Ms Gillian Lindsell, an Edenvale High School old girl and inspirational speaker returned to Edenvale to give an inspirational talk to EHS senior students on May 12.
In 2009 she was a victim of a house robbery during which she was shot. She has since healed and has become an inspirational speaker.
During the home invasion, while lying face down on the kitchen floor, Ms Lindsell was shot through her lower back by the robber guarding her.
The bullet ricocheted off the tiles and penetrated her a second time.
“I think he panicked,” she said. Ms Lindsell had moved her head to see what was happening when she was shot.
Although she never once thought of giving up, Ms Lindsell knew she had lost a lot of blood as a result of the gunshot and was concerned.
On the road to recovery Ms Lindsell spent a lot of time in the Johannesburg General Hospital.
Ms Lindsell overcame the nine surgeries and 46 days in hospital and was discharged. Ms Lindsell still has the bullet inside her.
Her inspirational talk, Bulletproof, was first presented in 2011. It had mainly focused on corporate groups and functions but branched out to schools.
The first school that received her Bulletproof speech was Pretoria Boys High. Ms Lindsell said that she received a standing ovation. “It was so uplifting and so humbling,” she said.
To Ms Lindsell it does not matter who she is telling the story to. “People need to be resilient. We all have the same fears under different circumstances,” she said.
The feedback she has received from schools has been good as a relevant message is shared.
Ms Lindsell said, “People must embrace their own fears and find the awesomeness within themselves.”
In her talk to the EHS pupils Ms Lindsell spoke about her “uniquely developed apps”, that do not need any data or airtime that will help people.
“They are apps of resilience – they come from within you,” she said.
These apps are:
- Courage.
- Tenacity.
- Patience.
- Faith.
- Humour.
- “By making use of all these apps people can become more resilient and take charge. It is about your attitude,” said Ms Lindsell.
