lago, Italy mid-Games, she took a moment to soak\ufeff up her immense sense of pride.<\/p>\n "I am so proud of how I've just continued to push forward\ufeff and keep focused on the goal of making the Paralympics," she said.<\/p>\n "For me being at the Paralympics, it's never been about medals or crossing the finish line first; it's just been about crossing the finish line. I've certainly done that. I've done it in style, with some friends from home in the crowd.<\/p>\n "I've just been extremely proud of myself, and how I continue to move forward, set new goals, and keep myself happy."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
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